I 


HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 


jvyf^° 


THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

HIW  YORK    ■    BOSTON    •    CHICAGO   •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA   •    SAN    FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Linrreo 

LONDON    •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOL-RNB 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA.  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 


NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE 


BY 

KNUT   GJERSET,    Ph.D. 

(HEIDELBERG) 

PROFESSOR   OF   NORWEGIAN   LANGUAGE,    LITERATURE 

AND   HISTORY   IN    LUTHER   COLLEGE 

DECORAH,    IOWA 


VOLUME   II 


WITH  MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Neto  g0rft 

THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

1915 

All  rights  reserved 


Coi-VRUillT,    1915, 

bt  thk  macmillax  company. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  August,  IJ15. 


J.  8.  Cunhlnir  t   ■.  —  lUrwirk  A  Smllh  Co. 
Nor«o..d.  Mam.,  l'.:^  A. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

1.  Political  Union  an  Era  of  Transition 1 

2.  King  Magnus  Smek.     The  Union  of  Norway  and  Sweden       .  4 

3.  Other  Causes  Contributing   to   the   Intellectual   and   Na- 

tional Decadence -  11 

4.  The  Reign  of  Haakon  Magnusson  the  Younger       ...  15 

5.  The  Hanseatic  League  Gains  Ascendency  in  the  North       .  19 

6.  Other  Features  of  Haakon  Magnusson's  Reign        ...  27 

7.  The  Union  of  Norway  and  Denmark.     Queen  INIaugaret       .  30 

8.  The  Kalmar  Union ,36 

9.  King  Eirik  of  Pomerania         .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .43 

10.  An  Embryo  Democracy .56 

11.  King  Christopher .64 

12.  Christian  I.  of  Denmark  and  Karl  Knotsson  of  Sweden      .  66 

13.  The  Reign  of  King  Hans  (John) 77 

14.  Literature  and  Intellectual  Life  in  the  Fourteenth  and 

Fifteenth  Centuries 89 

15.  Local  and  General  Administration 100 

16.  Christian  IL     The  Dawn  of  a  New  Era 103 

17.  Christian  II.  the  Tyrant.    The  Stockholm  Massacre     .        .  Ill 

18.  The  Struggle  for  Norway.     Christian  II.          ....  120 

19.  The  Count's  War.     Christian  III 127 

20.  The  Reformation  in  Norway 134 

21.  The  Reign  of  Christian  HI 142 

22.  Frederick  II.     The  Seven  Years'  War  with  Sweden       .        .  148 

23.  Norwegian  Internal  Administration  in  the  Reign  of  Fred- 

erick II 155 

24.  Intellectual  and  Social  Conditions  in  Norway  in  the  Six- 

teenth Century 160 

25.  Christian  IV.  and  His  Age ■      .  183 

V 

43771 ± 


VI 


CONTENTS 


Social 


2fi.    FoRKKfN   Kki.ations.     Titk   Kai.mak   ^VAR 

27.  Nkw  National    (ii{os\  mi.     IIa.nmiial    Skiiekted.     A   New  Wak 

Willi    SWK.HKN  .......... 

28.  Frkhkuk  K   III 

29.  IIkkeditaky  KiNOsmr.     Tin-.   iNTuonrrTioN  of  AB.HOnrriftM 

.'10.     FoKK.Ui.N    Kklations 

31.  Norwe<;ia.n  E.mi(;ration  to  Holland,  Enoland,  Kthsia,  and 
America  in  the  Sevkntee.ntm  Century  and  Later    . 

.V2.  The  Close  ok  the  Rekjn  ok  Frederick  III.  Christian  V. 
The  Gvldenl0vk  War 

33.  Internal  and  Foreign  Affairs  in  the  Reign  ok  Chrlstian  V. 

34.  Economic  and  Social  Conditions   in   Norway  in  the  Seven- 

teenth Century 

35.  Norwegian  Literature  in  the  Seventeenth  Century     . 

36.  Education  and  the  Church 

37.  Frederick  IV.     The  Great  Northern  \Var 
.'J8.    King  Charles  XII.  in  Norway        .... 

39.  KiN(t  Charles  XII. 's  Second  Invasion  of  Norway 

40.  The  Closing  Years  of  thk   Reign   of   Frederick   IV 

AND  Economic  Conditions  .... 

41.  Christian  VI.     The  Age  of  Pietism 

42.  Mercantilism  and  Commercial  Stagnation 

43.  Development    of     Modern     Danish-Norwegian     Literature. 

The  Age  of  Ludvig  IIolberg 

44.  Frederick  V 

4.'>.   Christian  VII.  and  Queen   Carolina    Matmiipa.     Thf.   Stru- 

enske  Period 

46.  Prince    Frederick    and  Ove    Il0EG-GuLDnERG.       A    Period    ok 

Reaction 

47.  Crown  Prince  Frederick  and  A.  P.  Bernstorkk.     Increasing 

I'nrkst  in  Norway.  Chr.  J.  Lofthus.  War  with  Sweden, 
1788 

4m.  Da.nisii-Norwecjian  Literature  in  the  Second  Half  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century 

4:*.  Revolution  and  Dfjjpotism.  Denmark-Norway's  Foreign 
Policy,  1792-1814  

50.  The  Gradual  Dissolution  of  the  Da.nish-Norwegian  Partner- 
ship          


197 

207 
216 
228 
238 

239 

247 
262 

272 
28.") 
294 
300 
.309 
316 

323 
.328 
335 

3.37 
343 


.349 
358 

363 

371 
377 
398 


CONTENTS  VU 

PAOK 

51.  Events  Leading  to  the  Separation  of  Norway  and  Denmark    406 

52.  Norway  Gains  Her  National  Independence  in  1814        .        .    417 
.53.   The  Meeting  OF  the  Constituent  Assembly  AT  Eidsvold.    The 

Framing  of  the  Norwegian  Constitution  ....  423 
54.  The  War  of  1814.    The  Convention  of  Moss  and  Union  with 

Sweden 4.32 

^)  Sentiments  and  Conditions  after  1814         .        .        .        .        .  446 

56.  The  Reign  of  Charles  John.     The  Relation  to  Sweden        .  450 

57.  Young   Norway.     Henrik  Wergeland   and  Johan   Sebastian 

Welhaven.    Literary  and  Intellectual  Revival     .        .  464 

58.  Political  Progress.     New  Men  and  Measures  ....  476 

59.  Oscar  I.     Romanticism  and  Pan-Scandinavianism      .        .        .  489 

60.  Political  Reaction.    The  Labor  Movement       ....  504 
nSl.   King  Charles  XV.     Beginning  of  a  New  Literary  Develop- 
ment         517 

62.  New  Political  Struggles.    Proposed  Revision  of  the  Act  of 

Union 522 

63.  Important  Reform  Measures  Passed  in  the  Reign  of  Charles 

XV.     The  Rise  of  the  Liberal  or  Venstre  Party   .        .     531 

64.  Oscar  II.     The  Office  of  Statholder  Abolished.     The  Veto 

Question 534 

d5."^urther    Development    of    the    Norwegian    Literary    and 

Cultural  Renaissance 544 

66.  The    Sverdrup    Ministry.       Norway    under    Parliamentary 

Government 555 

67.  The  Demand  for  a  Separate  Norwegian  Foreign  Office  and 

Consular  Service 561 

68.  Political  and  Social  Conditions,  1905-1914         ....     585 

69.  Norwegian  Emigration  to  America.    The  Norwegians  in  the 

United  States 598 


LIST   OF   PLATES 

FACING  PAOB 

I.     Kringen 24 

Bohus  in  the  Seventeenth  Century  .        .        .        .        .        .        .24 

II.     Ruins  of  the  Hamar  Cathedral 118 

Bergenhus 118 

III.  0straat 130 

Ruins  of  Steinvikshohn  Castle 130 

IV.  Old  Parsonage  from  Vaage  in  Gudbrandsdal 172 

Bondestue,  Older  Type 172 

Old  Church  at  Borgund 172 

V.     Christian  IV 204 

Hannibal  Sehested 204 

Peder  Griffenfeld 204 

VI.     Woodcarving  on  an  Old  Church  Door  in  Sogn         ....  294 

Woodcarving  on  an  Old  Church  Portal  at  Hurum  ....  294 

VII.     Peder  Clauss0n  Friis 340 

Ludvig  Holberg 340 

Petter  Dass .340 

VIII.     The  University  of  Christiania 402 

IX.     Eidsvold  in  1814 424 

The  Eidsvold  Constituent  Assembly 424 

X.     Herman  Wedel-Jarlsberg 426 

W.  F.  K.  Christie 426 

Georg  Sverdrup 426 

Christian  Magnus  Falsen 426 

XI.     Christian  Frederick 440 

Charles  John  (Bernadotte) 440 

XII.     Henrik  Wergeland 468 

XIII.  Camilla  Collett 474 

Henrik  Wergeland's  Monument  in  Christiania        ....  474 

J.  S.  Welhaven 474 

XIV.  John  Neergaard 490 

Ludvig  Kristensen  Daa 490 

Oscar  1 490 

Ole  Gabriel  Ueland 490 

A.  M.  Schweigaard 490 

ix 


LIST    OF    I'LATKS 


XV.     .lor^jt'ii  Mi)e   . 

I*.  Chr.  AHbJ0rri8('n 
Ivar  Aasoii     . 
A.  ().  Vinjn   . 
XVI.      1".  A.  Muiirh 

Ni.'ls  ll.'nrik  Al.rl 
Ole  Bull 
Edvanl  Grieg 
XVII.     Frcdrik  Staiig 

tlohaii  Sverdruj)     . 
XN'III.     BjvJni.'itjeriie  Hj0riisoii 
XIX.     Chr.  Aug.  Selmer 
Emil  Stang   . 
Johannes  Steen 
Oscar  II. 
S0reu  Jaabaek 
XX.     Ilenrik  Ibsen 
XXI.     Alexander  L.  Kielland 
Jonas  Lie 
Arne  Garborg 
XXII.     J.  E.  Sars      . 

Fridtjof  Nansen    . 

XXIII.  The  Storthing  Building 
Royal  Palace,  Christian ia 

XXIV.  The  MicheLsen  Ministry 
XXV.     J0rgen  L0vland     . 

Christian  Michelsen 
Carl  Berner  . 
XXVI.     King  Haakon  VII. 
XXVII.     Queen  Maud 

Cruwu  Prince  Olav 


PAOIlfO  PAOB 

49'J 
49'J 
492 
492 
494 
494 
494 
494 
512 
512 
520 
538 
538 
538 
538 
538 
546 
548 
548 
548 
552 
552 
576 
576 
578 
582 
582 
582 
584 
580 
586 


LIST   OF  MAPS 

FACING  PAGK 

I.     The  Scandinavian  North  Prior  to  1645 152 

II.     Norway  before  1645 200 

III.     Modern  Norway 598 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THE  TEXT 

PAGE 

Queen  Margaret 42 

Visborg  Castle       . 53 

King  Christian  III 144 

Ulrik  Frederick  Gylden]0ve 236 

Frederick  IV 302 

Charles  XII 311 

Peter  Tordenskjold 321 

Frederick  VI 390 

Prince  Charles  August 395 

Hans  Nielsen  Hauge 404 

Charles  XIII 421 

Charles  XV 523 

Queen  Louise 524 


HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN 
PEOPLE 

THE   MIDDLE   PERIOD 
1.    Political  Union  an  Era  of  Transition 

When  the  royal  family  of  Norway  became  extinct  in  the  male 
line  upon  the  death  of  Haakon  V.  in  1319,  the  kingdom  still  appeared 
to  possess  its  former  strength.  Internal  disturbances  no  longer 
threatened,  as  the  aristocracy  had  submitted  unconditionally  to 
the  king,  who  had  firmly  established  the  principles  of  hereditary 
kingship  and  a  strongly  centralized  government.  In  Sweden  and 
Denmark,  where  royalty  had  become  elective,  rival  pretenders,  aided 
by  powerful  nobles,  found  opportunity  to  maintain  civil  strife  in 
ceaseless  struggles  for  the  crown.  But  Norway  enjoyed  peace,  a 
fair  degree  of  prosperity  existed,  and  its  commerce,  though  somewhat 
impaired,  was  still  fairly  well  maintained.  This  apparent  strength 
and  stability  of  the  kingdom  was,  nevertheless,  a  mere  illusion.  In 
reality  the  nation  was  gradually  sinking  into  a  state  of  lethargy  and 
weakness  which  soon  affected  every  part  of  the  national  organism. 
The  once  so  remarkable  energy  of  the  Norwegian  people  shriveled 
as  if  touched  by  a  withering  bhght,  and  without  any  dramatic  struggle 
they  lost  their  political  and  economic  independence.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  rise  of  the  Hanseatic  merchants,  and  the  change 
in  Norway's  foreign  policy  contributed  to  this  growing  national  decay, 
but  the  main  cause  is  to  be  sought  in  the  extinction  of  the  old  line 
of  kings,  who  had  been  leaders  of  the  people,  and  the  center  of  na- 
tional Ufe  and  greatness.  In  their  long  struggle  with  the  aristoc- 
racy, the  kings  had  been  victorious.  Not  only  had  they  lodged 
all  power  in  the  crown,  and  created  a  body  of  administrative  and 
judicial  oflficers  wholly  subservient  to  it,  but  the  aristocracy,  weakened 

VOL.    II  —  B  1 


2  llISTnUY    or    TIIK    N<  »IiW  i:(  IIAN    I'KOPLE  II 

l>y  \v;irs  and  dispirited  l)y  constant  defeats,  had  gradually  lost  signif- 
ieance  as  leadt-rs  of  tin*  people.  Haakon  \'.  wiped  out  tlie  remnant 
of  the  old  hereditary  aristocracy  when  he  al»oli>hc(|  the  titles  of 
j(irl  an<l  h  lulrniuuiil,  in  Kills,  while  he  retained  that  of  hiuglit,  as 
this  new  rank  dei)ended  on  api)ointincnt  and  royal  favor.  Had 
the  circumstances  in  Norway  heen  favorable  to  the  growth  of  chiv- 
alry, the  disappearance  of  the  old  aristocracy  might  have  i)roduced 
no  serious  changi' ;  hut  the  new  nohility  ne\er  het-ame  numerous 
or  strong  enough  to  assume  leadership  in  a  new  national  develop- 
ment. While  Sweden  and  Denmark  fosteretl  a  proud  and  power- 
ful aristocracy,  Norway  was  urged,  also  by  her  natural  environment, 
along  the  path  towards  democratic  conditions.  In  comparing  the 
growth  of  the  Swedish  and  Norwegian  nobility  P.  A.  Munch  says : 
"The  already  mentioned  circumstance  that  war  in  Sweden  was 
usually  waged  on  land,  while  in  Norway  it  was  generally  waged  on 
the  sea,  would,  when  we  consider  the  customary  mode  of  fighting, 
make  the  separation  between  the  mounted  nobles  and  tlie  common 
foot  soldiers  or  peasants  more  distinct  and  conspicuous  than  in  Nor- 
way. The  more  highly  developed  land  war  in  Sweden,  as  well  as 
the  stronger  influence  of  German  knight-errantry,  also  led  to  the 
erection  of  numerous  nnal  and  private  castles,  a  feature  almost 
unknown  in  Norway.  For  years  together  private  knights  and 
squires,  as  well  as  feudal  lords,  ensconced  behind  the  walls  of  these 
castles,  might  successfully  defy  law  and  justice,  oppress  the  neigh- 
boring districts,  and  maintain  an  independent  existence.  It  is  also 
clear  that  it  was  in  their  jjower  to  make  their  privileges  hereditary, 
and  to  transfomi  them  into  rights  which  were  real  as  well  as  personal. 
This  is  best  seen  in  cases  wliere  some  jjowerful  knight  received  a 
fief  and  castle  as  security  for  a  debt,  which  was  often  not  paid  during 
his  lifetime.  These  estates  with  the  castle  were  then,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  inherite<l  by  his  sons,  or  heirs.  In  this  way  there  had 
been  forme<l  in  Sweden  at  the  time  when  it  was  united  with  Norway 
under  Magnus  Eiriksson  in  bJlO  a  larger  and  more  compact  circle 
of  noble  families  than  in  Norway;  in  other  words,  a  real  hcre<litary 
aristocracy  whose  members,  indeed,  did  not  regard  themselves  su- 
perior to  the  Nonvegian  nobles,  and  hence  often  intermarried  with 
them;    but  against  their  own  countr^^nen  they  assumed  a  more 


II  POLITICAL    UNION   AN    ERA    OF   TRANSITION  3 

aristocratic  and  distant  attitude  than  did  the  Norwegian  nobles 
against  their  people.  We  find  in  Sweden  also  family  names  and  family 
coats  of  arms  used  much  earlier  than  in  Norway,  which  shows  that 
an  aristocracy  of  birth  with  inherited  privileges  was  established 
there,  while  in  Norway  nobility  as  a  mere  personal  honor  still  pre- 
vailed." ^  Professor  T.  H.  Aschehoug  shows  that  the  Norwegian 
nobility  was  much  weaker  than  the  same  class  in  Sweden  and  Den- 
mark both  in  wealth  and  number.  "The  great  and  permanent 
cause  of  the  inferiority  of  the  Norwegian  aristocracy  in  wealth  lay 
in  the  different  natural  conditions  of  the  three  countries.  The  wealth, 
which  should  be  the  mainstay  of  the  noble  family,  consisted  at  that 
time  more  than  ever  in  land.  But  whether  we  consider  the  area 
or  the  productivity  of  the  tillable  soil,  Norway  has,  without  com- 
parison, a  more  scant  supply  of  land  than  the  neighboring  kingdoms."^ 
The  growth  of  royal  power  had  wrought  the  unification  of  the 
people,  and  the  establishing  of  a  national  kingdom.  An  efficient 
government  had  been  created  which  enabled  Norway  to  rise  to 
greatness.  But  the  aristocracy  had  been  crushed,  and  when  the 
kings  disappeared,  the  orphaned  nation  no  longer  had  competent 
leaders  to  shape  its  career,  or  to  protect  its  interests.  The  country's 
foreign  policy  was  guided  by  weak  and  unskilled  hands,  if  it  could 
be  said  to  be  guided  at  all,  while  in  commerce,  and  in  economic  life 
in  general,  timidity  and  torpor  replaced  the  earlier  spirit  of  enterprise. 
For  want  of  men,  strong  and  self-reliant  enough  to  attempt  the  solution 
of  new  problems  and  to  face  altered  conditions  with  resolute  hope- 
fulness, the  people  grew  unprogressive,  and  clung  to  old  forms  with 
a  tenacity  which  made  successful  competition  with  spirited  rivals 
impossible.  The  Norwegians  had  hitherto  accomplished  great 
things,  because  they .  had  been  stimulated  to  efforts  by  ambitious 
leaders,  and  their  energies  had  been  wisely  directed  by  able  kings. 
When  this  stimulus  and  direction  ceased,  the  decadence  began,  not 
because  the  people's  native  ability  was  lost,  but  because  it  became 
inoperative  and  latent. 

1  P.  A.  Munch,  Samlede   Afhandlingcr,   III.,  p.  504  ff.     Yngvar  Nielsen, 
Aj  Norges  Historie,  VI.,  Borge  og  Kirker. 

2  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Statsforjatningen  i  Norge  og  Danmark  indtil  1S14,  p. 
118  ff. 


4  history  of  the  norwegian  people  ii 

2.    King  Magnus  Smek.     The  Union  of  Norway  and  Sweden 

On  the  death  of  Haakon  V.,  May  1,  1319,  his  grandson  Magnus 
Eiriksson,  heir  to  the  throne  of  Norway,  was  yet  a  child  only  three 
years  of  age.  King  Birger  of  Sweden,  who  had  been  compelled  to 
flee  from  his  kingdom  after  the  treacherous  imprisonment  and  tragic 
death  of  his  brothers,  the  dukes  Eirik  and  Valdemar,  was  still  Uving 
in  exile  in  Denmark,  while  his  son  Magnus  had  been  imprisoned  in 
Stockliolm.  So  bitter  was  the  feeling  against  the  exiled  king  that 
there  seemed  to  be  no  hope  for  him  to  regain  the  throne  either  for 
himself  or  his  son.  When  Haakon  died,  Magnus  Eiriksson  was 
staying  with  his  mother  in  Sweden,  and  the  leading  Swedish  nobles 
immediately  took  steps  to  elect  him  king  of  Sweden.  The  royal 
Council  ^  summoned  a  general  council  of  magnates,  which  met  at 
Oslo  in  the  month  of  June.  The  Duchess  Ingebj0rg  and  seven  mem- 
bers of  the  Swedish  royal  Council  met  to  negotiate  a  union  between 
Sweden  and  Norway,  and  the  election  of  Magnus  Eiriksson  to  the 
throne  of  both  realms.  An  act  of  union  was  soon  agreed  upon, 
and  INIagnus  was  proclaimed  king  of  Norway  at  the  Haugathing, 
at  Tunsberg,  and  about  the  same  time  he  was  also  elected  king  of 
Sweden.  Thus  Norway  and  Sweden  were  united  for  the  first  time 
"by  an  accident  which  looked  like  a  plan."  Nothing  but  family 
interests  had  dictated  this  course,  and  the  two  kingdoms  had  nothing 
in  common  but  the  king,  who,  according  to  the  act  of  union,  should 
spend  an  equal  length  of  time  in  each  kingdom.^     During  the  king's 

1  It  had  been  customary  for  the  king  to  ask  advice  of  his  lendermcend 
and  other  prominent  persons  in  important  state  affairs,  but  in  the  thirteenth 
century  we  find  traces  of  a  smaller  number  of  men  acting  as  the  king's  ad- 
visers, though  they  were  not  required  to  meet  as  a  body.  When  Haakon  V. 
abolished  the  title  of  "lendermand,"  he  seems  to  have  chosen  a  few  promi- 
nent men  to  act  as  a  concilium  regis.  In  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury this  council  grew  rapidly  in  power,  especially  during  periods  when  it 
also  acted  as  a  regency  during  the  minority  of  the  kings.  From  a  concilium 
regis,  or  royal  council,  it  developed  into  a  concilium  regni,  or  council  of  the 
kingdom,  which  shared  the  power  with  the  king,  and  he  was,  henceforth, 
not  expected  to  act  except  with  the  advice  of  the  Council.  See  T.  H.  Asche- 
houg,  Stal.-^forfainingcn  i  Norge  og  Danmark,  p.  140  ff.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Dei 
norske  Rigsraad,  Christiania,  1880. 

2  Samlinger  til  det  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  vol.  V.,  p.  321  f.,  Kong 
Magnus  Eriks^ns  Valgact.  P.  A.  Munch,  Det  norske  Folks  Historic,  Unions- 
periodcn,  vol.  I.,  p.  7  ff.     Yngvar  Nielsen,  Det  norske   Rigsraad,   p.  135  f. 


II     KING    MAGNUS    SMEK.      THE    UNION    OF    NORWAY    AMJ    SWEDKN    ij 

minority,  his  mother,  Duchess  Ingebj0r<;,  uiid  t\\v  ( 'oiirxil,  which 
accordinf;  to  the  act  of  succession  should  consist  of  twcKc  members, 
was  to  act  as  a  regency.  A  simihir  arraiii^^ciMciit  was  also  made  in 
Sweden.^ 

The  Council  showed  great  laxity  in  administering  the  government 
of  the  kingdom.  The  Duchess  Ingel)j0rg,  who  was  a  thoughtless 
and  pleasure-loving  young  woman,  got  i)ossession  of  the  royal  seal, 
and  she  was  able  to  exercise  sucli  an  influence  in  public  affairs,  that 
she  might  be  called  the  real  regent,  although  she  hastened  to  estal)- 
lish  her  residence  in  vSweden,  where  she  also  kci)t  the  king,  contrary 
to  the  act  of  union.  She  became  enamored  of  a  Danish  noble- 
man, Knut  Porse,  and  spent  the  money  in  the  treasury  in  pursuit  of 
pleasure,  or  in  furthering  the  wild  and  ambitious  schemes  of  her 
paramour.  Without  submitting  the  matter  to  the  councils  of  re- 
gency, she  even  promised  him  tlie  supi)ort  of  the  united  kingdoms 
in  a  war  with  Denmark,  which  he  Was  about  to  undertake  for  the 
most  selfish  reasons.  Supplied  with  a  document  bearing  the  seal 
of  the  kingdom  of  Norway,  he  was  even  enabled  to  hire  mercenaries 
in  Germany  for  an  attack  on  the  Danish  kingdom.  The  public 
funds  had  been  squandered,  the  treasury  was  empty,  the  laws  were 
disregarded,  and  the  people  were  oi)pressed  by  unlawful  taxes.  The 
seal  of  the  kingdom  was  misused  in  foreign  affairs,  and  Knut  Porse 
had  begun  war  with  Denmark  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Norway 
and  Sweden.^  Discontent  grew  loud  on  every  hand.  In  1322  a 
council  of  magnates,  which  assembled  at  Skara  in  wSwedon,  deprived 
the  duchess  of  her  political  power  in  that  kingdom.  The  following 
year  a  similar  assembly  in  Oslo  chose  Erling  Vidkunsson  regent  to 
rule  the  kingdom  of  Norway  with  tlie  advice  and  assistance  of  the 
Council.'  But  a  difficult  situation  confronted  the  new  regency. 
Through  the  machinations  of  Knut  Porse  and  the  duclu^s,  Non^'ay 
had  been  placed  in  a  hostile  attitude  to  Denmark,  the  relations  with 
England  were  strained,  the  treasury  was  empty,  and  war  had  broken 

'  Diplomatarium  Norwcgicum,  VIII.,  no.  .50.  Yngvar  Xii>Ison,  Dct  tiorske 
Rigsraad,  p.  135. 

'  C.  G.  Styffe,  Bidrag  (ill  Sfcandinavicns  Hislnria  ur  iilldndnke  arkinr,  I.^ 
p.  2  ff.,  6  f.  C.  E.  F.  Reinhardt,  Valdcmar  Allcrdag  og  hans  Kongi-' 
gjerning,  p.  24. 

^  Samlinger  til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  V.,  p.  534  f. 


6  HISTORY    OP   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

out  with  Russia  as  a  result  of  border  disputes  in  Finmarken.  In 
1323  the  Russians  and  Karehans  invaded  and  harried  Haalogaland, 
but  the  regent  was  unable  to  act  with  energy  for  want  of  necessary 
funds.  Three  years  later  peace  was  concluded  at  Novgorod  for  a 
period  of  ten  years.^  What  had  happened  in  the  meantime  is  not 
known,  but  the  hostilities  seem  to  have  practically  ceased,  since  Sweden 
made  a  treaty  with  the  Russians,  1323.  The  boundaries  in  these 
remote  regions  were  at  that  time  very  vague,  and  the  treaty,  which 
was  a  mere  temporary  arrangement,  did  not  bring  the  question  much 
nearer  to  a  final  solution.  A  truce  was  also  concluded  between 
Norway  and  Russia  at  Novgorod  in  1326,  for  the  period  of  ten 
years,  and  envoys  sent  to  England  had  been  able  to  come  to  a  friendly 
understanding  with  Edward  II.  in  1325. 

The  law  made  by  King  Haakon  V.  that  the  king  should  not  be  of 
age  until  he  was  twenty  years  old  seems  to  have  been  set  aside,  as 
Magnus  Eiriksson  seized  the  reins  of  government  in  1332  at  the 
age  of  sixteen.  His  reign  began  auspiciously  by  the  acquisition  of 
Skane  and  Blekinge,  which  had  hitherto  been  Danish  provinces. 
The  worthless  King  Kristoffer  II.  of  Denmark,  who  had  succeeded 
Eirik  Menved,  had  granted  these  provinces  temporarily  to  Count 
John  of  Holstein  as  security  for  a  loan  of  34,000  marks  of  silver.  As 
the  people  were  grievously  oppressed  by  the  Holsteiners,  they  ap- 
pealed to  King  Magnus,  and  asked  him  to  become  their  ruler.  Mag- 
nus consented,  and  they  hailed  him  as  their  lawful  king.  Count  John 
could  not  begin  war  against  the  provinces  while  they  were  supported 
by  the  king  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  and  he  gladly  accepted  the  offer 
to  relinquish  his  title  for  a  sum  equal  to  the  amount  due  him  by  the 
king  of  Denmark.  Sweden  had  at  least  temporarily  secured  title 
to  these  important  districts,  though  it  is  doubtful  if  this  can  be 
attributed  to  the  Idng's  own  energy  and  foresight. 

In  1335  Magnus  married  Blanca  or  Blanche  of  Namur,  who  bore 
him  two  sons;  Eirik,  1339,  and  Haakon,  1340.  Very  little  is  known 
of  King  Magnus  Eiriksson's  character.  By  some  contemporaries 
he  was  decried  as  dissolute  and  incompetent,  but  it  is  now  generally 
admitted  that  he  was  earnest  and  conscientious,  that  he  tried  to 

1  P.  A.  Munch,  Samlede  Afhandlinger,  Vol.  II.,  p.  626  ff.,  Om  Grcendse- 
Traktaterne  mellem  Norge,  Sverige  og  Rusland  i  del  IJ^de  Aarhundrede. 


ir  KING    MAGNUS   SMEK.       THE    UNION    OF    NORWAY    AND    SWEDEN'      7 

[iile  well,  l)iit  tliiit  he  l":iil(vl,  not  for  want  of  f^ood  intentions,  l)ut 
I'ccause  he  lacked  the  ablHty  to  guide  the  two  kingdoms  through  a 
most  difficult  period.  During  the  long  regency,  the  Swedish  nobles 
had  carried  on  their  prixate  feuds  without  restraint,  and  Magnus 
soon  met  with  detennined  resistance  when  he  attempted  to  limit 
their  privileges,  and  to  increase  his  income  by  levying  new  taxes. 
The  large  sums  i)aid  for  the  newly  acquired  j)rovinces,  as  well  as 
Magnus'  poor  management,  had  brought  him  into  serious  financial 
difficulties,  but  his  attempt  to  seek  relief  in  this  way  only  aggra- 
vated the  situation.  The  hostile  nobles  accused  him  of  vice  and 
extravagance,  and  in  contempt  they  nicknamed  him  Magnus  Smek, 
a  name  by  which  he  is  generally  known  in  history.^  Magiujs  was 
born  and  reared  in  Sweden,  and  was  in  all  respects  a  Swedish  king. 
The  acquisition  of  new  territory,  together  with  financial  difficulties, 
involved  him  so  deeply  in  Swedish  politics  that  he  seldom  visited 
Norway,  or  paid  any  attention  to  the  affairs  of  that  kingdom.  But 
though  he  remained  a  stranger  to  its  real  needs,  he  nevertheless 
continued  to  settle  Norwegian  aflPairs  with  a  stroke  of  the  pen  and 
the  use  of  the  royal  seal  without  even  consulting  the  Norwegian 
Council  of  State.  This  caused  great  dissatisfaction,  not  only  be- 
cause of  the  injury  done  by  this  careless  and  irresponsible  manage- 
ment of  public  affairs,  but  also  because  this  kind  of  rule  did  not  con- 
form to  the  people's  ideas  of  the  character  and  dignity  of  Norwe- 
gian kingship.  A  strong  opposition  party  was  formed^  under  the 
leadershij)  of  Rrling  Vidkunsson,  Ivar  Agmundsson,  Sigurd  Hafthors- 
son,  and  other  powerful  barons.  They  demanded  nothing  less  than 
a  dissolution  of  the  union,  and  asked  that  King  Magnus'  youngest 
son,  Haakon,  should  be  made  king  of  Norway.  The  king  was  forced 
to  yield.  By  a  royal  decree  issued  at  Varberg,  1343,'  it  was  decided 
that  Haakon  should  succeed  to  the  throne  of  Norway  as  soon  as 
he  reached  his  majority,  that  the  older  brother  Eirik  should  be 
elected  to  succeed  his  father  as  king  of  Sweden  and  Skane,  and  that 
the  kingdoms  should  renuiin  separated  from  the  time  that  Haakon 
became  of  age  (1355).     Until  that  time  Magnus  should  act  as  regent 

'  SnH>k,  pronounced  Smako,  from  Swedish  smekn,  to  fondle  or  caress. 
"  Gustav  Storm,  fi^lnndske  Annaler,  p.  348. 
*  Diploinalarium  Norwegicum,  II.,  no.  258. 


8  HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

in  Norway.  The  following  year  Eirik  was  elected  king  of  Sweden, 
and  Haakon  was  proclaimed  king  of  Norway.  Thereby  the  royal 
decree  annulling  the  act  of  union  was  ratified  by  the  people  of  both 
kingdoms.^  The  royal  seal  was  returned  to  Norway  and  given  to 
the  new  chancellor,  Arne  Aslaksson.  This  virtually  terminated 
King  Magnus  Smek's  rule  in  Norway.  Nominally  he  remained 
regent,  but  the  affairs  of  the  government  were  henceforth  directed 
by  the  chancellor  and  the  Council. 

After  the  peaceful  settlement  of  the  troubles  with  Norway,  Magnus 
devoted  himself  earnestly  to  social  and  legal  reforms  in  Sweden. 
The  last  remnants  of  slavery  were  removed ;  he  prepared  a  uniform 
code  of  laws  for  the  kingdom,  "  Medal-Lagen,"  and  also  a  code  of 
city  laws.  The  work  was  very  praiseworthy,  and  shows  that  he 
meant  to  rule  well ;  but  new  troubles  were  soon  created  both  in 
Sweden  and  Norway  by  the  growing  power  and  arrogance  of  the 
Hanseatic  merchants.  The  foreign  affairs  of  Norway  were  still 
controlled  by  Magnus,  while  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  kingdom  were 
managed  by  the  Council.  They  tried  to  enforce  the  tariff  laws  and 
other  restrictions  which  aimed  at  preventing  undue  encroachments 
on  Norwegian  trade,  but  the  Hanseatic  League,  which  was  rapidly 
developing  into  a  great  commercial  monopoly,  possessed  great 
capital  and  superior  business  methods,  and  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  treat  the  weak  government  with  contempt.  The  "Icelandic 
Annals"  mention  many  bloody  encounters  between  the  German 
merchants  and  the  citizens  of  Bergen;  1332  :  "The  Germans  burned 
a  large  part  of  Bergen ;  "  1333  :  "  A  fight  between  the  priests  and  the 
German  shoemakers  (sutara),  and  two  priests  killed."  ^  Other 
lawless  acts  were  committed,  so  that  the  city  of  Liibeck  in  1341 
finally  found  it  necessary  to  send  envoys  to  King  Magnus  to  arrange 

1  Haakon  was  not  proclaimed  king  at  the  0rething,  nor  at  a  thing  as- 
sembled for  the  pm-pose,  but  representatives  from  the  cities  and  from  the 
country  districts  were  summoned  to  Bohus,  where  they  signed  a  written 
agreement  to  accept  him  as  their  king  when  he  became  of  age.  A  copy  of 
this  document  is  still  in  existence.  See  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  I.,  no. 
290.  This  copy  bears  the  signatures  of  the  representatives  of  the  cities  and 
a  part  of  the  country  districts.  Other  copies  must  have  contained  the  sig- 
natures of  the  other  representatives. 

2  Alexander  Bugge,  Studier  over  de  norske  Byers  Selvstyre  og  Handel  ffir 
Hansealerne.     Gustav  Storm,  Islandske  Annaler,  p.  220  and  349. 


II    KING    MAGNUS   SMEK.      THE    UNION   OF   NORWAY    AND   SWEDEN     9 

a  settlement.'  King  Magnus  describes  the  conduct  of  the  Hanseutic 
merchants  as  follows :  "  When  they  come  to  the  harbors  of  Xonvay, 
they  ill-treat,  wound,  and  kill  people,  and  flepart  without  a  thought 
of  amends  for  their  wrong-doings  to  God  or  the  king,  or  even  of  resti- 
tution to  those  whom  they  have  injured.  Where  they  land,  they 
pull  down  houses  belonging  to  the  king  or  other  j)eople,  and  use 
them  for  fuel  without  asking  pennission.  They  do  not  pennit 
other  goods  to  be  exported  from  their  cities  than  spoiled  ale,  poor 
flour,  and  adulterated  hops,  but  they  import  from  Sweden,  No^^vay, 
and  Sk:\ne  grain  and  other  valuable  articles.  The  Gennans  look 
with  (•(•iiteiiipt  on  the  inhabitants  of  Norway,  and  in  Sweden  even 
on  those  w  jio  have  fomierly  belonged  to  their  own  class  {i.e.  those 
who  have  married  in  Sweden,  and  who  have  establishes!  homes 
there),  so  that  they  never  a(hnit  them  to  their  feasts,  or  to  other 
social  intercourse."  ^ 

In  1842  Nor^vay  and  Sweden  became  involved  in  a  war  with 
King  Valdeniar  Atterdag,  who  did  not  seem  willing  to  abide  by  his 
agreement  regarding  the  Danish  provinces  which  had  been  ceded 
to  King  Magnus.  The  Hanseatic  cities  aided  Valdemar,  and  the 
"Icelandic  Annals"  mention  a  fight  between  the  German  merchants 
and  the  citizens  of  Bergen,  in  which  many  merchants  were  killed.' 
In  the  peace  treaty  of  VAA'.],  Valdemar  ceded  to  Magnus,  Skane, 
Ilalland,  Lister,  Blekinge,  and  Hven,  for  the  amount  of  49,000  marks. 
In  his  dealings  with  the  Hanseatic  merchants  Magnus  was  less  suc- 
cessful, lie  was  unable  to  pay  the  stipulated  amount  for  the  ac- 
quired pro\'inces,  and  had  to  seek  the  financial  aid  of  the  Gennans, 
in  return  for  wliicli  he  granted  to  a  number  of  German  cities  a  charter 
(bU3)  in  whic-h  he  confinned  all  the  privileges  which  had  been  given 
them  by  Eirik  Magnusson  and  others  of  his  predecessors.  He 
abolished  the  high  duties,  which  had  been  imposed  by  Haakon  V., 
and  henceforth  they  were  not  required  to  pay  higher  duties  than  in 
the   days   of    Eirik    Magnusson.''     The   efforts   which    had    hitherto 


'  P.  A.  Munch,  Del  norske  Folks  Hisloric,  \o\.  V.,  p.  209. 
'  R.  Koyser,  S'nrgcx  llifttoric,  vol.  II.,  p.  FyT'). 
'  Gustav  Storm.  Islnndskc  Annaler,  p.  222. 

*  Tho  dorumont  by  which  tlic  kinp  Rxnnts  tho  Oorman  morohants  of  Borjjen 
these  privileges  is  found  in  Diplomatarium  S'orwcgicum,  vol.  V.,  no.  197. 


10  HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

been  made  to  control  the  traffic  of  the  Hanseatic  merchants  were 
thereby  adjusted  in  their  favor,  and  they  exercised  henceforth  almost 
unrestricted  control  over  the  country's  trade.  The  general  economic 
conditions  seem,  however,  to  have  been  quite  good.  The  conspicu- 
ous lack  of  energetic  activity  had  at  least  the  advantage  of  producing 
a  period  of  comparative  peace,  in  which  the  people  were  able  to  direct 
their  attention  to  their  own  domestic  affairs.  The  distribution  of 
land  according  to  the  law  of  odel,  and  the  comparative  weakness  of 
the  aristocracy  insured  the  people  against  oppression,  and  main- 
tained a  large  class  of  freeholders  (binder),  who  continued  to  be  the 
mainstay  of  the  nation,  and  the  custodians  of  the  national  traditions 
and  spirit  of  liberty.  Even  the  renters  who  owned  no  land  were 
protected  in  their  rights  by  the  laws,  and  were  not  left  to  the  mercy 
of  the  larger  landowners.  Roads  and  bridges  were  maintained 
by  the  people,  subject  to  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  authori- 
ties of  the  fylke,  and  the  laws  were  so  well  enforced  that  no  one  was 
in  danger  of  being  robbed  or  otherwise  molested,  even  in  journeying 
along  the  lonely  mountain  paths  of  remote  inland  districts.  But, 
aside  from  this  fair  degree  of  prosperity  and  general  social  well- 
being,  a  weakening  of  the  people's  energies  took  place  in  nearly 
every  phase  of  national  activity.  Literary  productivity  ceased, 
and  no  books  seem  to  have  been  read,  save  legends  and  translations 
of  chivalric  romances.  Through  the  influence  of  the  king  and  the 
court  and  Norway's  intimate  relations  with  Sweden,  the  Swedish 
language  came  to  be  regarded  in  higher  social  circles  as  more  refined 
than  the  Norse,  in  which  so  many  great  works  had  been  written, 
and  which  had  been  most  highly  developed  as  a  literary  language. 
Norse  was  still  exclusively  used,  but  many  Swedish  words  were 
introduced,  especially  in  the  diplomatic  language  and  in  public 
documents.  The  literary  language  shows  very  little  change,  how- 
ever, during  the  whole  Old  Norse  period,  which  lasted  till  1350. 
It  retained  throughout  great  purity  of  vocabulary  and  constancy 
of  forms  and  idioms.  The  Old  Norse  language  was  divided  into  a 
few  not  very  sharply  differentiated  dialects,  especially  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  period.  East  Norse  was  spoken  in  Tr0ndelagen 
and  0stlandet ;  West  Norse  in  Vestlandet  (Gulathingslag)  and  North 
Vestlandet  {i.e.  Romsdal,  S0ndm0r,  S0ndfjord,  Nordfjord,  and  Ytre 


II  THE    INTELLECTUAL   AND    NATIONAL   DtXADENCE  11 

>^n)  as  well  us  in  Iceland  and  the  rest  of  the  eolonies.  About  I'.HM 
I  Ntlandct  d('\cl<)|)rd  its  own  dialect,  distinct  fri)nj  that  <)f  Tr0nde- 
i.i;,'en  witii  whidi  it  had  iiithertu  hcen  almost  identical.  The  West 
\Orse  had  been  divided  into  two  dialects,  a  southern  and  a  northern, 
at  a  much  earlier  date.  The  southern  dialect  of  the  West  Norse 
was  identical  with  that  of  Iceland  until  about  1100,  and  is  the  one 
ii-cd  with  but  few  exce|;tions  in  Old  Norse  literature.  But  when  the 
iiiiifyin<,'  influence  of  literary  activity  disappeared,  the  number  of 
dialects  rapidly  increased,  and  the  {greater  unifonnity  of  fonns  and 
idioms  was  lost.  The  lanirua^e  of  Norway  entered  upon  a  new 
development,  like  other  lanj^uaj^es  of  Europe  at  that  time,  while 
the  more  conservative  Icelandic  became  a  distinct  language.^ 

3.   OriiEu  Causes  Contributing  to  the  Lntellectual  and 
National  Decadence 

It  is  quite  evident  that  in  the  growing  competition  with  the  new 
sea-power,  the  Ilaiiscatic  League,  the  Norwegians  soon  found  them- 
selves outclassed,  both  as  to  their  merchant  marine  and  their  mili- 
tary power  at  sea.^  Hitherto  Norway  had  been  a  leading  naval  power. 
The  fleet  had  been  her  main  strength  in  war  —  as  necessary  to  the 
maintenance  of  her  [)olitical  power  and  independence  as  her  mer- 
chant marine  and  commerce  were  to  the  nation's  economic  well- 
being.  Shorn  of  these  locks  of  strength,  the  nation  inevital)ly  sank 
into  a  state  of  languor  and  debility.  The  more  surprising  it  is  to 
notice  with  what  indecision  and  lack  of  energy  the  govenmient  waged 
this  decisive  contest  for  naval  and  commercial  supremacy.  Norway's 
navy  had  become  hopelessly  antiquated.  The  old  Icding  system, 
which  had  i)roven  very  advantageous  a  century  or  two  earlier,  still 
remained  unaltered,  though  wholly-  impractical  under  the  change<l 
conditions  of  the  fourteenth  century.  According  to  this  system,  the 
coast  provinces  were  divided  into  309  skibreder  (O.  N.  fihip  rei'dur), 
or  naval  districts,  and  each  sicibrede  should  build  and  num  one  ship. 
In  this  way  the  full  cpiota  of  vessels  could  be  secured,  but  no  pnigress 

'  Marius  Ilipestad.  Del  norslce  MaaUtfyre  IS.IO,  IniiUdning  til  Garnalnorsk 
Ordbok,  Cliristiaiiia,  1909.      Norsk  Konversalinns-Leksikon,  "Norgo."  vol.  V. 

'J.  E.  Sars,  llansealerncs  IIan(icUhrrrcd4mmc,  Udsigl  over  den  nortke 
Historic,  vol.  III. 


12  HISTORY    OF   THE   NORWEGI.^N    PEOPLE  II 

was  made  in  the  art  of  ship-building.  The  binder  (freeholders), 
who  furnished  the  required  vessels  and  equipments  as  a  regular  leding 
tax,  continued  to  build  ships  of  the  same  size  and  type  as  had  been 
furnished  hundreds  of  years  earlier.  In  the  Hanseatic  cities,  in 
Flanders,  France,  and  the  Netherlands  a  new  type  of  vessel,  the 
kogge  (Old  Fr.  coque,  Italian  cocca),  had  been  introduced.^  This 
vessel  had  one  or  two  stationary  masts,  and  was  wholly  propelled  by 
sails.  It  was  of  the  size  of  a  brig  or  small  schooner.  Such  a  vessel 
could  travel  faster  and  maneuver  easier  than  the  Norwegian  long- 
ships,  which  had  only  one  sail,  and  had  to  be  partly  propelled  by  oars. 
The  kogge  was  also  harder  to  enter;  it  was  well  supplied  with  war 
machines  of  different  kinds;  and  as  the  men  did  not  have  to  ply 
the  oars,  the  fighting  force  on  these  new  ships  was  relatively  much 
larger  than  on  the  old  war  vessels.  About  1350,  gunpowder  was  also 
introduced,  and  the  Hanseatic  merchants  were  not  slow  in  making 
use  of  it.  The  art  of  ship-building  and  the  science  of  war  had  changed. 
In  a  contest  with  a  fleet  of  saiHng  vessels  of  the  new  t^-pe  the  Norwe- 
gian fleet  soon  proved  comparatively  useless.  After  the  inferiority 
of  the  older  type  of  ships  had  been  thoroughly  demonstrated,  the 
longship  was  discarded  about  1350,  and  sailing  vessels  of  the  new  type 
were  built ;  but  the  change  came  too  late  to  save  Norway's  prestige 
as  a  naval  power. 

In  the  Norwegian  merchant  marine  similar  conditions  prevailed. 
Small  ships  of  the  old  type  were  still  used,  while  the  Hanseatic  mer- 
chants were  introducing  large  sailing  vessels  of  improved  type.  Alex- 
ander Bugge  says :  "  The  Norwegian  ships  which  came  to  England 
during  the  fourteenth  century  not  only  became  fewer  and  fewer, 
but  also  smaller  and  smaller,"  —  a  sad  evidence  of  Norway's  failing 
strength. 

While  the  nation  was  sinking  into  such  a  lethargic  state,  its  re- 
maining strength  was  suddenly  broken  by  the  fearful  ravages  of  the 
Black  Death.  In  1347  this  plague  had  reached  southern  France 
from  the  Orient,  and  it  quickly  spread  to  Italy  and  Spain.  In 
1348  it  appeared  in  England,  whence  it  seems  to  have  been  carried 

^  Alexander  Bugge,  Et  lidel  Bidrag  til  Sp^rgsmaalet  om  Norges  Nedgang  i 
del  14de  Aarhundrede,  published  in  Historiske  Afhandlinger  tilegnet  Professor 
J.  E.  Sars,  Christiania,  1905. 


II  TUK    MLACK    DF.ATH  13 

to  Scotland,  tlic  Orkneys,  I  Icltridcs,  Shetlarifl,  and  Faroe  Islands, 
while  Iceland  and  (ireenland  e^-api'd  its  ravages.  The  disease  was 
so  malignant  that  people  died  after  a  few  days',  or  even  a  few  hours', 
illness,  and  many  districts  lost  the  greater  i)art  of  their  poi)ulation. 
According  to  the  "  Icelandic  Annals,"  the  disease  was  brought  to  Nor- 
way hy  a  merchant  vessel  which  came  to  Bergen  from  England.  The 
exact  date  is  not  given,  hut  it  nnist  have  been  in  the  summer  of  i;}49.' 
The  peoj)le  on  the  ship  died  before  the  cargo  was  unloade<l,  and  tin- 
ship  sank  in  the  harbor,  says  the  annalist.  The  j)lague  seems  to 
have  spread  to  all  j)arts  of  the  kingdom.  In  I'Aoi)  it  harried  Sweden, 
and  the  following  year  Finland  and  Russia.  When  it  reached  the 
districts  arouiul  the  Black  Sea,  it  finally  ceased,  after  having  visited 
all  parts  of  Europe  on  its  deadly  mission.  How  large  a  part  of  the 
population  of  Norway  dietl  from  this  scourge  it  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine with  any  degree  of  accuracy.  Many  tales  were  later  told  by 
the  peoj)le,  of  whole  settlements  which  became  wholly  depopulated, 
of  churches  which  were  later  discovered  in  dense  forests,  which  had 
grown  up  on  fonnerly  cultivated  areas,  of  children  who  had  been 
left  alone  in  depopulated  districts,  where  they  grew  up  in  a  wild  state.^ 
It  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  these  tales  are  later  creations,  basetl 
largely  on  imagination;  but  the  mortality  must,  nevertheless,  have 
been  very  large.  Even  public  documents  show  evidence  of  this.' 
()f  the  bishops  of  Norway  only  one  survived  the  Black  Death,  ami 
even  in  \']7\  the  Archbishoj)  of  Nidaros  complained  to  the  Pope 
that  while  there  used  to  be  about  three  hundred  jiriests  in  his  diocese, 
there  were,  after  the  great  plague,  not  above  forty.  The  "  Icelandic 
Annals"  contain  the  following  statement:  "Then  the  disease  sprejid 
over  all  Norway,  and  caused  such  mortality  that  not  one-third  of 
the  peo|)le  of  the  country  remained  alive."  "•  This  statement  is, 
howe\tT,  an  exaggeration.  Oscar  Montelius,  who  has  investigated 
the  decrease  of  the  population  in  Sweden  on  the  basis  of  the  Peter's 
Pence  paid  before  and  after  the  Black  Death,  finds  that  the  plague 

'  Island.tke  Atuialer,  p.  'iTf). 

*  Srriplorum  licriun  Dunicnrurn,  VII.,  2.  Iljismiis  N'yonip,  Ilistorink 
Skildring  nf  Til.Htandcn  i  Dnniruirk  og  S'orgc  i  (rhirf  og  tiyrrc  Tidcr,  CojH'n- 
hagen,  IS(),S,  vol.  I.,  p.  228  ff.     A.  Faye,  Norskc  Sagn. 

'  Diplomntnrium  Nonvegicum,  V.,  1,  p.  166;  XI.,  1,  p.  40  f.  ;  XII.,  1,  p.  76. 

*Gustav  Storm,  Islnndskc  Annalcr,  p.  27o. 


14  HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  11 

carried  away  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  population  in  that 
country,^  Professor  J.  E.  Sars,  who  has  made  a  similar  investiga- 
tion in  Norway,  finds  that  the  decrease  of  the  population  in  that 
kingdom  was  considerably  less  than  in  Sweden,  probably  because 
it  was  less  densely  populated  ;  that  the  loss  did  not  exceed  one-third." 
The  calamity  was,  nevertheless,  overwhelming.  Commerce  was 
almost  at  a  standstill,  the  voyages  to  Greenland  almost  ceased,^ 
many  estates  lay  uncultivated,  and  a  number  of  leading  men  in 
church  and  state  were  dead.  There  is,  indeed,  evidence  that  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  life  were  carried  on  in  the  customary  routine  way, 
but  a  stunning  blow  had  been  dealt  all  optimism  and  enterprise, 
and  the  consequences  were  the  more  serious  because  of  the  low  ebb 
of  national  vigor. 

After  the  expiration  of  the  ten  years'  truce  which  had  been  con- 
cluded at  Novgorod  in  1326,  hostilities  with  the  Russians  had  been 
renewed.  In  1348  King  Magnus  crossed  the  Baltic  Sea  with  an 
army,  and  fought  a  campaign  in  Finland,  but  the  Black  Death  put 

1  Oscar  Montelius ;  Forsell  och  Wirsen,  Svensk  Tidsskrift  for  Literatur,  Poli- 
tik,  och  Ekonomi,  1870,  p.  219-20. 

In  Sweden  one  penning  in  Peter's  Pence  was  paid  yearly  by  every 
household.  In  the  period  1333-1350  the  average  sum  per  year  was  221  f 
marks,  wliile  in  the  years  1351-1353  the  average  sum  was  1321  marks.  The 
population  would,  therefore,  stand  in  the  same  ratio. 

2  In  Norway  the  Peter's  Pence  was  one  penning  from  every  man  and 
woman  who  owned  property  to  the  value  of  three  marks.  J.  E.  Sars,  Til 
Oplysning  om  Folkemccngdens  Bevcegelse  i  Norgefra  del  ISde  til  del  17de  Aarhun- 
drede,  Hislorisk  Tidsskrift,  anden  rsekke,  vol.  III.,  p.  281  ff.  Dr.  H.  Hilde- 
brand,  Svcriges  Mcdellid,  vol.  I.,  p.  58  ff.  C.  G.  Styffe,  Skandinavien  under 
Unionstiden,  2d  ed.,  p.  94.  P.  A.  Munch,  Det  norske  Folks  Historic,  anden 
hovedafdehng,  Unionsperioden,  f0rste  del,  p.  888  ff.  J.  E.  Sars,  Nyt  His- 
lorisk Tidsskrift,  vol.  V.,  p.  243  f.  A.  L.  Faye,  Den  sorle  D^d  i  det  14de 
Aarhundrede,  Christiania,  1880.  J.  E.  Sars,  Hanseaternes  H andelsherred^mme 
og  den  store  MandedM,  Udsigl  over  den  norske  Historic,  vol.  III. 

^  After  Iceland  and  Greenland  were  united  with  Norway,  they  became 
crown  colonies,  and  the  king  regulated  all  commerce  with  these  islands.  In 
the  charter  granted  the  German  merchants  in  1294,  it  was  stipulated  that 
they  should  not  sail  north  of  Bergen,  except  where  it  was  granted  as  a  special 
favor.  Alexander  Bugge  considers  it  probable  that  the  crown  established  a 
monopoly  of  the  trade  mth  these  colonies  for  the  benefit  of  companies  in 
Bergen  and  Trondhjem.  Only  one  merchant  ship  Avas  dispatched  to  Green- 
land every  year,  and  if  this  failed  to  reach  its  destination  the  colony  remained 
wholly  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  . 

I 


II  TIIK    REIGN    OF    HAAKON    MAONUSSON   THE    YOUNGKR  15 

,1     to])  to  the  war.     Tlie  exhausted  and  afHicte<l  kinK<l(jms  needed 
ce  above  all  things,  hut  the  kiu^;  inunediately  undertook  a  new 
M'dition,  whieh  was  as  unsue('e.-.si'»il  as  the  first.     In  liiol  the  Pope 
iructed  the  clergy  of  Sweden  and  Norway  to  preacli  a  crusade 
uj,'ainst  the  Russians,'  and  Ma^nuis  raised  a  small  army  of  volunteers 
with  which  he  ajjain  entered  Finland  ;  hut  instead  of  gaining  renown 
as  a  defender  of  the  Catholic  faith,  he  only  proved  his  incompetence. 
Tiie  treasury  was  empty,  his  debts  had  increased,  and  new  dissatis- 
faction had  been  created,  especially  among  the  n(jl)ility. 

4.    TiiK  Rf.icn'  of  Haakon  Magnusson'  the  Youx(;er 

Haakon  Magnusson  a.scended  the  throne  of  Norway  in  13.j5,  having 
reached  the  age  of  fifteen  years.^  The  two  kingdoms  were  not  com- 
pletely separated,  as  might  have  been  expected,  as  several  provinces 
were  still  retained  by  Magnus.  Besides  Vestfold  and  Skienssyssel, 
which  he  retained  in  his  own  name,  his  queen,  Blanche,  kejit  Rana- 
fylke,  Borgarsyssel,  and  Iceland  as  her  Norwegian  dowry.  This 
was  an  im])ortant  modification  of  the  Act  of  Varberg  of  VM'.i,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  two  kingdoms  shouki  be  separated  as  soon  as  Haakon 
became  of  age,  but  it  seems  that  the  Norwegian  magnates  made 
this  concession  without  j)rotest,  as  Magnus  had  yielded  to  their 
demand  that  the  union  should  be  dissolved.  The  districts  retained 
by  King  Magnus  and  his  queen  were  not  severed  from  Nonvay,  but 
were  to  revert  to  the  crown  upon  the  death  of  the  royal  pair.  But 
through  this  parceling  out  of  the  provinces  and  possessions  of  the 
kingdom,  Norway  continued  to  ])e  afTectcd  by  the  subsequent  check- 
ered fortunes  of  Magnus  Smek. 

Till-  expeditions  to  Russia  had  left  Magnus  in  great  financial  diffi- 
culties. Money  could  be  borrowed  oidy  in  small  cjuantities  for 
short  periods,  and  these  distress  loans  aggravated  rather  than  re- 
lieved the  deploral^le  financial  situation.  In  W)i)  he  was  excom- 
municated l)y  the  PojX'  for  failure  to  jiay  his  debts,  and  he  had 
already  been  obliged  to  pawn  his  two  crowns  to  the  city  of  Liibeck 

^  Diplomdlnriuin  Xorwcgicum,  vol.  VI.,  no.  200;  vol.  VII.,  no.  121'). 
*  Dctmars  i'hronik  herauxfuijthrn  ion  CruutojT,  \i.  J.'Jt.      P.  F.  Sulim,   His- 
toric af  Danmark,  XII.,  p.  22S  ff. 


16  HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

for  a  small  loan.  The  political  outlook  was  not  encouraging.  King 
Magnus'  brother-in-law,  Duke  Albrecht  of  Mecklenburg,  had  entered 
into  a  secret  compact  with  King  Valdemar  of  Denmark  to  wrest 
from  Magnus  the  province  of  Sk§,ne.^  At  home  he  was  opposed  by 
the  discontented  nobles,  who  for  some  time  had  pursued  a  well- 
defined  policy  of  increasing  their  power  and  privileges  at  the  king's 
expense.  The  violent  and  often  disloyal  nobles  found  a  new  oppor- 
tunity to  nurse  their  growing  discontent  when  Magnus  bestowed  the 
greatest  honors  on  his  favorite,  Bengt  Algotsson,  whom  he  made 
Duke  of  Halland  and  Finland,  and  governor  of  Skane.-  His  motives 
for  doing  this  are  left  wholly  to  conjecture.  Did  he  attempt  to  win 
a  competent  ally  for  the  struggle  with  the  nobility,  the  approach  of 
which  he  must  have  foreseen  ?  It  is  not  improbable,  but  this  move 
hastened  the  crisis.  The  nobles  easily  persuaded  Prince  Eirik  that 
he  had  been  slighted.  His  younger  brother  Haakon  was  already 
king  of  Norway ;  ^  the  royal  favorite,  Bengt  Algotsson,  had  been 
made  duke,  while  Eirik  had  neither  titles  nor  possessions.  In  1356 
he  raised  the  standard  of  revolt.  Aided  by  the  nobles,  he  surprised 
and  captured  Bengt,  and  forced  Magnus  to  cede  the  whole  of  southern 
Sweden.  Albrecht  of  Mecklenburg,  who  had  encouraged  him  with 
a  view  to  his  own  benefit,  secured  for  himself  and  his  sons  southern 
Halland  and  a  part  of  Sk^ne.  But  not  even  these  liberal  conces- 
sions satisfied  the  rebellious  Eirik,  who  now  assumed  the  title  of 
king.  He  broke  without  hesitation  the  agreements  which  he  had 
made,  and  seized  one  district  after  another  of  his  father's  remaining 
possessions  until  he  ruled  all  Sweden.  But  in  1359  both  he  and 
his  queen  suddenly  died.^     Magnus  again  mounted  the  throne,  and 

1  C.  E.  F.  Reinhardt,  Valdemar  Atierdag,  228  f. 

^  Scripiores  Rerum  Danicarum,  VI.,  p.  530. 

^  St.  Birgitta,  who  voiced  the  general  sentiment  of  her  people,  expressed  dis- 
approval of  the  arrangement  by  which  the  younger  brother  Haakon  received 
the  hereditary  Idngdom  of  Norway,  while  Eirik  had  to  be  satisfied  with 
Sweden,  where  the  kingship  was  elective.  The  hereditary  kingship  was  re- 
garded as  the  more  stable  and  honorable,  hence  Norway  was  regarded  as  the 
more  desirable  of  the  two  kingdoms. 

''  The  rumor  was  spread  that  Eirik  and  his  queen  were  poisoned.  (See 
Islandske  Annaler,  p.  277.)  But  the  report  seems  to  be  only  an  attempt  of 
the  common  people  to  account  for  their  sudden  death.  They  probably  died 
In  the  small-pox  epidemic  raging  at  the  time. 


II  TlIK    KEIGN    OF    HAAKON    MAGNU880N    TlIK    YOUNGEK  17 

the  iiohlt's,  wlioiii  lu*  suiniii()rif<l  to  Ji  couiK-il,  a^Tccd  that  evervtliin^j 
should  hens  before,  even  as  if  the  uj)risinj;  startcil  hy  llirik  had  not 
taken  piaee.  This  a^,'reement  was  subscrihed  to  also  by  Kin^  Haakon 
of  Norway.  But  Maj;nus  was  not  even  now  suffered  to  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  peaee.  Not  lonj;  after  he  had  regained  the  throne,  Kinj; 
\'aldcniar  of  Dciiinark  eiittTfd  Swrdcii  with  an  arin\-  and  besi(';,'cd 
the   castle   of   IIcl.sin;,d)orj^'. 

Albreciit  of  Mecklenburg,  who  was  playing  the  double  role  of 
Magnus'  friend  and  Valdemar's  secret  ally,  seems  to  have  been 
placed  in  command  of  the  castle  by  the  unsuspecting  Maginis,  and 
as  soon  as  the  king  withdrew  to  the  northern  districts  of  his  realm, 
Albrecht  surrendered  Ilelsingborg  to  King  N'aldemar,  wh(j  also  seized 
Ski\ne  and  Hlekinge.  A  Danish  chronicle  says  that,  "taking  ad- 
vantage of  Magnus'  lack  of  penetration,  Valdemar  gained  possession 
of  Ski\ne  through  fraud  and  deceit." 

Magnus'  weakness  encouraged  Valdemar  to  continue  his  opera- 
tions. In  the  summer  of  13G1  he  captured  the  island  of  Oland.  and 
seized  Gothland,  where  he  sacked  the  rich  cit\'  of  Wisby.  This  bold 
and  unexpected  move  greatly  alarmed  the  Haltic  cities  of  the  Ilan- 
seatic  League,  who  feared  that  a  similar  fate  might  befall  them. 
Negotiations  were  begun  with  a  view  to  bring  about  an  alliance 
between  the  Ilanseatic  cities  and  the  kingdoms  of  Norway  and  Sweden 
against  Valdemar,  but  the  greed  and  selfishness  of  the  cities  frus- 
trated the  j)lan.  In  the  fall  of  li^bl,  Haakon,  who  had  always  been 
a  loyal  son,  had  a  serious  (piarrel  with  his  father,  and  e\en  imj)risoned 
him  for  a  time.'  The  "Icelandic  Amials"  state  that  "Haakon  im- 
prisoned Magims  Ix'cause  he  promise*!  to  cede  a  part  of  his  kingdom 
to  \'aldeinar."  -  However  this  may  be,  he  seems  to  ha\e  been 
l)rompte<l  to  the  act  by  the  nobles.     His  resolute  action  won  their 

'  Enoa  Silvio  Piceolomini  (Aeneas  Sylvius),  later  Pope  Pius  II.,  wrote  in 
1  }.")7  that  Haakon  was  a  superb  man  and  wonderfully  loved  by  his  people; 
that  all  liis  deeds  sliow  him  to  hav(>  been  a  Rood  son,  father,  man,  and  kiiiR, 
except  that  in  his  youth  h(>  sufTcred  himself  to  be  persua(h'd  by  the  Swedish 
Council  lo  imprison  his  fatlier,  wliich  dct'd  lie  recompensed  later  by  filial 
obetlifiice  and  support.  Smnliuycr  til  dvt  tiorskr  Folks  Spnxj  oy  Hislorif, 
vol.  III.,  p.  ()i:?.  Dii)l(nn<il(tiium  Suicanum.  III.,  p.  7(J8  ff.  A.  Huitfeldt. 
DaniiKirks  liifus  Krdnikv,  p.  4[YA. 

*Gustav  Storm,  Islandske  Annalcr,  p.  2"J(i. 
VOL.  II  — c 


18  HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  11 

favor,  and  he  was  made  king  of  Sweden  a  few  months  later,  to  rule 
that  kingdom  jointly  with  his  father.  In  their  war  with  Denmark 
the  Hanseatic  cities  were  unsuccessful.  Valdemar  captured  the 
greater  part  of  their  fleet,  and  after  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  take 
Helsingborg,  their  commander,  John  Wittenborg,  was  forced  to 
conclude  an  armistice  and  withdraw  his  forces.  On  his  return  to 
Liibeck  he  was  condemned  to  death  and  executed. 

Both  Magnus  and  Haakon  had  learned  to  understand  the  advan- 
tage of  maintaining  cordial  relations  with  Valdemar,  for  they  were 
now  opposed  by  the  Hanseatic  League  as  well  as  by  the  nobles  at 
home,  who  sought  to  destroy  their  power.  In  1363  a  friendly  agree- 
ment was  finally  concluded  between  the  three  kings.  Magnus  ceded 
to  Valdemar  the  provinces  which  had  been  seized  by  the  Danes, 
and  the  friendship  was  further  cemented  by  the  marriage  of  King 
Haakon  to  Valdemar's  ten-year-old  daughter  Margaret.^  Two 
months  later  the  Danish  prince,  KristoflFer,  died,  and  Margaret 
became  eligible  to  the  throne  of  Denmark,  a  circumstance  which 
ultimately  led  to  the  union  of  the  three  Northern  kingdoms. 

The  Swedish  nobles  were  deeply  offended,  as  they  regarded  the 
concessions  made  to  King  Valdemar  as  a  treasonable  sacrifice  of 
the  interests  of  their  country,  and  they  decided  to  offer  the  crown 
of  Sweden  to  Albrecht  of  Mecklenburg.  He  offered  them  his  next 
oldest  son,  Albrecht,  who  was  chosen  king  of  Sweden  in  1364  after 
Magnus  and  Haakon  had  been  formally  deposed.  They  received 
no  aid  in  their  effort  to  defend  their  throne.  King  Valdemar  was 
absent  on  a  visit  to  Pope  Urban  V.  in  Avignon,  and  the  Norwegian 
nobles  would  not  begin  a  war  to  keep  them  on  the  throne  of  Sweden. 
They  succeeded,  nevertheless,  in  raising  a  small  army,  with  which 
they  took  the  field  against  King  Albrecht ;  but  they  were  defeated 
in  the  battle  of  Gata,  March  3,  1365.  Haakon  escaped,  severely 
wounded,  but  Magnus  was  captured  and  imprisoned  in  Stockholm 
castle,  where  he  was  confined  till  1371,  when  he  was  finally  set  free 
on  the  payment  of  a  ransom  of  12,000  marks  of  silver.^    Both  he 

1  C.  E.  F.  Reinhardt,  Valdemar  Alterdag,  p.  324. 

2  A  mark  of  silver  was  half  a  pound  of  pure  silver,  Cologne  weight,  or 
233.858  grams.  It  was  worth  about  thirty-seven  crowns  or  ten  dollars. 
But  as  the  purchasing  power  of  money  was  over  eight  times  as  great  at  that 


II    TIIK    IIANSEATIC    LEAGUE    GAIN'S    ABCENDEXCY    IN   TJri:    N'oltTII       19 

Mid  IlaakoM  had  to  rcliiuiuisli  their  chiiin  U>  the  throne,  Imt  Magnus 
ceived  the  income  from  the  provinces  Vestergothmd,  Dalsland,  and 
Vermhmd  durinp  his  lifetime.  After  he  regainetl  his  hhcrty,  he  spent 
his  remaining  years  in  Xorsvay,  where  the  people  hked  his  kindness 
of  heart,  and  called  him  Magnus  the  (jood.  Me  perished  in  a  ship- 
wreck on  the  B0mnultjnrd,  in  western  Norway,  December  1,  I'.WA.^ 

5.   The  IIanseatic  League  Gains  Ascendency  in  the  Xonrri 

\Vi\en  Valdemar  Atterdag,  in  13G0,  seized  Sk§,ne,  and  shortly 
after  also  Oland  and  Gothland,  ]\Iagnus  Smek  and  his  son.  King 
Haakon  of  Norway,  formed  an  alliance  with  the  IIanseatic  cities 
against  him.  This  alliance  did  not  last  long,  as  neither  of  the  kings 
aided  the  cities  in  their  war  against  Valdemar  in  13G2,  but  the  IIan- 
seatic merchants  had  been  able  to  obtain  a  new  charter  (1301),  in 
which  they  were  granted  unrestricted  permission  to  trade  in  both 
kingdoms  whenever  and  in  whatsoever  manner  they  pleased.  They 
could  even  remain  with  their  wares  as  long  as  they  pleased,  without 
being  obliged  to  bear  the  burdens  of  ordinary  citizens.  This  charter 
enabled  them  to  gain  final  control  over  all  trade  in  every  part  of 
the  country.  They  not  only  seized  all  commerce,  but  they  began 
also  to  do  the  retail  trade  with  the  people  of  the  country  districts, 
which  had  hitherto  been  reserved  for  the  Norwegian  merchants. 
In  this  way  they  destroyed  all  competition  by  forcing  the  Nor- 
wegian merchants  even  out  of  the  local  trade.  It  was,  indeed,  al- 
ways stated  in  the  charters  that  the  Norwegian  merchants  should 
enjoy  the  same  privileges  in  the  German  cities  as  the  IIanseatic 
merchants  enjoyed  in  Norway,  but  these  were  only  meaningless 
phrases,  as  Norwegian  commerce  was  already  destroyed.  Bergen, 
the  great  depot  of  the  trade  with  the  North,  became  one  of  the  most 
important  cities  of  the  League.  The  IIanseatic  colony  in  Bergen 
seems  to  jiave  l)een  definitely  organized  about  1.350.^     Its  three  thou- 

time  as  at  prespnt,  a  mark  of  silver  would  liave  a  rral  valuo  of  about  $S0  in 
our  nionoy.     Heiicp  tho  ransom  would  amount  to  about  S'.K)(),()(X). 

'  Isltindslce  Antuilcr,  p.  ',MV,\. 

*  Priedrich  Bruns,  Die  Luhecker  Dcrgcufnhrcr  unci  ihre  Chrnnistik  (Berlin, 
inoO),  Die  Bcgrundung  der  hansisch-lubeckischcr  Machtstellung  in  Bergen. 
Ludvig  Holberg,  Bergens  Beskrivelse,  p.  202  fT. 


20  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

sand  merchants,  masters,  and  apprentices,  all  armed  and  robust  men, 
were  not  allowed  to  marry,  or  mingle  socially  in  any  way  with  the 
townspeople.  They  fonned  a  distinct  community  —  a  state  within 
the  state  —  governed  wholly  by  their  own  laws.  If  a  member  of 
the  colony  committed  any  misdeed,  he  could  not  be  brought  to  jus- 
tice by  the  city  authorities,  and  if  the  offense  was  a  grave  one,  he 
could  easily  be  smuggled  out  of  the  city  on  a  German  merchant  vessel. 
At  times  these  foreign  merchants  would  carry  on  a  veritable  reign 
of  terror  in  the  city,  as  they  well  knew  that  the  authorities  did  not 
dare  to  resist.  In  1365  they  broke  into  the  royal  residence,  and 
forced  the  commander  of  the  city  to  grant  every  request;  where- 
upon they  dragged  one  of  his  servants  from  a  monastery,  and  beheaded 
him  without  a  trial.  They  then  forced  the  bishop  to  grant  them 
absolution  for  their  deeds,  and  compelled  the  city  council  to  decide 
the  case  in  their  favor.  In  case  resistance  was  offered,  they  threat- 
ened to  burn  the  bishop's  residence  and  the  whole  city.  It  is  true 
that  this  species  of  tyranny  and  brigandage  affected  directly  only 
the  city  of  Bergen,  that  it  was  a  local  evil  which  did  not  imperil  the 
peace  and  liberty  of  the  people  in  general ;  but  it  was,  nevertheless, 
a  national  humiliation,  and  furnished  positive  proof  of  the  nation's 
failing  strength.  It  was  a  foretaste  of  the  kind  of  blessing  which 
Norway  was  to  enjoy  under  the  galling  commercial  yoke  of  the  Han- 
seatic  League.^ 

1  J.  E.  Sars,  Hanseaternes  Handelsherred^mme,  Udsigt  over  den  norske 
Hislorie,  vol.  III.  Schafer,  Die  Hansestddte  und  Konig  Waldemar  von  Dane- 
mark.  Ludvig  Daae,  Del  tyske  Hanseforbund,  Historiske  Skildringer,  II. 
Alexander  Bugge,  Handel  og  Byliv  nord  for  Alperne;  VerdenskuUuren,  edited 
by  Aage  Frlis,  vol.  IV.,  p.  109  i!f.  W.  Cunningham,  Groivth  of  English  Indits- 
try  and  Commerce.  W.  Vogel,  Nordische  Seefahrten  im  fruheren  Mittelalter. 
P.  A.  Munch,  Del  norske  Folks  Historie,  part  II.,  vol.  I.,  804-805.  Alexander 
Bugge,  Handelen  mellem  England  og  Norge  indtil  Begyndelsen  af  del  15de 
Aarhundrede,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie  raekke,  vol.  IV.  William  Christen- 
sen,  Unionskongerne  og  Hansestcederne,  Copenhagen,  1905.  O.  A.  0verland, 
Norges  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  489  ff.  Kr.  Erslev,  Danmarks  Riges  Historie, 
Den  senere  Middelalder,  p.  345  ff.  Wolfgang  Menzel,  Germany  from  the 
Earliest  Period.  Islandske  Annaler,  edited  by  Gustav  Storm.  Yngvar  Niel- 
sen, Bergen  fra  de  celdsle  tider  indtil  Nutiden.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Af  Norges 
Historie,  Norge  og  Hansaforbundet,  95  ff.  Sartorius,  Geschichte  des  hanseat- 
ischen  Bundes.  Friedrich  Bruns,  Die  Lubecker  Bergenfahrer  und  ihre  Chroni- 
stik  {Hansische  Geschichtsquellen,  Neue  Folge,  Band  II.),  Berlin,  1900. 


11  THK    ilANSEATIC    LFIACJLE    (iAINS    ASCENDENCY    IN    THE    NOKTU       21 

When  Haakon  Magniisson  was  deprived  of  the  tlirone  of  Sweflen, 
he  devoted  more  special  attention  to  the  affairs  of  liis  own  kingdom 
of  Norway.  He  had  seen  the  injurions  effects  produce<l  by  the  char- 
ters and  hhcrties  granttnl  the  Ilanseatic  merchants;  he  was  loath  to 
keep  the  aj^reenients  wliich  he  had  made  with  them;  and  looke<l  for 
an  opportunity  to  shake  off  their  commercial  yoke.  He  made  regu- 
lations which  favored  the  native  merchants,  and  infrinj^ed  on  the 
rij^hts  of  the  Ciernians  j^ranted  in  their  charters;  and  in  tlie  hope  of 
resistinji  them,  if  they  attempted  to  use  force,  he  made  an  alliance 
with  King  Valdemar  of  Denmark.  The  Ilanseatic  cities  saw  the 
danger,  and  determined  to  break  the  opposition  of  the  two  Xorthern 
sovereigns.'  Already  in  \'.U){j  they  were  uttering  loud  complaints 
about  encroachments  made  by  the  kings  of  Denmark  and  Norway 
(III  their  charters  and  trade  privileges,  and  made  extensive  prepara- 
tions for  a  decisive  war  against  the  two  realms.  The  cities  of  the 
lialtic  seacoast  were  the  leaders  in  the  undertaking,  but  they  also 
persuadetl  the  other  cities  of  the  League  to  join.  In  1367  a  general 
Ilanseatic  meeting,  the  largest  of  the  kind  ever  held,  was  assembled 
at  Cologne,  and  a  coalition  for  war  was  organize<l  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  League.  The  cities  agreed  to  assist  each  other  faithfully 
against  the  kings  of  Denmark  and  Non^'ay ;  no  city  should  carry 
on  negotiations,  or  conclude  peace  separately,  and  the  compact 
should  remain  in  force  three  years  after  peace  was  cr)nclude<i.^    The 

'  Tlic  (iiTiiKin  niert'biints  feared  lest  they  should  be  shut  out  from  the 
huTutive  trade  with  the  North  on  whieh  they  depended  for  many  of  their 
staple  artieles,  such  as  fish,  herring,  furs,  hides,  etc.  Dried  codfish,  one  of 
the  chief  commercial  articles,  was  exported  from  Bergen.  The  herring 
fisheries  on  the  coast  of  Bohuslen  were  esptH;ially  important  at  the  time. 
Fishing  boats  and  fishermen  from  (lermany,  tlu'  Xetherlands,  Denmark,  and 
Sejindinavia  would  assemble  in  large  numbers  during  the  fishing  season  in 
the  two  towns  Skunor  and  Falsterlx).  where  they  built  storehouses  and 
de|M)ts,  and  where  great  nuirkets  were  held.  These  two  towns.  situate<l  less 
than  two  miles  apart  on  a  jutting  p(>ninsuhi,  became  one  of  the  leading 
trading  places  in  the  North.  A  French  nobleman  who  .siiiled  through  the 
Sound  in  the  fourteenth  century  on  his  way  to  Prussia  states  that  40,()(K) 
boats  and  :i(K),(KK)  people  took  part  in  the  lu'rring  fisheries  during  the  months 
«)f  Septemb(>r  and  October.  Alexander  Bugge,  llnmlti  oy  Hyliv  nord  for 
Alpiruf,   Vcrdt  nskullnrcti.  »'dited  l)y  .\ag«>  Friis,  vol.  IV.,  p.  170. 

'  Jacobus  Langebek,  Scriptorca  licrum  Danicarum,  VI.,  p.  522.  Ddmars 
Chronik,  von  Cirautoff,  \^.  211. 


22  HISTORY   OF   THE    NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

warships  should  assemble  at  Easter,  1368,  in  the  Sound.  Duke 
Albrecht  of  Mecklenburg  and  his  son,  the  king  of  Sweden,  the  counts 
of  Holstein,  and  many  nobles  in  Jutland,  led  by  Claus  Limbek,  were 
also  persuaded  to  join  the  coalition.  The  courage  of  the  allies  rose 
with  their  numbers.  They  agreed  to  partition  Denmark  so  that  the 
king  of  Sweden  should  receive  Skane  and  the  island  of  Gothland; 
Albrecht  of  Mecklenburg,  Seeland  and  some  of  the  smaller  islands; 
and  the  counts  of  Holstein  should  receive  Jutland,  Fyen,  Langeland, 
etc.  King  Valdemar  must  have  been  aware  of  the  grave  danger 
which  threatened  his  kingdom,  but  there  is  no  indication  that  he 
took  any  decisive  steps  to  safeguard  his  realm. ^  Valdemar  was  a 
sagacious  though  unscrupulous  statesman  —  a  great  ruler,  but  not 
really  a  warrior,  and  when  so  many,  even  of  his  own  nobles,  joined 
the  coalition  against  him,  he  seems  to  have  despaired  of  success  in 
the  War.  He  turned  the  government  over  to  the  Lord  High  Con- 
stable (drost),  Henning  Podbusk,  and  left  the  kingdom.^  He  went 
to  Germany,  but  what  he  had  in  mind  is  not  clear.  He  may  have 
sought  to  get  aid,  or  he  may  have  thought  that  the  Council  would 
be  able  to  make  peace  on  better  terms  if  he  were  not  present. 

Off  the  Island  of  Riigen  the  League  collected  in  1368  a  fleet  of 
seventeen  large  war  vessels  and  many  smaller  ones,  carrying  200 
horses  and  1540  warriors.  This  force  was  to  operate  against  Den- 
mark, and  the  victory  was  swiftly  and  cheaply  won,  as  no  Danish 
fleet  appeared  to  offer  battle.  Copenhagen  was  captured  and  sacked, 
a  German  garrison  was  placed  in  the  castle,  and  the  harbor  was 
obstructed  by  sinking  ship-hulls  at  the  entrance.  Elsinor  (Helsing0r), 
Aalholm,  Nykoping,  Malmo,  Skanor,  and  Falsterbo  were  captured. 
Seeland  was  harried  with  fire  and  sword.     The  king  of  Sweden  took 

'  Tradition  says  that  when  he  received  the  Hanseatic  cities'  declaration 
of  war,  he  improvised  as  an  answer  this  Low  Dutch  stanza : 
Seven  unde  seventig  hensen 
Hefft  seven  unde  seventig  gensen ; 
Wo  mi  di  gensen  niehten  biten, 
Nah  den  hensen  frage  iek  niehten  schiten. 
This  is  without  doubt  only  invention,  but  the  impression  seems  to  have 
prevailed  that  Valdemar  was  overconfident  and  failed  to  make  preparations. 
C.  E.  F.  Reinhardt,  Valdemar  Atterdag  og  hans  Kongegjerning,  Copenhagen, 
1880. 

'^  Jacobus  Langebek,  Scriptores  Rerum  Danicarum,  vol.  VI.,  p.  631. 


II  THE    IIANSKATIC    LEAGUE    GAINS    ASCENDENCY    IN   THK    NOUTU       23 

Sk&ne,  and  tlif  counts  of  Ilolstcin  seized  the  greater  part  of  Jutland. 
"The  (uTinaiis  harrie<l  Jutland  and  all  the  i)«>s.se.ssioiii>  of  the  Danish 
king,"  says  the  old  anuali.st.' 

A  seeond  tleet  of  six  war  vessels  and  1 100  men  was  organized  in 
the  Netherlands  to  operate  against  Norway,  and  this  f(jrce  met 
as  little  resistance  as  the  first.  The  old  leding  system  in  Norway 
had  fallen  into  such  complete  decay  that  the  country  no  longer  had 
a  fleet  worthy  of  the  name.  The  districts  east  of  Lindesnes  were 
ruthlessly  harried,  and  fifteen  parishes  are  reported  to  have  been 
laid  waste.  Marstrand,  Konghelle,  and  Ljodhus  were  burned,  and 
as  King  Haakon  had  no  means  of  resisting  the  enemy,  no  alternative 
but  the  negotiation  of  peace  remaine<l.  On  August  10,  13tiS,  an 
annistice  was  arranged  at  Wismar,  which  should  last  till  Easter 
the  following  year.  During  this  interval  the  hostilities  should  cease, 
but  the  embargo  on  commerce  with  Norway  was  to  be  maintained, 
a  proviso  which  would  ultimately  compel  the  Norwegians  to  accept 
peace  on  any  terms  ofi'ered.  But  the  stipulations  regarding  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  were  not  kept.  The  seacoast,  as  far  as  Bergen, 
was  harried,  hou.ses  and  forests  were  burned,  and  an  effort  was  made 
to  so  terrorize  the  jjcople  that  tliey  would  never  again  attempt  to 
offer  resistance  to  the  Hanseatic  merchants. 

Before  the  war  broke  out,  the  Hanseatic  League  ordered  all  the 
Genium  merchants  in  Norway  to  leave  the  country.-  The  English 
merchants  seized  the  o|)portunity,  and  trie<l  to  reestablish  their 
trade  with  Norway,  l)ut  the  Germans  returned  and  droNc  tlicni  awa>'.' 

A  new  armistice  was  concluded  in  13G9,  which  should  last  till  K^TO, 

'  Ixlandske  Annaler,  edited  by  Gustav  Storm,  p.  3G1  f. 

*  The  ordor  rooalling  the  morchants  from  Bergen  was  issued  at  Liiheck, 
Feb.  2,  l',H')S>.  Diiilomdlnrium  Norwcyicum,  vol.  \'I1I.,  no.  1.S2.  In  a  letter 
to  the  LcatriR',  of  May,  l.'ifjS,  the  niercliants  of  Bernon  say  tliat  they  have 
obeyed  the  onler,  but  that  it  has  brought  tliem  irreparable  loss.  Diplo- 
mntariurn  iWorwigicurn,  vol.  V'lII.,  no.  184.  P.  A.  Muneh.  D<7  nnrxkc  Folks 
Historic,  part  II.,  vol.  I.,  p.  804  f.  Islaridske  Aitnalir,  edited  by  Storm, 
p.  270. 

'The  Kii^rlisli  complained  of  this  in  137"),  when  an  embassy  from  the  Han- 
seatic League  arrived  in  England,  and  .souRlit  to  obtain  a  renewal  of  the 
trade  privileges  of  Kdward  I. 'a  time.  Ilnnsencisse,  1st  series.  III.,  no.  31S.  §  1. 
Ale.xander  Bugge,  Ilnndclcn  mcllcvi  England  og  iWorgv,  llistorisk  Tidsskrifl, 
tredie  rwkke.   IV.,  p.  ST). 


24  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

when  peace  negotiations  should  begin  at  Bohus  castle.  These  nego- 
tiations at  first  led  only  to  the  prolongation  of  the  armistice,  and 
permanent  peace  was  not  concluded  till  1371.  Peace  with  Denmark 
was  concluded  at  Stralsund,  1370,  the  most  humiliating  which  any 
Northern  kingdom  had  ever  been  forced  to  conclude.  The  vic- 
torious Hanseatic  merchants  secured  the  renewal  of  all  their  trade 
privileges.  They  got  full  control  of  the  important  herring  fisheries 
on  the  coast  of  Bohuslen,  and  the  towns  and  castles  of  Skanor, 
Falsterbo,  Malmohus,  Helsingborg,  and  Varberg  were  ceded  to  them 
for  fifteen  years  as  a  war  indemnity.  Their  trade  privileges  were 
now  so  extensive  and  well  protected  that  all  competition  could  be 
excluded;  their  commercial  supremacy  in  the  North  was  absolute 
and  uncontested.^  The  only  trade  which  still  remained  to  the  native 
merchants  was  the  traffic  with  the  colonies  and  with  Nordland  (the 
northern  districts  of  Norway,  except  Finmarken).  From  Nordland 
fish  and  other  products  were  brought  to  Bergen,  and  sold  to  the 
German  merchants.  But  even  this  trade  was  soon  brought  under 
the  control  of  the  merchants  at  Bergen.^  The  "  Norderf ahrer " 
(Nordfarere),  as  the  Germans  called  the  native  traders  and  fisher- 

1  Friedrieh  Bruns  in  his  excellent  work,  Die  Liibecker  Bergensfahrer  und 
ihre  Chronislik,  gives  the  statistics  of  the  trade  between  Bergen  and  Liibeck. 
Summed  up  it  shows  the  following  results : 

Imported  to  Bergen  Exported  from  Bergen 

1369-1370     11,058^  marks  value  10,586 

1378  6,881     marks  value  18,955^ 

1379  7,564     marks  value  17,629 

1381       9,369     marks  value  19,072 

1383  5,783  J  marks  value        7,856 

1384  7,920  i  marks  value        20,623 1 

1385  9,211    marks  value         12,269 

It  will  be  seen  that  after  the  Hanseatic  merchants  gained  control  of  the 
trade,  they  exported  from  Bergen  goods  worth  about  twice  the  amount  of 
the  goods  imported.  As  trade  at  this  time  was  a  mere  barter,  Norway  re- 
ceived only  half  of  what  her  exported  goods  were  worth,  and  the  German 
merchants  were  reaping  an  immense  profit. 

2  Norske  So,  an  allegory  by  an  unknown  author,  describing  conditions  in 
Norway ;  quoted  by  Rasmus  Nyerup  in  Historisk-statislisk  Skildring  af  Til- 
slanden  i  Danmark  og  Norge  i  celdre  og  nyere  tider,  Copenhagen,  1803,  vol.  I., 
p.  327-340.     Ludvig  Holberg,  Bergens  Beskrivelse,  p.  265  ff. 


I'l.A'I'K    I 


Kkingen. 


liom  s  IN   riiK  Skvkmkkm  II  ("kmmkv 


II  TIIK    HAXSEATIC    LEA(JUK    GAIN'S    ASCE.VDEN'CY    IS   THE    NOKTIl       25 

men  who  carried  on  the  traffic  with  Xonlhiiid,  were  often  in  need. 
Their  cajjital  was  small,  and  the  inerehants  at  Ber^^en  j^ladly  furnislie<l 
them  the  needed  suj)j)iies,  after  an  agreement  had  been  made  that 
the  fish  l)ri)Ught  to  Bergen  should  he  sold  for  a  fixed  price,  which  was 
always  very  low.  In  this  way  the  Xordfarcre  were  kept  in  a  sort  of 
commercial  serlViom,  an  e\il  which  lasted  lonj^,  and  which  was 
eradicated  with  great  difficulty. 

As  to  the  nature  of  the  influence  e.xerted  by  the  Ilanseatic  mer- 
chants on  Norway's  connnercial  development  there  has  been  difTer- 
ence  of  opinion  among  historians.  1'.  A.  Munch  and  J.  K.  Sars 
have  held  that,  as  Norway  at  this  time  had  no  distinct  merchant 
class,  the  Ilanseatic  merchants  filled  an  empty  gaj),  and  stimulate<l 
Norwegian  trade  and  connnerce  to  new  growth.  They  had  more 
capital  and  better  business  methods  than  the  native  traders,  and 
although  their  control  of  Norwegian  commerce  i)rovcd  ruinous  to 
indivi<lual  traders  of  Bergen,  Tunsberg,  and  Oslo,  forcing  them  out 
of  business,  it  was  not  injurious  to  the  nation  as  a  whole. 

It  nuist  be  admitted  that  Norway's  decline  cannot  be  ascribed  to 
the  operations  of  the  Ilanseatic  merchants;  but  it  can,  nevertheless, 
not  be  doubted  that  a  strong  foreign  commercial  supremacy  estab- 
lished at  a  time  of  transition  and  natioiud  weakness  tended  to 
prolong  the  weakness,  and  hiii(lcre(|  the  free  unfolding  of  native 
enter|)rise  which  might  have  produced  a  new  national  dcxclopment. 
Alexander  Bugge  shows  that  already  at  the  time  of  Haakon  Ilaakons- 
son  and  Magims  Lagab0ter  a  new  and  quite  numerous  and  enter- 
prising Norwegian  mcrdiarit  class  was  springing  into  existence,  but 
its  further  developnu'ut  was  cut  short  by  the  Ilanseatic  commen-ial 
and  naval  ascendency.'  In  speaking  of  the  Norwegian  merchant.'^, 
Bugge  says : 

"Who,  then,  were  the  NorAvegians  who  carrietl  on  trade  and  sent 
their  shij)s  to  foreign  lands?  Here,  as  in  regard  to  cultural  life  in 
general,  the  reign  of  Haakon  Ilaakoiisson  fonns  a  |)erio(l  of  transi- 

'"Bul  if  you  aoquiro  a  >rreiit  doal  of  jjoods  on  your  Iradiiip  (expeditions, 
tlu'u  divide  it  into  tlircc  parts;  put  one  part  into  a  partnership  with  nuMi 
who  always  stay  in  the  cities,  and  are  trust  wort  liy  and  well  versed  in  tradt»." 
—  Thr  King's  Mirror,  eh.  4.  Ah'Xander  lluirtre,  llutuiilcu  melUm  England  og 
Norge,  Historisk  Tidsskrifl,  tredie  ra'kke.  W . 


26  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

tion.  We  learn  from  'The  King's  Mirror'  (written  by  a  courtier  at 
the  time  of  Haakon  Haakonsson)  that  it  was  customary  for  members 
of  the  chieftain  class  to  make  trading  expeditions  to  foreign  countries. 
But  foreign  ideas  of  knight-errantry  and  nobility  gained  a  firmer 
hold,  and  according  to  these  it  was  considered  inconsistent  with 
the  dignity  of  a  nobleman  to  carry  on  trade.  Ever  more  seldom 
did  the  Norwegian  chieftains  trade  in  foreign  lands,  even  though  we 
find  such  instances  even  in  the  century  following  (the  fourteenth). 
.  .  .  There  was,  then,  a  place  vacant  for  a  real  urban  merchant 
class  in  Norway.  But  did  no  such  class  exist  in  the  country  ?  The 
answer  will,  I  think,  be  both  yes  and  no.  .  .  .  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  at  the  time  of  Haakon  Haakonsson  such  a  class  was  spring- 
ing into  existence  in  Norway,  or  rather,  perhaps,  in  the  city  of  Ber- 
gen. Trade  was  so  brisk  and  extensive,  and  the  concourse  of  stran- 
gers so  great,  that  the  townspeople  could  no  longer  be  made  amenable 
to  the  same  laws  with  the  country  people,  as  hitherto.  Under 
Haakon  Haakonsson,  and  especially  under  his  son,  Magnus 
Lagab0ter,  the  cities  {i.e.  Bergen,  Nidaros,  Oslo,  and  Tunsberg) 
were  organized  as  distinct  communities,  separate  from  the  country 
districts ;  they  received  their  own  laws,  and  even  a  degree  of  self- 
government.  And  what  we  learn  from  unmistakable  facts  of  his- 
tory points  in  the  same  direction  —  that  in  the  cities,  especially 
in  Bergen,  there  was  a  class,  a  very  numerous  class,  whose  business 
it  was  to  carry  on  trade  with  foreign  countries,  or  rather  with  Eng- 
land ;  a  class  of  men  who  were  not  at  the  same  time  craftsmen  and 
farmers,  but  merchants  exclusively.  The  well-informed  author  of 
'The  King's  Mirror'  tells  us  that  there  were  men  who  resided  per- 
manently in  the  cities  and  carried  on  trade.  In  the  privileges  granted 
the  Norsemen  in  England,  and  in  the  treaties  concluded  between 
the  kings  of  Norway  and  England,  the  merchants  (mercatores) ,  but 
not  the  subjects  of  the  king  of  Norway,  are  mentioned.  In  the  time 
of  ]\Iagnus  Eiriksson  there  was  in  Bergen  a  separate  guild  of  '  Eng- 
landsfarere,'  traders  who  were  engaged  in  the  regular  traffic  between 
England  and  Norway  (no  such  guild  of  '  Tysklandsfarere  or 
Hollandsfarere'  is  mentioned).  Not  only  from  Bergen,  but  also 
from  other  Norwegian  cities,  was  trade  carried  on  with  foreign  coun- 
tries.    In  1225,  for  example,  there  came  to  Lynn  a  trader  from  Nidaros 


ir  OTHER    FEATURES    OF    HAAKON    MAONTSSON's    REIGN  27 

who  ciillt'd  himself  'Skule  Jarl's  merchant,'  who  was  permitted  to 
buy  200  tiuartcria  of  j^niiii  in  the  city.  But  these  sprouts  were  not 
allowed  to  thrive  and  j^row.  Had  it  only  been  a  century  earlier! 
Now  it  was  too  late.  The  strangers  had  gained  too  great  a  power, 
and  had  become  infiis|)ensable  to  the  country." 

'IMiere  is  reason  to  believe  that  peaceful  rivalry  would  have  re- 
awakened the  sj)irit  of  competition  and  stirred  Norwegian  commerce 
to  new  activity  and  growth.  This  rivalry  would  have  been  furnished 
by  the  uninterrupted  intercourse  with  Enj^land,  where  native  com- 
merce was  dc\('lopiiig.  Hut  the  forcibly  maintained  trade  monopoly 
of  the  (ieniiaii  merchants  removed  every  opportunity,  and  left 
.\orwegian  traders  and  shif)  owners  helpless  in  the  tightening  grip 
of  the  Ilanseatic  League,  which  was  not  progres.sive  in  spirit,  but 
which  nuiintained  its  supremacy  by  coercion  and  force. 

G.   Other  Fe.\tures  of  Haakon  Magnusson's  Reign 

When  King  Magnus  and  his  queen  died,  the  provinces  which  they 
had  held  in  Nor^vay  were  again  placed  under  the  administration  of 
the  NorvN'egian  government,  and  various  measures  adopted  show  an 
earnest  desire  also  to  strengthen,  as  far  as  i)ossible,  the  ties  between 
the  colonies  and  the  mother  country.  In  Iceland  and  the  Orkneys 
the  people,  as  well  as  the  sj/sscliiKnid,  were  required  to  take  an  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  king,  and  Henry  of  St.  Claire  was  made  Jarl  of 
the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands  in  preference  to  Alexander  de  le 
Anl,  who  failed  to  respond  to  a  rccjuest  to  come  to  Norway-,  where 
lie  would  be  granted  an  oi)i)ortunity  to  j)rove  his  title  to  the  jarldom. 
St.  (Maire  went  to  Norway,  and  did  iionuige  to  the  king,  subscribing 
also  to  a  document  which  imposed  great  obhgations  upon  him,  and 
placed  strict  limitations  upon  his  rights  and  powers  in  the  colony. 
But  such  agreements  were  more  easily  made  than  ke|)t.  There  is 
no  evidence  that  St.  Claire  did  not  intend  to  keep  his  word,  but 
Scotch  influence  was  growing,  and  as  .Norway's  naval  strength  was 
broken,  the  Norwegian  kings  found  it  ever  more  diiricult  to  exercise 
any  real  authority  in  the  colonies.  Even  onmnercially  the  ties 
were  weakening,  as  fewer  ships  now  sailed  between  Iceland,  Green- 
land, and  Nor\vay  than  fonnerly.     Of  nine  sliips  scheduled  for  Ice- 


28  HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

land  in  liiTG,  only  six  reached  their  destination,  the  others  being 
driven  hack  by  storm.  Greenland  was  visited  but  once  a  year  by 
the  "  Greenland-knarre, "  and  if  this  failed  to  cross  the  stormy  North 
Atlantic,  the  colony  remained  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  world 
till  the  following  year,  or  till  the  ship  succeeded  in  making  the  voyage. 
That  snch  periods  of  isolation  grew  ever  more  frequent  and  protracted 
was  evident,  and  proves  that  Norway's  hold  upon  her  distant  colony 
was  weakening,  but  it  is  not  strange  that  commerce  with  Greenland 
was  maintained  with  difficulty.  The  fact  that  the  Norwegians  were 
still  able  to  cross  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  more  or  less  regular  intervals 
proves  that  their  old-time  skill  and  daring  in  navigation  was  not  yet 
lost. 

The  union  with  Sweden  and  the  closer  relations  with  Denmark 
and  Germany,  established  through  the  altered  foreign  policy,  brought 
a  change  also  in  the  character  and  title  of  the  higher  officials  in  the 
kingdom.  Norway  had  few  castles,  it  is  true;  the  chief  ones,  and 
in  a  strict  sense  the  only  ones,  were :  Akershus,  Bohus,  Bergenhus, 
and  Tunsberghus,  but  these  became  of  greater  importance  than  for- 
merly. One  or  more  herreds,  or  districts,  were  placed  under  the 
castle,  and  the  income  from  these  was  collected  by  the  officer  in  com- 
mand, who  received  the  German  title  of  nogt,  foget  (foged),  and  the 
district  belonging  to  the  castle  was  called  fogetie  (Jogderi).  Even 
the  sysselmoBud  in  districts  where  there  were  no  castles  were  often 
called  fuget,  and  the  gjaldkeri  in  the  cities  was  sometimes  called  by- 
foget.  In  Norway  this  new  system  was  of  little  real  significance, 
however,  when  we  compare  it  to  that  of  Deimaark  or  Sweden,  where 
the  whole  kingdom  was  parceled  out  among  the  numerous  castles  of 
the  nobles.  Over  cities  and  larger  districts,  and  also  over  the  colony 
of  Iceland,  the  king  placed  royal  governors  called  hirdstjorar,  whose 
duties  are  but  imperfectly  known. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  Haakon  married  Margaret,  the 
daughter  of  King  Valdemar  Atterdag,  in  1363.  She  was  reared  in 
Norway  by  a  Swedish  lady,  Marta  Ulfsdotter,  a  daughter  of  St. 
Birgitta,  and  seems  to  have  resided  permanently  at  Akershus  castle 
in  Oslo,  where  her  son  Olav  was  born  in  1370,  when  the  young  queen 
was  ni  her  eighteenth  year.  After  peace  had  been  concluded  with 
the  Ilanseatic  cities  and  Duke  Albrecht  of  Mecklenburg,  in  Stral- 


II  OTHER   FEATURES    OF   HAAKON    MACJNUSSON's    REION  29 

iiid,  liiTO,  KiiiK  \  aldriniir  returned  U)  Deniiuirk  and  devoted  liim- 
if  to  the  reorganization  of  his  shattered  kingdom.'  Among  the 
many  problems  which  engage<l  his  attention  was  also  that  of  the  suc- 
•  (ssion.  As  his  only  son  had  died  some  years  previous,  Alhrecht,^ 
the  son  of  his  elder  daughter  lngel)J0rg,  and  ()la\-,  the  son  of  King 
ll.iakon  and  Margaret,  were  both  eligible,  but  in  order  to  obtain  a 
favoral)le  peace  with  Mecklenburg,  Valdemar  had  promised  to  sup- 
port Albrecht.'  This  seemed  to  give  him  the  better  chance  of  the 
two  candidates,  but  when  Valdemar  died  in  1375,  Albrecht  impru- 
dently assumed  the  title  of  "  King  of  Denmark  "  before  he  had  Ixcn 
elected.  lie  there])y  violated  the  principle  of  elective  kingship,  and 
offended  the  Danish  nobles,  wiiile  the  gifted  (^uecn  Margaret,  who 
seems  to  have  been  charming  to  a  very  urmsual  degree,  and  knew  how 
to  win  their  favor,  secured  the  election  of  her  five-year-old  son  Olav. 
The  young  king's  parents  should  act  as  regents  during  his  minority; 
but  as  King  Haakon  always  remained  in  Norway,  the  queen  herself 
be<'ame  the  real  regent  and  the  guardian  of  her  son.''  Olav  was 
already'  crown  prince  of  Norway,  and  his  election  to  the  throne  of 
Denmark  would  ultimately  lead  to  a  union  between  the  two  kingdoms 
similar  to  that  which  had  before  existed  between  Norway  and 
Sweden. 

King  TIaakon  \l.  had  been  forced  to  cede  the  throne  of  Sweden  to 
.Mbrccht  of  Mecklenburg,  but  he  refused  to  acknowledge  the  German 
prince  as  rightful  king.  When  his  father,  Magnus  Smek,  died,  he 
seized  the  provinces  which  that  king  had  been  suffered  to  retain  during 
his  lifetime,  and  hostilities  between  Norway  and  Sweden  continued, 
though  no  real  campaigns  were  fought  till  shortly  before  King 
Haakon's  death  in  13S0. 

'  Albrecht,  also  called  Albrocht  the  Younper,  was  a  nephew  of  King  Al- 
brecht of  SWCMJCII. 

'('.  K.  ilcinhanlt,  VabUmnr  Athrrlng,  p.  471  ;  appcMidix  12  PontAins  King 
Valdcinar's  letter  regarding  terin.s  of  peace  with  the  Hanseatic  cities  and  the 
suc(;os.sion. 

'  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Del  norskc  Rigsraad,  p.  248. 

*C.  Paludan-Miiller.  Obsirvaliotus  Criticac,  lOS  f.  Diplnmnlnnutn  \or- 
wcgicmn,  III.,  no.  4S4. 


30  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 

7.   TiiH  UxioN  OF  Norway  and  Denmark.    Queen  Margaret 

The  sudden  deatli  of  Haakon  VI.  placed  his  ten-year-old  son  Olav 
on  the  throne.  Queen  Margaret,  who  was  in  Denmark  at  the  time, 
hastened  to  Norway  to  arrange  for  the  succession  of  her  son,  and  Olav 
was  proclaimed  king  at  the  0rething  in  Tr0ndeh{gen.  A  formal  act 
of  union  of  the  two  kingdoms  must  also  have  1  cen  drawn  up,  but  no 
such  document  now  exists,  nor  is  it  anrw^hcre  mentioned.  A  union 
was  thus  brought  about  between  Norway  and  Denmark  which  was 
destined  to  last  for  433  years,  but  the  future  consequences  of  so  im- 
portant a  step  seem  to  have  caused  no  great  concern.  Margaret, 
who  was  very  ambitious,  hoped  that  the  union  would  be  permanent ; 
while  the  leading  men  of  the  two  kingdoms  seem  to  have  regarded  the 
union  as  a  temporary  expedient,  as  the  two  realms  had  nothing  in 
common  but  the  king.  During  Olav's  minority  Margaret  was  to 
act  as  regent  whenever  she  was  in  Norway,  but  when  she  was  not 
in  the  kingdom,  the  administration  was  to  be  directed  byAgmund 
Finnsson  as  regent,  assisted  by  the  chancellor,  Henrik  Henriksson.^ 
This  precaution  was  probably  taken  to  prevent  the  queen  from 
managing  the  affairs  of  Norway  while  she  was  staying  in  Denmark, 
as  the  situation  in  that  kingdom  was  still  so  difficult  that  it  would 
absorb  the  greater  part  of  her  attention.  Many  castles  and  prov- 
inces were  still  in  the  hands  of  the  allies,  who  had  fought  against 
Denmark  in  the  Hanseatic  war,  and  Margaret  had  to  employ  all  her 
skill  to  win  back  what  had  been  lost.  A  contemporary  Liibeck 
chronicler  writes : 

"In  the  year  1386  the  queen  of  Norway  gained  possession  of  the 
kingdom  of  Denmark  as  completely  as  her  father  Valdemar  had  held 
it.  This  she  did  with  great  ability  in  that  she  first  gained  possession 
of  Sk§,ne,  and  then  negotiated  with  her  enemies,  the  counts  of  Hol- 
stein,  concluded  a  permanent  peace,  and  granted  them  the  duchy 
of  Schleswig  as  a  fief.  When  this  was  done,  a  fear  and  trembling 
seized  all  the  nobles  of  the  kingdom,  as  they  saw  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  this  lady,  and  with  their  sons  they  now  offered  to  serve  her. 
She  summoned  before  her  all  the  fogcds  of  the  kingdom,  and  she 

*P.  A.  Munch,  Det  norske  Folks  Historic,  part  II.,  vol.  II.,  p.  131. 


II  QUEEN    MAKGARET  31 

went  from  one  castle  to  the  other  to  })e  hailed  as  queen.  She  also 
transferred  fogcds  fn^ni  one  castle  to  the  otiier,  even  as  abbots  move 
the  monks  from  monastery  to  monastery.  This  happened  even 
within  a  quarter  of  a  year,  before  Candlemas,  and  it  is  quite  ast(m- 
ishiiij;  that  a  woman,  who  before  was  so  poor  that  she  could  jjive  no 
one  a  meal  except  by  the  aid  of  her  friends,  l)ecause  all  her  castles 
were  encumbered,  more  by  force  than  by  debts,  now,  together  with 
her  son,  became  s(;  |)<)werful  in  a  quarter  of  a  year  that  she  lacked 
nothing  in  the  whole  kingdom." 

Making  due  allowance  for  the  metaphoric  expressions  of  the  chron- 
icler, it  is,  nevertheless,  clear  that  Margaret  was  a  worthy  successor 
of  her  illustrious  ancestors.  Munch  says:  "The  more  closely  we 
examine  the  political  events  in  the  North  at  this  time  the  more 
prominently  Margaret  comes  into  the  foreground  as  the  one  who 
surveys  and  controls  events,  and  whose  superior  mind  directs  the 
whole." 

The  relations  with  Sweden  continued  to  be  hostile.  In  1385  King 
Olav  became  of  age,  and  with  the  advice  of  his  mother  he  assumed 
the  title  of  "  King  of  Denmark  and  Norway  and  Heir  to  the  Kingdom 
of  Sweden,"  an  open  avowal  that  he  would  maintain  his  father's 
claim  to  the  Swedish  throne.  Albrecht's  power  in  Sweden  was  fast 
declining.  He  had  attempted  to  place  some  restrictions  on  the  grow- 
ing power  of  the  nobles,  and  this  caused  such  a  resentment  that  a 
strong  party  wished  to  place  Olav  on  the  throne  in  the  same  manner 
in  which  Albrecht  himself  was  made  king  in  i:-)G4.  The  repetition 
of  this  kind  of  coup  d'etat  was,  however,  averted  for  the  time  being 
by  the  sudden  death  of  King  Olav  at  Falsterbo  castle,  in  Sk&ne, 
1387.'    This  was  a  great  calamity  for  the  kingdom  of  Norsvay  as  well 

1  Tho  causo  of  Olav's  su(l(l«>n  dojith  is  unknown.  Tho  bolicf  that  he  had 
been  killed  or  imprisoned  by  his  own  niotlier  is  wholly  without  foundation. 
An  impostor  elaiiniufj  to  be  Kin>?  Olav  ajjpeared  some  j'ears  later,  but  he  was 
tried  and  e.veeuted.  See  II.  ('.  Behnnan,  Deretning  om  den  falske  Kong  Oluf 
Hagcns^ns  D^,  Copenhacen,  184G.  Chr.  Lango,  LiUeralurlidtntle,  Clu-istiania, 
184G,  p.  298  ff.  A.  Fabrieius,  Minder  Jra  Nordcns  Ifistoric,  p.  72,  Odenso, 
1898. 

According  to  the  law  of  succession,  the  heirs  to  the  throne  were  divided 
into  twelve  classes.  Albrecht,  the  son  of  Margaret's  elder  sister,  lugebjdrg, 
had  no  right  to  the  throne,  as  neither  of  his  parents  belonged  to  the  Nor- 


32 


HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE 


II 


as  for  Queen  Margaret  personally.  As  Olav  was  her  only  living  child, 
the  royal  family  became  so  nearly  extinct  at  his  death  that  for  the 
first  time  in  centuries  a  successor  had  to  be  placed  on  the  throne  by 
election.^  King  Albrecht  of  Sweden,  a  great-grandson  of  Magnus 
Smek,  was  the  only  heir  to  the  throne  of  Norway  according  to  the 
law  of  succession,  but  he  was  not  even  considered,  owing  to  his  great 
unpopularity  and  the  enmity  which  had  existed  between  him  and  the 
late  kings  of  Norway,  who  regarded  him  as  an  usurper.  Queen  Mar- 
garet had  no  direct  claim  to  the  throne.  She  was  not  a  member  of 
the  royal  family  of  Norway,  and  hitherto  no  woman  had  ruled  the 


wegian   royal    family.     Professor   Gustav   Storm    has   made   the   following 
diagram  of  the  situation  : 

Valdemar  King  Magnus  Eiriksson  (Smek) 

I  +1374    I 


Ingebj0rg     Margaret 


King  Haakon     oldest  son     oldest  daughter 
+  1380  (4)  I 


Albrecht 
(not  12) 


oldest  son 
(6) 
I 
oldest  son 

(10) 


oldest  son 
(11) 


King  Olav 
+  1387 


oldest  son 
(3) 

_J 

oldest  son 

(5) 


oldest  daughter 


oldest  son 
(9) 


oldest  son         illegitimate  son         oldest  daughter 

(1)  (7)  I 

oldest  son  oldest  son 

(2)  (8) 

Albrecht,  king  of  Sweden,  was  number  nine  in  order  of  succession.  Gustav 
Storm,  Dronning  Margretes  Valg  i  Norge,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  fjerde  rsekke, 
vol.  I. 

1  The  election  of  Queen  Margaret  was  in  harmony  with  the  Norwegian 
law  of  succession  which  provided  that,  when  no  heir  to  the  throne  was 
found,  the  one  who  had  the  best  claim  according  to  the  general  law  of  in- 
heritance should  be  chosen.  Since  King  Albrecht  of  Sweden  was  not  con- 
sidered, no  heir  existed,  and  Margaret  had  the  best  claim  as  the  heir  of  her 
son.  King  Olav.  In  the  Norwegian  letter  of  homage,  issued  Feb.  2,  1388,  it 
was  expressly  stated  that  she  was  chosen  because  she  was  Haakon's  queen 
and  the  mother  of  King  Olav.  Suhm,  Nye  Samling,  III,,  387.  Norsk  Tids- 
skrift for  Videnskab  og  Litteratur,  vol.  I.,  p.  230,  note  2. 


ir  QUEEN    MAUGAUET  33 

kiiij^dom,  hut  Iut  ability  and  i)()i)Mlarity  couiite<l  strongly  in  Iier 
favor.'  Scvi'ii  days  after  Kin^  Oluv's  dcatli  slie  was  chosen  ruhng 
queen  of  Denmark,  and  when  the  Council  assemhle<l  at  Oslo  she  was 
also  elected  re^'ent  in  Norway,  while  Eirik  of  Foinerauia,  a  son  of 
her  sister's  danuiiter,  was  chosen  heir  to  the  Xorwej^ian  throne.- 
She  also  assumed  the  title  of  "  (^ueen  of  Sweden,"  to  show  that  she 
would  continue  the  policy  of  iier  i)rcxlecessors  in  her  attitude  to  that 
kin^'dom.  The  Swedish  nohles,  who  had  intended  to  place  Olav  on 
the  throne,  now  turned  to  Queen  Margaret.  At  a  meeting;  at  Dals- 
horj;  castle,  in  Dalsland,  where  she  was  present,  they  chose  her  queen 
of  Swcilen,  and  she  promised  in  return  to  aid  tiiem  in  driving  Al- 
hrecht  from  the  kin^'dom,  an  a<;recment  which  was  swiftly  carried 
out.  At  Aalsed  near  Falkopinj;,  the  nobles  met  Kin^  Alhrecht's 
weak  forces,  defeated  him,  and  carried  him  and  his  son,  Eirik,  as 
prisoners  to  Lindholm  castle,  where  they  remained  incarcerated  for 
six  years.  Kin<;  Albrecht's  rule  had  ended,  and  the  queen  had  won 
the  throne  which  her  son  and  husband  had  claimed,  though  the 
struggle  was  still  protracted  for  a  time.  The  novelty  of  a  ruling 
queen,  who  had  been  able  to  unite  all  the  Northern  kingdoms,  seems 
to  have  impressed  the  people  deeply.  A  chronicler  records  with 
almost  superstitious  solemnity  that  "God  placed  an  unexpected  vic- 
tory in  the  hands  of  the  woman."  Queen  Margaret  had  been  able 
to  accomplish,  both  in  Denmark  and  Sweden,  what  her  late  ])rede- 
ces.sors  hatl  attempted  in  vain  —  a  sufficient  proof  of  her  ability  and 
diplomatic  skill.  In  1389  Eirik  of  Pomerania  was  fonnally  elected 
king  of  Norway  at  a  new  meeting  of  the  Council,  but  Queen  Mar- 
garet should   act  as  regent   until  the  young  king  became  of  age,^ 

*  Dii)[oin(itciriu)n  Xorwcgicutn,  III.,  no.  477.  C  Paludan-Miiller,  Obser- 
vationis  Crilicac,  10(3.  Yn>;var  Nielsen,  Dit  nor.skc  Riysraad,  p.  250.  T.  H. 
AschehoUK.  Slatsforfalnirtfjm   i  Xnrgr  indlil  !St.'t,  P-   l'">3. 

*  Diplomatarium  Noru'tyicuin,  III.,  no.  4.S4.  C.  Paliidan-Miiller,  Obser- 
vationen  Criticae,  108.     Yngvar  Nielsen,  Del  norske  Rigsraad,  p.  201. 

*  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigl  over  den  norske  Ilislorie,  vol.  III.,  p.  (i4.  Kr.  Er.sle\ . 
Danmarks  Historic  under  Dronning  Margrele  og  hendes  Eflerfitlgere,  p.  42S  f., 
504.  Dantnnrks  Riges  Ifistorie,  vol.  II.,  p.  3o8  (T.  Christian  C.  A.  Lanuf, 
Norsk  Tidsskrifl  for  Vidensknb  og  Lillernlur,  vol.  I.,  p.  217  IT.  Bidrag  HI 
Norges  Ifistorie  under  Uninnen,  af  (Mirislian  I^Jinpe. 

Ariid  HuitfeUlt,  Kong  Olae,  Dronning  Margrcte  og  Eirik  af  Pommern, 
p.  13o  ff. 

VOL.  II  —  D 


34  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 


n\ 


and  she  secured  from  the  nobles  concessions  which  greatly  strength- 
ened the  royal  power  both  in  Sweden  and  Denmark.  In  Sweden  no 
more  castles  should  be  built,  and  those  that  had  been  erected  in 
Albrecht's  time  should  be  razed.  More  important  still  was  the 
provision  that  all  crown  lands  which  had  been  alienated  in  Denmark 
in  the  reign  of  Valdemar  Atterdag,  and  in  Sweden  in  the  reign  of 
Albrecht,  should  revert  to  the  sovereign,  and  the  income  from  them 
should  go  to  the  royal  treasury.  In  Denmark  a  new  tax  was  levied 
to  secure  a  better  coinage,  and  in  Sweden  the  queen  received  large 
personal  possessions.  It  is  quite  evident  that  Margaret,  the  first 
great  ruling  queen  in  European  history,  possessed  skill  in  adminis- 
tration as  well  as  in  diplomacy,  but  her  system  of  statesmanship 
was,  nevertheless,  only  a  continuation  of  that  of  her  predecessors, 
Magnus  Smek  and  Valdemar  Atterdag.  It  was  her  ambition  to 
rule  over  a  large  realm,  to  gather  the  threads  of  administration  and 
political  power  into  her  own  hands.  When  the  three  kingdoms  were 
finally  united  under  her  sway,  she  sought  to  perpetuate  her  dominion 
by  strengthening  the  power  and  influence  of  the  crown,  and  by  in- 
creasing her  revenues  and  private  possessions.  In  these  efforts  she 
directed  her  attention  to  politics  rather  than  to  details  of  adminis- 
tration, and  the  local  needs  of  each  kingdom  continued  to  be  neg- 
lected. The  efficiency  of  the  local  administrative  authorities  was  even 
purposely  weakened,  to  insure  increased  influence  of  the  sovereign. 
Many  of  the  highest  offices  both  in  Norway  and  Sweden  were  left 
vacant ;  the  queen  was  staying  in  Denmark,  and  the  old  administra- 
tive system  in  both  kingdoms  was  falling  into  decay.  In  Norway 
many  Danes  were  appointed  to  fill  the  highest  positions  in  the  church, 
until  it  awakened  merited  resentment.  In  Sweden  the  queen  ap- 
pointed Danish  fogeds,  lawlessness  increased,  and  for  want  of  proper 
supervision  by  the  royal  authorities  these  foreign  administrative 
officers  became  ever  more  arrogant  and  arbitrary,  and  wrung  from 
the  oppressed  people  loud  and  well-founded  complaints.  A  contem- 
porary remarks:  "The  Germans  were  expelled  (i.e.  King  Albrecht 
and  his  Mecklenburgers) ;  the  Danes  then  got  the  power  in  the  land 
for  many  years,  and  then  the  Germans  were  lauded  by  the  people." 
The  Danish,  fogeds  were  called  "tyrants  whose  cruelty,  never  to  l)e 
forgotten,  brings  them  eternal  perdition."       The  three  kingdoms 


II  QUEEN   MAUOARET  35 

were  associated  on  equal  temis  iiiulcr  the  same  sovereif^n,  but  through 
Margaret's  iulltuMice  a  lorcigii  overlonlsliip  was  even  now  l)eing  es- 
tablished botli  in  Non\'ay  and  Sweden,  a  feature  whicii  was  to  make 
the  j)oHtical  partnership  with  Denmark  so  exjjensive  and  i)rofitless 
a  business,  especially  for  Norway.  Even  the  defeat  and  imprison- 
ment of  King  Albrecht  was  not  to  pass  without  a  most  unforturuite 
secjuel,  which  caused  much  loss  and  suffering  both  in  the  North  and 
elsewhere.  The  city  of  Liibeck  had  sided  with  Queen  Margaret, 
but  the  two  Ilanseatic  cities  Rostock  and  Wismar  undertook  to 
aid  Albrecht.  They  issued  a  proclamation  that  any  one  who  wished 
to  undertiike  raids  into  the  Northern  kingdoms,  and  would  aid  in 
carrying  provisions  to  the  city  of  Stockholm,  which  was  besieged  by 
the  queen,  would  be  given  protection  in  their  harbors.  The  invita- 
tion proved  very  tempting  to  hundreds  of  lawless  adventurers  who 
gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  Baltic  seacoast,  and  a  league  of  pro- 
fessional buccaneers,  known  as  the  "Victual  Brothers,"  sprang  into 
existence,  which  gravely  endangered  all  commerce,  not  only  in  the 
Baltic,  but  also  in  the  North  Sea.  The  demon  of  lawlessness  once 
let  loose  ran  its  own  riotous  course.  Without  discrimination  the  wild 
corsairs  robbed  and  plundered  remorselessly.  They  seized  Gothland 
and  captured  Wisby,  which  they  made  their  chief  stronghold.  In 
1393  they  captured  Bergen,  sacked  and  burned  the  city,  and  com- 
mitted the  greatest  outrages.^  Malmo  and  Nykoping  were  burned. 
Ilanseatic  merchant  ships  were  everywhere  attiicked,  and  the  danger 
to  commerce  finally  became  so  great  that  the  fisheries  on  the  coast 
of  Bohuslen  and  Sk5,ne  had  to  be  abandoned  for  three  years.  In 
liiUo  Bergen  was  sacked  and  burned  a  second  time,  "  and  the  robbers," 
says  the  chronicler,  "gathered  great  stores,  treasures  of  gold  and 
silver,  costly  cloth,  household  goods,  and  fish,  which  they  brought 
to  llostock  and  Wismar.  ami  sold  with  great  profit,  as  the  i)ei>ple  of 
those  cities  did  not  care  whether  the  goods  were  gotten  h(»nestly  or 
dishonestly."     Because   of   constant   losses   and   increase<l    hazards 

'  Oustnv  Storm.  Vitalicbrfidrencs  Plyndringxtog  til  Bergen  i  1S.9S,  Historisk 
Tidsskrift,  trodio  raekke.  vol.  IV.,  p.  42S  IT.  Ynjfvar  Xiolson.  Ihrgen,  p.  221  ff. 
Voigt,  Die  Vilalienbrudcr  in  Raumers  hislori.'ichem  Taschenhnch,  1S41. 
Gustav  Storni.  Islandakc  Aiinahr,  p.  422.  Helen  Zimniorn,  The  Ilaiim 
Towns,  p.  124  (T.  P.  A.  Munch,  Dd  iwrske  F»lk.<  flistorie.  part  II.,  vol.  II., 
p.  338  flf.     L.  Duao.  Ilistoriske  Skildringer,  p.  18  fT.  Vilaliebrfidrenc. 


36  HISTORY    OF   THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

connected  with  navigation,  prices  rose,  and  many  districts  suffered 
for  want  of  supplies,  but  Queen  Margaret  was  quite  helpless  against 
this  enemy.  The  Hanseatic  cities  made  determined  efforts  to  sup- 
press the  sea-robbers.  Hundreds  were  captured  and  executed,  but 
new  bands  appeared.  In  1400  the  cities  of  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and 
Liibeck  thought  that  they  had  succeeded  in  sweeping  the  sea  clean 
of  pirates,  but  they  soon  had  to  send  out  a  new  expedition.  In  1402 
the  notorious  pirate  chief,  Claus  Stortebecker,  and  two  of  his  asso- 
ciates, together  with  a  large  number  of  followers,  were  captured  and 
put  to  death.  Again  the  Hamburgers  sallied  forth  and  captured 
Goedeke  Michelson,  Wichman  Wigbold,  and  eighty  pirates,  who  were 
all  promptly  beheaded. 

Through  such  energetic  measures  the  strength  of  the  pirates  was 
finally  broken.  They  sacked  Bergen  a  third  time  in  1428,  and  yet 
a  fourth  time  in  1429,  but  after  that  their  names  disappear  from 
history.  The  Victual  Brothers  destroyed  the  last  remaining  strength 
of  the  native  Norwegian  merchants,  and  when  the  Hanseatic  cities 
revived  their  trade,  they  gained  exclusive  control.  This  marks  the 
beginning  of  the  period  of  their  greatest  prosperity  and  power  in 
Norway,  which  lasted  for  about  a  hundred  years.  In  1395  Queen 
Margaret  made  peace  with  the  cities  of  Rostock  and  Wismar,  and 
Albrecht  and  his  son  were  liberated.  Thereby  the  war  for  the 
possession  of  Sweden  was  formally  terminated,  but  the  Victual 
Brothers  still  continued  their  ravages,  and  Stockholm  did  not  open 
its  portals  to  the  queen  till  in  1398. 

8.   The  Kalmar  Union 

After  Eirik  of  Pomerania  had  been  raised  to  the  throne  also  in 
Denmark  and  Sweden,  Queen  Margaret  took  steps  to  bring  about  a 
formal  union  of  the  three  kingdoms.  In  1397  a  meeting  of  magnates, 
councilors,  and  ecclesiastics  of  the  three  kingdoms  was  assembled 
at  Kalmar  in  Sweden  to  negotiate  about  the  formation  of  a  union. 
At  this  council  Eirik  of  Pomerania  was  crowned  king  of  all  the  three 
kingdoms,  and  a  joint  seal  was  also  prepared ;  but  the  queen's  hope 
of  uniting  the  three  realms  in  a  federal  union  with  an  hereditary 
king  was  not  realized.     A  rough  draft  of  an  act  of  union,  a  sort  of 


II  THK    KALMAi:    IN'IOX  -W 

constitution,  was.  indeed,  drawn  up,  l)ut  it  was  never  eompletcci  in 
the  necessary  documentary  I'onn,  or  supplied  with  the  rcfiuircd 
seals.  It  was  expressly  stated  in  tiie  draft  that  "for  the  ^Tcater 
assurance  that  all  {\iv>r  points  shall  forever  he  loyally  kept,  the 
docunient  shall  he  written  on  j)archinent,  two  copies  for  each  kin;,'- 
dom,  and  to  these  shall  he  allixcd  the  seals  of  the  kinj;,  the  queen, 
the  coinicilors  of  the  kiii<;(loni,  the  lords,  and  the  cities."  As  this 
was  not  done,  the  first  draft  of  the  j)oints  on  which  an  a^'reement  had 
heen  reached  could  not  he  lej,'ally  hindinj;.'     It  is  j)ossil)le  that  after 

'  Tin  Proposal  Kabnar  Act  of  Union 
This  document,  which  is  written  on  paper,  still  exists.     It  contains  the 
following:  points : 

1.  TIh'  three  kinRdonis  shall  lu>n«'eforth  have  one  king  and  shall  never  bo 
l)arted. 

2.  After  the  death  of  the  kin^  a  successor  shall  be  elected  jointly  by  the 
tlirec  kingdoms.  If  the  king  dies  witiiout  issue,  a  successor  shall  be  chosen 
according  to  the  best  judgment  and  conscience. 

3.  All  the  three  kingdoms  shall  contiinie  in  love  and  unanimity,  and  ono 
shall  not  withdraw  from  the  others ;  that  wluCh  befalls  one,  as  war  or  attack 
by  foreign  enemies,  shall  be  regarded  as  befalling  all  three,  and  each  king- 
dom shall  help  the  other  with  full  faith  and  energy. 

4.  Each  kingdom  retains  its  own  laws,  and  the  king  shall  rule  according 
to  them.  lie  shall  not  import  from  one  kingdom  to  the  other  what  has  not 
formerly  been  law  and  justice  there. 

,'».  One  who  has  been  outlawed  in  oni'  kingdom  shall  be  considered  an 
outlaw  in  the  others. 

().  If  negotiations  are  carried  on  with  foreign  lords  or  states,  the  king  has 
the  power  to  decide  the  matter  with  the  advice  of  the  Council  of  the  kingdom 
in  whi<'h  he  happens  to  be,  or  with  a  few  councilors  from  each  kingdom. 

7.  -Vll  these  articles  should  bo  kept  as  proscribed,  and  they  should  be  so 
int«>rpreted  that  they  will  be  to  the  honor  of  God  and  the  peace  and  well- 
being  of  the  king  and  the  realm.  If  any  one  acts  contrary  ther»>to.  then  shall 
all  the  thre(>  kingdoms  aid  the  king  and  his  oiTicials  to  remedy  the  wrong. 

5.  gut>eii  Margaret  shall  have  and  hold  with  full  royal  right  all  that  which 
her  father  anil  her  son  granted  her  in  Denmark,  her  dowry  in  Sweden  and 
what  the  Swedes  have  given  her,  together  with  what  her  husband  and  her 
son  have  granted  her  in  Norway.  At  her  death  the  castles  shall  revert  to 
the  crown,  but  otherwise  she  may,  through  her  testament,  dispose  of  what 
she  has. 

9.  These  articles  shall  be  embodied  in  a  document  vsTitten  on  parchment, 
two  copies  for  I'ach  kingdom,  and  to  these  shall  be  afllxed  the  seals  of  the 
king,  the  queon,  the  councilors  of  the  kingdom,  the  lords,  and  the  cities. 

This  preliminary  draft,  written  on  paper,  was  to  be  signed  by  seven 
Swedes,  si.x  Danes,  and  four  Norwegians;    but  oidy  ten  seals  appear  on  the 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  queen  had  failed  to  carry  the  chief  points  of  the  proposed  plan 
she  abandoned  the  whole  of  it,  and  preferred  to  rule  without  being 
bound  by  a  document  which  gave  the  union  no  strength,  and  the 
sovereign  no  increased  power ;  but  it  is  also  possible  that,  since  the 
four  Norwegian  seals  are  lacking  in  the  original  document,  the 
Norwegian  councilors  refused  to  sign,  owing  to  the  clause  which 
made  the  king  elective.  This  would  change  Norway  from  an  hered- 
itary to  an  elective  kingdom,  a  serious  step  to  which  the  Norwegian 
councilors  would  not  willingly  subscribe.  A  union  had,  neverthe- 
less, been  effected  through  the  election  of  a  joint  king  for  the  three 
kingdoms.  This  was  solemnly  ratified  at  Kalmar  by  the  coronation 
of  Eirik  as  king  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  and  the  new 
relation  of  the  three  realms  was  also  betokened  by  the  use  of  the 
common  seal.  But  the  principle  of  elective  kingship  was  retained, 
and  each  kingdom  kept  its  full  sovereignty  and  autonomy,  its  system 
of  laws  and  administration.  With  the  exception  of  the  king  no  cen- 
tral government  for  the  united  kingdoms  existed,  and  nothing  was 
specified  as  to  any  duties  which  they  owed  each  other  as  members 
of  the  union,  except  what  was  found  in  the  unfinished  draft  of  the 
points  on  which  an  agreement  had  been  reached.  As  to  the  out- 
ward evidences  of  the  compact  entered  into,  the  three  realms  could 
not  have  been  united  by  more  slender  ties.  But  what  Margaret  had 
failed  to  do  directly  might  in  time  be  done  indirectly,  since  the 
council  had  failed  to  adopt  a  constitution  defining  the  relation  of  the 
kingdoms  to  each  other,  or  limiting  the  power  of  the  sovereign.  The 
kingdoms  had  become  associated  under  the  same  ruler;  the  ever 
present  force  of  circumstances  might  do  everything  else  that  an 
ambitious  and  autocratic  ruler  might  wish,  since  no  written  consti- 
tution existed  to  remind  the  people  of  the  limit  of  his  power,  or  of 
the  extent  of  their  own  rights.  Even  a  poor  constitution  could  have 
been  amended,  and  would  have  taught  the  people  the  art  of  consti- 
tutional government,  but  the  magnates  assembled  at  Kalmar,  who 

document.  Three  Danish  and  all  of  the  Norwegian  seals  are  lacking.  Palu- 
dan-Miiller,  Observationes  Criticae  de  Foedere  inter  Daniam,  Sueciam  et  Nor- 
wegiam  Auspiciis  Margaretae  Reginae  Icto.  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Staisforfatningen 
i  Norge  og  Danmark  indtil  1814,  P-  174  ff.  R.  Keyser,  Den  norske  Kirkes 
Historic  under  Katholicismen,  II.,  441  ff. 


II  THE  KALMAR   UNION  39 

Mciii  to  liave  guarded  so  jealously  ajjaiiist  any  enfToacliments  on 
tlicir  f)wn  liberties,  failed  with  almost  childish  fatuity  to  safeguard 
tlhise  liberties  for  the  future. 

\Vlien  King  Eirik  was  eighteen  years  old,  he  was  deelared  of  age 
by  a  council  assembled  at  Vadstena,  Sweden,  in  14()() ;  but  Margaret 
continued  to  reign  until  her  death.  In  1401  negotiations  were 
begun  with  the  queen  and  King  Henry  IV.  of  England  regarding  the 
marriage  of  King  Eirik  to  Henry's  daughter  Philipj)a.'  As  Henry 
IV.  was  seated  none  too  securely  on  the  English  throne,  he  sought 
to  strengthen  his  position  through  foreign  alliances  and  by  the 
marriage  of  his  children  to  members  of  the  royal  houses.  He  had 
watched  with  much  interest  the  growing  power  of  Queen  Margaret, 
and  the  consummation  of  the  union  of  the  three  Xtjrthern  kingdoms 
seems  to  have  made  iiini  desirous  of  gaining  the  friendship  of  this 
new  power.  After  jjrolonged  negotiations  Phili|)pa  finally  came  to 
Denmark  in  1400,  and  the  marriage  was  solemnized  at  Lund,  in 
SkS,ne.  The  young  king  is  described  as  a  man  of  fine  appearance. 
"  He  had  yellow  or  golden  hair,  large  eyes,  blond  complexion,  and  a 
brf)ad  white  neck,"  writes  Enea  Silvio  Piccolomiiu',  the  later  Pope 
Pius  II.;  and  an  account  to  the  English  Council  of  the  conditions 
in  the  North,  dated  August  8,  1400,  evidently  written  by  English 
envoys,  states  that  "the  three  kingdoms,  which  have  now  been 
united,  enjoy  a  hitherto  unknown  peace,  whereas  before,  while  they 
remainetl  separated,  they  suffered  much  from  war  and  unbearable 
evils.  The  young  king  is  highly  loved  by  his  subjects  because  of 
his  charming  and  noble  personality. "  ^  The  English  envoys  had 
evidently  not  discovered  that  the  gallant  young  king  very  early 
showed  signs  of  that  rashness,  ill-temper,  and  lack  of  good  judgment 
which  made  his  reign  so  inglorious  a  failure. 

A  new  era  seemed  now  to  have  dawned  for  the  Northern  peoples, 
or,  rather,  a  new  era  might  have  dawned,  if  the  rulers  who  w<Te 
guiding    their    destinies    had  possessed    the  necessary  wisdom  and 

'  L.  Daao,  Erik  af  Pommcrns,  Danmnrhs,  Svcrigrs  og  .Von/i.s  Konges, 
GiJUrmaal  vied  Philippa,  Pritidsesse  a/  England,  Ifiatorisk  Tidsskrift,  aDdcn 
fffikke,  vol.  II.,  p.  332  fT.  A.  Fabricius,  Minder  fra  Xordcns  Ilistorie,  Filippas 
Giftcrmaal  mcd  Erih  af  Pommcrcn. 

*  Samlimjcr  til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  III.,  p.  4S1. 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

foresight.  The  union  of  three  peoples,  so  closely  related  in  language 
and  nationality  that  no  ai)preciable  difference  yet  existed,  augured 
well  for  the  future.  By  combining  their  strength,  which  had  hith- 
erto been  wasted  in  wars  and  rivalries,  the  united  Scandinavian  king- 
doms might  have  risen  into  new  prominence  as  one  of  the  powers  of 
Europe.  Careful  amalgamation  would  soon  have  obliterated  the 
existing  differences,  as  a  friendly  feeling  already  existed  between  the 
three  peoples.  Commercially  their  interests  were  identical,  and  a 
wisely  conceived  public  policy  would  have  sought  means  to  strengthen 
the  love  for  the  union,  and  to  stimulate  the  spirit  of  cooperation 
against  foreign  rivals,  which  would  soon  have  welded  the  neighbors 
into  one  nation.  But  no  such  idea  seems  to  have  dawned  even  upon 
the  keen-witted  and  practical  Margaret;  her  worthless  successors 
were  wholly  incapable  of  conceiving  it.^ 

After  the  kingdoms  had  been  united,  and  cordial  relations  had 
been  reestablished  with  England  through  the  marriage  of  Eirik  and 
Philippa,  the  opportunity  seemed  to  have  come  to  revive  the  naval 
strength  of  the  Scandinavian  realms,  to  throw  off  the  Hanseatic  yoke, 
and  to  reestablish  commercial  relations  wdth  England.  But  Margaret 
attempted  none  of  these  things.  No  steps  were  taken  even  to 
strengthen  the  navy  or  the  coast  defenses,  though  the  whole  realm 
lay  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  Victual  Brothers,  against  whose 
ravages  the  queen  had  been  so  helpless  that  she  had  asked  permission 
of  King  Richard  II.  of  England  to  hire  three  ships  at  Lynn  for  the 
defense  of  the  kingdom.  The  lack  of  means  could  scarcely  be  urged 
as  a  reason  for  this  strange  neglect,  as  the  queen  constantly  increased 
her  revenues,  so  that  in  a  single  year  (1411)  she  could  donate  26,000 
marks  to  various  religious  institutions.  Her  failure  to  utilize  the  new 
opportunities  in  the  right  way  was  rather  due  to  her  system  of  states- 
manship, which  was  wholly  guided  by  dynastic  and  personal  interests. 
It  was  of  the  general  type  of  the  statescraft  of  the  IVIiddle  Ages, 
according  to  which  the  sovereign  did  not  regard  himself  as  the  ser- 
vant of  the  state,  but  as  its  owner.  The  realm  was  his  private 
property,  and  it  was  his  main  care  to  secure  as  much  revenue  as 
possible,  and  to  defend  his  title  to  the  crown. 

The  thought  of  developing  a  united  Scandinavian  nation  was  as 
'  A.  Fabricius,  Minder  fra  Nordens  Historie,  p.  61  ff. 


II 


THE    KALMAR    UNION  41 


remote  from  the  mind  of  Mar;,'urct  us  the  idea  of  nationality  was 
foreign  to  the  whole  age.  The  possibility  of  amalgamation  of  the 
three  peoples  was  preeluded  fn^m  the  outset  by  the  queen's  effort  to 
make  Denmark  the  i)riiKi[)al  country  in  the  union,  and  to  refluce 
Norway  and  Sweden  to  the  position  of  provinces.  Danish  eccle- 
siastics were  appointed  to  the  highest  offices  in  the  chiircli  in  both 
countries,  and  swanns  of  Danish  officials  were  sent,  especially  to 
Sweden,  while  no  Norwegians  or  Swetles  were  appointefl  to  office 
in  Denmark.  We  have  seen  how  this  policy  awakene<l  the  bitterest 
resentment  in  both  countries.  The  Danes  were  soon  looke<l  upon 
as  oppressors  and  enemies,  and  Margaret  was  unjustly  descril)e<l 
as  cunning  and  greenly.  A  Swedish  monk  calls  her  the  daughter  of 
the  "Wolf"  {i.e.  King  Valdemar).  "Albrecht,"  he  continues, 
"  levied  heaxy  taxes,  but  Margaret  made  them  still  heavier.  What 
he  left,  she  took;  the  peasant's  horse,  ox,  and  cow;  in  short,  all  his 
possessions."  Another  contemporary  annalist  states  that  she  was 
very  covetous.  "\Vitli  incredible  craft  she  made  herself  ruler  of 
all  the  three  kingdoms,  which  she  reduced  to  almost  nothing,  and 
no  one  could  resist  her  cunning."  ^  These  outbursts  of  indignation 
do  not  serve  to  enlighten  us  as  to  the  real  character  of  the  queen,  for 
it  is  evident  tliat  the  statements  of  these  annaHsts  are  as  unjust  as 
they  are  incorrect.  In  her  dealings  with  her  subjects,  she  was  in 
no  .sense  the  daughter  of  the  "Wolf,"  as  she  was  not  harsh  or  tyran- 
nical, but  cautious  and  generous.  Her  \aried  activity  as  ruling  queen 
bears  the  marks  of  moderation  and  good-will,  and  not  .seldom  of  true 
womanly  kind-heartedness.  Hut  she  had  created  a  system  of  admin- 
istration, the  jjernicious  character  of  which  she  i)robably  never  fully 
knew  or  understood  ;  and  it  is  with  some  justice  that  the  (lueen,  who 
originated  the  system,  should  be  nuide  directly  resi)onsible  for  its 
attendant  evils,  which  could  neither  be  controlled  nor  abateil.  In 
Sweden  the  spirit  of  rebellion  again  raised  its  head.  The  Norwegians 
were  more  tnuupiil,  not  because  they  were  l)etter  satisfitnl,  but  be- 
cause the  weak  Norwegian  nobility  were  less  able  to  resist  oi)pression. 
or  to  take  the  reins  of  go\-cmuuMit  into  their  own  hands. 

In  Norwa\'  the  administration  had  been  strongly  centralized  by 
the  able  kings  of  Ilarald  Ilaarfagre's  line.     But  the  success  of  such  a 
'  Icelandic  Annals,  edited  by  Storm,  p.  290. 


42 


HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE 


II 


system  depended  on  the  continual  presence  of  the  sovereign,  and  the 
close  supervision  by  the  central  government ;  but  as  this  supervision 
ceased  when  the  Kalmar  union  was  established,  Norway  might  al- 
most be  said  to  be  without  a  government.  During  the  last  fifteen 
years  of  her  reign,  Margaret  visited  the  kingdom  only  twice,  and 
King  Eirik  came  to  Norway  only  once  after  he  became  of  age.  When 
the  droUete,  or  regent,  Agmund  Finnsson,  died,  no  successor  was 
appointed  to  this  most  important  office  for  several  years,  and  the 


Fig.  1.  —  Queeu  Margaret. 

chancellor's  office  was  also  left  vacant  for  some  time  after  Henrik 
Henriksson's  death.  The  Council  was  seldom  assembled ;  the 
country  was  ruled  from  Denmark,  and  the  foreign  officials,  who 
were  constantly  increasing  in  numbers,  could  disregard  the  laws, 
and  practice  their  extortions  with  impunity.  The  queen  erred  when 
she  established  such  a  system,  but  it  was,  perchance,  an  error  of  judg- 
ment, not  one  of  heart. 

Queen  Margaret  died  quite  suddenly  on  board  her  ship  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Flensborg,  October  28,  1412.  She  was  buried  at 
Sor0,  but  her  remains  were  later  transferred  to  the  cathedral  of  Ros- 
kilde,  where  her  beautiful  sarcophagus  still  stands.  Nothing  is 
known  as  to  her  personal  appearance.     The  marble  figure  on  her 


II  KING    EIKIK    <>l     I'OMKKAMA  43 

toiiil)  is  a  decoration,  not  a  |)ortrait;  as  it  sccm.s  to  have  been  made 
to  order  by  some  foreign  artist  who  |)robal)ly  never  saw  the  cjueen. 
But  the  nolile  and  majestic  face  makes  us  feel  that  thus  she  must 
have  looked,  this  great  (iiieen  who  once  ruled  the  whole  Scandinavian 
North. 

0.     KiNc;    EllUK    OF    PoMERANIA 

Wiien  Kiiif;  Kirik  assumed  the  duties  of  ruling  sovereij^n,  ciroum- 
stanees  gave  jiromise  of  a  most  successful  reign.  The  newly  estab- 
lished union  was  wiiming  favor  in  all  the  three  kingdoms,  the  revenues 
were  large,  and  the  people  were  well  disposed  towards  the  king,  as 
they  hoj)ed  that  he  would  prove  to  be  a  wi.se  and  kind  ruler.  But 
tlu'se  fair  ho|)es  were  .soon  shattered  by  the  worse  than  worthless 
Eirik.  The  only  (jucstion  which  threatened  to  produce  complica- 
tions at  the  beginning  Of  his  reign  was  that  of  the  relation  of  Schles- 
wig  to  the  crown  of  Denmark,  but  this  molehill  of  difficulty  grew  in 
King  Eirik's  hands  into  a  mountain  of  trouble.  Queen  IMargaret 
had  been  obliged  to  cede  this  province  to  the  counts  of  Holstein  in 
li>S(),  but  at  the  time  of  her  death  she  was  on  the  i)()int  of  regaining 
control  of  the  duchy.  An  anned  conflict  had  been  precipitated ; 
but  the  queen  had  concluded  peace,  though  the  question  was  still 
left  unsettled.  Eirik  was  opposed  to  the  queen's  cautious  policy. 
He  would  drive  out  the  Germans,  who  had  migrated  in  large  numbers 
into  the  duchy,  and  would  unite  it  pennaneiitly  with  the  kingdom  of 
Denmark,  He  submitted  the  (picstion  to  a  council  {(lanclwf)  assem- 
bled at  Xyborg,  1413,  and  this  assembly  decided,  that  as  the  counts 
had  l)een  in  anus  again.st  their  sovereign,  they  had  connuitted  felony, 
and  had  forfeited  their  fief  to  the  king.  Schleswig  was  thus  reunited 
with  Denmark,  but  the  counts  would  not  abide  by  the  deei.sion  of 
the  council,  and  a  long  and  expensive  war  was  the  result.  Hostilities 
eommencc(|  in  141(i.  Eirik  gained  .some  success,  and  captured  the 
city  of  .^clileswig  ;  but  he  was  unable  to  take  the  fortifie<l  .strongholds 
of  the  duchy,  and  the  situation  became  critical  when  the  Han.seatic 
cities,  because  of  the  damage  done  their  commerce,  cut  off  all  trade 
with  the  North,  and  threatened  to  join  the  llolstciners  in  active  war 
operations  against  the  king.  In  1121  the  (|uesti(»n  was  finally  sub- 
mitted to  the  arbitration  of  the  (icnnan  emperor,  Sigismund,  who 


44  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  Ili 


decided  that  the  duchy  of  Schleswig  belonged  to  the  king.  Eirik, 
who  had  gone  to  Hungary-  to  visit  the  Emperor,  was  so  pleased  with 
what  he  considered  the  happy  termination  of  the  quarrel,  that  he 
journeyed  to  Jerusalem  to  offer  thanks  to  God  for  the  victory.  But 
upon  his  return  from  Palestine  in  1425,  he  still  found  Count  Henry 
of  Holstein  in  possession  of  the  duchy  of  Schleswig,  and  when  he 
attempted  to  enforce  the  decision  of  the  Emperor,  the  war  was 
renewed.  The  Hanseatic  cities  now  joined  the  Holsteiners.  Through- 
out the  whole  struggle  the  Victual  Brothers  had  carried  on  their 
raids,  not  only  through  the  connivance,  but  even  upon  direct  invita- 
tion of  the  Holsteiners,  and  such  damage  had  been  done  to  commerce 
that  conditions  became  unbearable.  But  the  united  forces  of  the 
allies  suffered  serious  defeats.  King  Eirik  gained  a  notable  victory 
over  their  fleet  in  the  Sound,  1427.  Many  of  their  ships  ran  aground, 
many  were  captured,  and  the  commander,  Tidemand  Sten,  fled  with 
the  remainder.  The  great  Hanseatic  merchant  fleet,  which  arrived 
shortly  after  the  battle  on  its  northward  voyage,  was  captured. 
In  an  attack  on  Flensborg  Count  Henry  of  Holstein  lost  his  life,  and 
a  second  Hanseatic  fleet  failed  in  its  operations  against  Copenhagen 
the  following  year.  In  two  campaigns  the  allies  accomplished  noth- 
ing. In  1425  King  Eirik  had  seized  the  opportunity  to  levy  a  toll 
{0resundstolden)  on  every  ship  which  passed  through  the  Sound,  and 
he  might  now  have  concluded  peace  on  very  favorable  terms,  but  he 
stubbornly  insisted  on  enforcing  to  the  letter  Emperor  Sigismund's 
decision  \\ith  regard  to  Schleswig.  His  subjects,  especially  in  Norway 
and  Sweden,  were  tired  of  this  war  from  which  they  could  derive  noth- 
ing but  harm.  Few  reenforcements  were  furnished,  and  the  king 
was  not  able  to  continue  the  struggle  successfully.  Flensborg  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  allies,  and  in  1432  he  was  at  length  forced  to 
enter  into  peace  negotiations,  in  which  he  abandoned  his  plan  of 
enforcing  the  Emperor's  decision  against  the  counts  of  Holstein. 
The  peace  was  concluded  at  Vordingborg,  1435. 

Colonial  affairs  were  not  wholly  neglected  by  King  Eirik,  but  the 
commerce  with  the  Norwegian  island  possessions  was,  nevertheless, 
falling  into  decay.  In  1410  the  last  ship  of  which  any  definite  record 
is  preserved  came  from  Greenland  to  Norway,  and  no  further  com- 
munications with  those  distant  settlements  seem  to  have  been  main- 


I 


II  KI\(J    EIHIK    OF    Pr)MF:RANIA  45 

tairietl.'  IIollxTf^  >ay.s  that  after  (^iiccti  Marf^aret's  time  the  kings 
were  so  occiipiecl  that  they  had  no  time  to  think  ahout  old  (Jreen- 
land.-  The  trach'  with  thf  cdlonirs  contirnied  to  l)e  a  royal  monopoly, 
and  all  foreign  meri-liants  were  forhidden  to  trade  with  them,  hnt 
after  Norway's  sea-power  was  broken,  and  the  Ilanseatic  merchants 
gained  contntl  of  the  trade,  the  kings  conld  no  longer  successfnlly 
defend  cn  t>n  this  hist  remnant  of  Norwegian  commerce.  In  14i:> 
King  Kirik  |)rotested  to  King  Henry  \  .  of  Knghmd  against  the  oper- 
ations of  foreign  merchants  in  the  Norwegian  colonies.  In  14:il 
he  again  complained  to  Henry  VI.,  that  for  twenty  years  the  English 
had  carried  on  nnlawfnl  trade  with  "Norway's  lands  and  islands" 
(Iceland,  Greenland,  the  Faroe  Islands,  Shetland,  the  Orkneys, 
Ilaalogaland.  and  Finmarken),  that  they  had  j)lundered  and  burned, 
that  they  had  carried  away  many  ships  with  fish  and  other  goods, 
and  that  many  j)e(»ple  had  been  slain.'  In  Eirik's  reign  Englisli 
merchants  were  beginning  to  gain  control  of  the  trade  with  Iceland.^ 
This  trade  had  always  been  of  some  importance,  as  the  Icelanders 
imported  grain  and  other  staple  articles,  while  they  exported  wool, 
sheepskins,  sulphur,  etc.     At  this  time  great    cod-fisheries,    which 

'  The  Norwe^an  nobleman  Didrik  Pining,  who  was  hirdstjdri  in  Iceland, 
and  commandant  of  Vard0lius  about  1400,  was  a  bold  sailor  and  buccaneer. 
According  to  an  old  Icelandic  source.  Pining  and  his  companion  Pothorst, 
about  whom  notliing  is  known,  "carried  on  trade  with  Greenland,"  but  this 
statement  seems  to  be  a  mere  conjecture.  Very  little  is  known  about  Pining's 
operations  in  the  Arctic  waters.  The  humanist  Olaus  Magnus  says  that 
"Pining  and  Pothorst  were  excluded  from  all  intercourse  with  humanity 
by  the  severe  decrees  of  the  kings  of  the  North,  and  they  were  outlawed 
because  of  their  violent  robberies  and  many  wicked  deeds  committed  against 
all  sailors,  which  they  would  seize  both  far  and  near."  "They  then  sought 
refugf  in  the  mountain  Ilvitserk,  which  lies  between  Iceland  and  Green- 
land," he  continues. 

Ludvig  Diuie,  Didrik  Piniiuj,  Ifislnrisk  Tiils.'<krif I,  andon  rsekke,  vol.  III., 
p.  231  ff.  Daa(>  tliinks  that  after  peace  was  concluded  l)etween  England 
and  Denmark-Xorway  in  1400  in  King  Hans'  reign,  all  prcN-ing  on  English 
commerce  by  Danisli  and  Xorw«'gian  sailors  had  to  stop.  liut  Pining  seems 
to  have  c()ntiiuie(l  his  buccaneering  activity  ;  and,  as  a  result,  he  was  out- 
lawed. 

*  Lud\'ig  TTolberg.  Dnriinnrk's  Riyat  IHsloriv,  IT.,  r>3l. 
'  CrOnldtids  historiskc  Mindcsinirkvr,  III.,  p.  1(50  IT. 

*  Thv  Lihvll  of  Knglishe  Pnlici/r,  p.  OIJ  f.,  a  littl(>  English  work,  WTitten  in 
1436,  states  that  so  many  English  ships  had  sailed  to  Iceland  that  the  goods 
brought  back  did  not  pay  the  expenses. 


46  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

gave  this  trade  increased  importance,  were  also  developed  near  the 
coasts  of  Iceland.  The  commerce  with  Iceland  was  carried  on 
especially  by  the  Norwegian  colonists  of  Bristol,  who  in  earlier  times 
had  controlled  this  trade.  They  now  ventured  to  disregard  the 
restrictions  which  the  kings  had  placed  on  the  trade  with  the  Nor- 
wegian colonies,  hence  their  trading  expeditions  often  turned  into 
piratical  raids ;  but  whether  these  were  extended  to  Greenland,  as 
indicated  in  Eirik's  complaint,  is  doubtful.  In  1432  King  Eirik  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  England,  in  which  King  Henry  VI.  agreed  to 
pay  the  damages  which  English  traders  had  done  in  the  Norwegian 
colonies.  The  people  who,  during  the  last  twenty  years,  had  been 
carried  away  by  force,  wherever  they  were  found  in  the  kingdom  of 
England,  should  receive  pay  for  the  services  they  had  rendered,  and 
should  be  allowed  to  return  to  their  homes.  The  interdiction  of 
trade  in  the  Norwegian  colonies  was  renewed,  but  after  this  prohi- 
bition had  been  repeated  by  Henry  VI.  in  1444,  and  by  a  treaty  be- 
tween Henry  VI.  and  King  Christian  I.  in  1449,  the  trade  with  Ice- 
land was  finally  made  free,  on  certain  conditions,  in  1490.^ 

King  Eirik  continued  Margaret's  administrative  policy.  Nor- 
way and  Sweden  were  still  ruled  from  Denmark,  leading  public  offices 
were  left  vacant,  the  Council  always  met  in  Denmark  whenever  it 
was  assembled,  and  as  the  councilors  from  the  two  other  kingdoms 
had  to  make  long  and  expensive  journeys,  few  attended  its  meetings, 
and  they  could  exercise  but  slight  influence,  as  the  Danish  members 
were  always  in  the  majority.  Norwegian  and  Swedish  aflFairs  were 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  king  and  his  Danish  councilors,  who  were 
neither  familiar  Avith  local  circumstances,  nor  much  interested  in  the 
affairs  which  they  were  called  upon  to  settle.  The  increased  burdens 
of  taxation  resulting  from  the  wars,  the  interruption  of  commerce,^ 

1  Fridtjof  Nansen,  Nord  i  Taakeheimen  {In  Northern  Mists),  p.  377  ff. 
Alexander  Bugge,  Nidaros's  Handel  og  Skibsfart  i  Middelalderen,  Festskrift 
udgivcl  i  Anledning  av  Trondhjems  9000  Aars  Jubilceum  1897. 

2  During  the  war  the  trade  with  the  Hanscatic  cities  had  ceased ;  but 
King  Eirik  had  encouraged  the  English  merchants,  who  sought  to  revive 
the  trade  with  Bergen,  and  also  the  merchants  of  the  city  of  Bremen,  who 
had  left  the  Hanseatic  League.  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  vol.  V.,  no. 
580.  Ludvig  Ilolberg,  Bergens  Bcskrivelse,  Copenhagen,  1750,  p.  126  f. 
Norges  gamle  Love,  anden  raekke,  vol.  I.,  p.  91. 


ri  KIXG   EIRIK    OF    POMEIIA.VIA  47 

an<l  the  ravages  of  the  Victual  Brotiiers,  from  wliicli  both  Norway  and 
Sweden  had  sull'ered  much,  especially  in  1  42S-1429,  soon  made  Eirik 
hated  in  i)<)th  countries.  The  preat  popularity  of  Queen  Philipj)a 
had  hitherto  lieen  a  sa^■in^  feature  of  his  reijjn.  T(j  her  the  opjjressed 
could  turn  witii  their  complaints,  and  her  };reat  kindness  had  won 
the  people's  heart.  During'  the  king's  absence  in  Palestine  she  had 
acted  as  regent,  and  she  had  shown  the  same  energy  and  high  cour- 
age which  distinguished  her  brother,  King  Henry  V.  of  England. 
But  no  child  was  born  to  the  royal  pair,  and  in  1430  the  good  queen 
suddenly  died  at  Vadstena  in  Sweden  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven.  She 
had  been  King  Eirik's  wisest  councilor,  the  only  person  who  could 
shield  him  against  the  growing  wrath  of  his  ojjpressed  subjects.  Now 
he  stood  alone,  shortsighted,  violent,  hated,  and  always  stubborn. 
In  vain  the  peoj)lc  now  complained  of  their  wrongs.  Twice  the 
Swedish  nobleman,  Engellirecht  Engelbrechtsson,  was  sent  to  Den- 
mark by  the  people  of  Dalarne  to  obtain  relief  from  the  oppression 
of  the  Danish  jogcds ;  his  pleas  fell  upon  the  deaf  ears  of  the  short- 
sighted and  obstinate  king.  Engelbrecht's  return  from  his  last 
unsuccessful  missi(m  became  the  signal  for  revolt.  The  peasants  as- 
sembled at  \'esterLs,  and  chose  him  their  leader,  and  soon  all  Sweden 
was  in  amis  to  throw  off  the  Danish  yoke.  On  August  16,  1434,  the 
Swedish  (\)uncil,  compelled  by  Engelbrecht  Engelbrechtsson,  issued 
a  document  in  which  they  renounced  their  allegiance  to  the  king,^ 
but  on  the  24th  of  the  same  month  tlie  Norwegian  Covmcil  gave  notice 
that  it  found  this  step  to  be  untimely  and  ill-advised,  and  asked  the 
Swedish  Council  to  reconsider  its  action,  as  it  was  contrary  to  the 
happy  union  of  the  three  kingdoms.  The  king,  it  continued,  had 
not  erred  from  ill-will,  but  was  ready  to  right  all  real  wrongs.-  On 
the  12th  of  September  the  Swedish  Council  issued  a  second  docu- 
ment, addressed  to  the  Council  and  people  of  Norway,  in  which 
they  stated  forcibly  and  in  detail  the  reasons  for  renouncing  their 
allegiance  to  King  Eirik,  and  asked  the  Norwegians  to  join  them  in 
resisting  opj)ression."'  No  better  o])[)(irtunity  could  have  been  ofTered 
the  Norwegians  to  sever  the  unprofitable  partnership  with  Denmark, 

'  Diplomaiarium  Norwcgicuvi,  vol.  V.,  no.  (111. 

»  Ibid. 

^  Ibid.,  no.  047.     Norges  gamlc  Love,  andea  rtekke,  vol.  I.,  p.  142  f. 


48  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

but  the  invitation  of  the  Swedish  Council  elicited  no  response.  In 
Norway  the  hereditary  kingship,  and  the  strength  and  stability  of 
the  central  government  had,  in  course  of  time,  created  a  spirit  of 
loyalty  to  the  king,  which  had  ripened  into  a  well-established  tradi- 
tion. The  Swedes,  who  had  elected  and  dethroned  their  kings  in 
rapid  succession,  could  start  a  new  rebellion  without  much  com- 
punction; to  the  Norwegians  such  a  course  seemed  violent  and 
treasonable. 

But  Engelbrecht  Engelbrechtsson  continued  the  war  against  the 
Danes  with  great  success.  In  three  months  he  drove  out  the  Danish 
fogeds,  and  destroyed  a  number  of  their  castles.  King  Eirik  finally 
came  to  Stockholm  wdth  a  fleet ;  but  as  the  city  was  closely  hemmed 
in  by  Engelbrechtsson's  forces,  he  found  the  situation  hopeless,  and 
agreed  to  submit  the  whole  question  to  the  arbitration  of  a  com- 
mittee of  four  councilors  from  each  kingdom.  On  a  Rigsdag  assem- 
bled at  Arboga,  1435,  Engelbrechtsson  was  chosen  regent  until  an 
agreement  should  be  made  with  the  king,  and  at  a  council  assembled  at 
Stockholm,  where  also  many  Norwegian  councilors  were  present,  Eirik 
agreed  to  the  terms  submitted.  He  had  to  give  assurance  that  he 
would  rule  in  conformity  with  the  laws,  that  the  castles  of  the  king- 
dom should  be  granted  only  to  native  lords,  and  that  Sweden  should 
have  its  own  goverimient,  at  the  head  of  which  should  stand  the 
drotsete  and  the  marsk,  two  new  officials.  For  the  former  office  the 
Council  chose  Kristen  Nilsson  Vasa;  for  the  latter  the  king  ap- 
pointed Karl  Knutsson  Bonde.  i\.ll  might  now  have  been  well,  but 
King  Eirik  soon  violated  the  agreement,  and  war  broke  out  anew. 
Engelbrechtsson  fought  a  second  campaign  as  successfully  as  the 
first,  but  on  April  27,  143G,  this  great  leader  was  assassinated  by  a 
personal  enemy,  and  Karl  Knutsson  Bonde,  a  dashing  young  noble- 
man, more  ambitious  than  gifted,  assumed  the  management  of  the 
uprising. 

The  Danish  misrule,  and  the  failure  of  the  king  to  listen  to  the  often 
repeated  complaints  of  the  people,  finally  produced  an  uprising  also 
in  Norway.^    The  successful  rebellion  in  Sweden,  and  the  concessions 

^  In  a  letter  of  June,  1424,  the  binder  of  Skaun  complained  to  King  Eirik 
of  the  foged  Herman  Molteke,  whose  oppressions  they  could  no  longer  endure. 
They  report  that  they  have  to  leave  their  homes  unless  the  king  sends  them 


11  K1N(;    KIKIK    OF    I'OMKKANIA  49 

wliicli  Kirik  had  heeri  forct'd  to  make  at  the  council  of  Stocklxilin, 
inspired  some  nohlcnien  of  tlie  southeastern  (hstricts  with  the  hfjpe 
that  they  mi^ht  be  able  to  compel  the  kin^  to  redress  their  grievances. 
The  revolt  which  took  place  in  1436  was  led  by  Amuiid  Sigurdsson 
Bolt,  from  Hor<,'arsyssel,  and  five  other  noblemen  from  neij^hboring 
districts.'  A  letter  written  by  Enj,'elbrechtsson,  dated  March  19, 
1436,  shows  that  Anmnd  Sigurdsson  and  his  associates  sought  an 
alliance  with  Mn<;clbrechtsson  and  the  Ilanseatic  cities  against  King 
Eirik,  and  the  uprising  seems  to  have  been  organized  shortly  after  the 
Norwegian  councilors  returned  from  Stockholm.^  Amund  Sigurdsstni 
marchnl  to  ()>lo,  and  seized  the  fortified  bishop's  residence,  but  after 
an  undecisive  fight  with  the  garrison  of  the  city,  led  by  S\arte-J0ns, 
the  Danish  connnander  of  Akershus  castle,  the  rebels  withdrew. 
King  Eirik,  who  was  notified  of  the  uprising,  seems  to  have  been 
alanned,  and  full  and  comi)lete  pardon  was  offere<l  the  leaders  if 
they  would  submit.  An  annistice  was  concluded  June  23,  1436;^ 
and  a  council  was  summoned  to  meet  at  Tunsberg  to  negotiate  with 
the  leaders  of  the  uprising.  Amund  Sigurdsson  and  two  other  leaders 
met,  together  with  twenty-six  of  their  followers,  and  presented  to  the 
council  the  demand  that  the  foreign  lords  and  fugeds  should  be 
ex])elled  from  the  country  before  the  29th  of  July.  This  condition 
was  accepted,  and  j)eace  was  formally  concluded  between  Amund 

another  fogcd.  Diiilornntorium  Xorwcyiciim,  vol.  II.,  no.  G80.  Later  they 
notify  tlie  kinc  that  they  have  driven  Herman  Molteke  from  their  district. 
DiplDinatiirium  S'orwcgicurn,  vol.  II.,  no.  081  and  no.  083. 

'(Justav  Storm,  Om  Amund  Siyurdi^son  Bolt  og  Vrolighedcrne  i  dtl 
sydligc  Norgc.  Ilintorisk  Tidsskrifl,  tredie  nekko,  vol.  II.,  p.  101  (T.,  IV., 
395  (T.  L.  Doito,  Nye  Sludier  til  Opr^rsh0vd>.ngin  Amund  Sigurdssons 
Historic.     Ilintorisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie  raekke,  vol.  I.,  p.  488  fT. 

'  The  letter  reads  in  part :  "Likewise  the  kingdom  of  Xorway  has  wTitten 
us  and  asks  to  ent(>r  into  allianee  with  private  Ilan.seatie  fiti<'s  and  with 
the  kingdom  of  Sweden.  We  did  not  know  that  tlie  kimrdom  of  Xorway 
wouM  join  us  when  our  messengers  visited  the  eities;  and  they  (i.e.  the 
Norwejjians)  havt>  now  joined  us  to  he  allied  with  Sweden,  living  or  dead. 
We  ask  you  that  you  pive  them  your  assistance,  that  they  may  enter  into 
the  same  relations  with  the  cities."  As  the  Norwegian  Council  was  still 
loyal  to  KinR  Eirik,  the  term  "kingdom  of  Xorway"  can  only  mean  Amund 
Sijjurdsson  and  his  party.  The  letter,  which  is  printed  in  IfansereccKsr, 
part  II..  vol.  I.,  p.  .'i2o,  is  quoted  by  L.  Dtuie,  llistoriiik  Tidsskrifl.  tredie 
nvkke,  vol.  I.,  p.  400. 

'  Diplomatarium  Norwcfficum,  vol.  III.,  p.  ')2'>,  no.  733. 
VOL.  n — E 


50  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

Sigiirdsson  and  the  council.'  The  stipulations  of  the  agreement 
were  carried  out  to  the  letter,  it  seems,  as  the  Danish  lords  and  fogeds 
were  expelled  from  Norway  in  July,  1436.  The  uprising  had  been 
successful  to  some  degree,  but  as  it  gained  no  general  support,  it 
became  a  local  affair  of  no  great  national  significance.  Professor 
J.  E.  Sars  says  of  it : 

"The  Norwegian  uprising  corresponded  in  many  ways  to  the 
Swedish.  Like  the  latter,  it  was  especially  directed  against  foreign 
lords  and  fogeds,  and,  like  it,  it  proceeded  chiefly  from  the  common 
people,  while  the  nobles  kept  aloof,  or  assumed  a  hostile  attitude,  as 
they  regarded  the  movement  with  fear  and  ill-will.  .  .  .  But  as 
closely  related  as  the  two  uprisings  —  the  Norwegian  and  the  Swedish 
—  seem  to  be  in  regard  to  origin  and  early  success,  so  different  were 
they  in  regard  to  historic  importance  and  political  consequences. 
The  Swedish  developed  into  a  truly  national  movement,  and  forms  a 
new  epoch  in  the  nation's  history;  the  Norwegian  was  a  mere  epi- 
sode without  any  permanent  or  important  result.  .  .  .  The  chief 
reason  why  the  Norwegian  movement  died  away  without  results  while 
the  Swedish  continued  to  grow,  and  placed  state  and  nation  upon 
new  paths  of  progress, was  that  Sweden  had  an  ambitious  aristocracy, 
while  the  aristocracy  in  Norway  had  long  been  on  the  decline  both 
politically  and  otherwise."  ^ 

In  1436  a  council  was  assembled  at  Kalmar  to  bring  about  a  new 
reconciliation  between  King  Eirik  and  the  Swedes,  but  the  Norwegian 
councilors  were  not  present,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  uprising  at  home. 
The  Danish  councilors  supported  the  Swedes  in  their  demands,  and 
King  Eirik  had  to  promise  to  abide  by  a  new  settlement  to  be  made 
at  a  meeting  in  Soderkoping,  September  29th.  At  this  council  the 
three  archbishops  of  the  united  kingdoms,  and  one  councilor  from 
each  realm  drew  up  a  new  act  of  union,  the  "Draft  of  1436,"  wliich 
among  other  things  provided  for  a  government  when  the  king  did  not 
reside  in  the  kingdom ;  but  this  draft  never  got  beyond  the  embryo 
state. 

^  Diplomatarhim  Norwegicnm,  vol.  II.,  no.  727;  vol.  VI.,  no.  465.  The 
peace  agreement  accompanied  by  a  proclamation  of  the  council  is  dated 
Feb.  18,  1437. 

*  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historic,  vol.  III.,  p.  128  f. 


II  KIXO    EIRIK    OF    POMEUAMA  51 

Kin^'  Eirik,  who  hiul  sailwl  to  Gothland,  did  not  return  to  Soder- 
kciping  to  receive  a  new  oath  of  iillepianee  innn  his  subjects.  After 
spendinfj  the  winter  in  the  island,  he  went  to  Prussia  to  raise  a  mih- 
tjiry  force  for  the  jjurpose  of  compelhnK  the  Danes  to  accept  his 
cousin,  Duke  H()<,M.shiu.s  of  I'oinerania,  as  heir  to  the  tiirone.  In  the 
fall  of  liM  he  returned  to  Denmark,  but  acted  more  arbitrarily  than 
ever  before.  In  lune,  143S,  the  Swedes  assembled  a  new  council  at 
Kalmar,  and  urji;ed  the  kinj?  to  be  present,  so  that  a  final  settlement 
could  be  made,  but  this  invitation  he  disrej^arded,  and  sailed  again 
to  Gothland,  where  he  now  established  himself  pennanently.  When 
it  became  apparent  that  he  would  not  return,  the  council  of  Kalmar 
made  the  agreement  that  he  should  still  be  regarded  as  king  of  the 
three  reahns,  and  that  perfect  friendship  should  exist  between  the 
kingdoms ;  but  the  Swedes  summoned  him  to  appear  at  Mora  Stenar 
to  declare  that  he  would  respect  the  laws  and  liberties  of  the  kingdom, 
or  he  would  be  deposed,  and  in  October,  14.'>S,  Karl  Knutsson  Bonde 
was  chosen  regent. 

Disturbances  again  broke  out  both  in  Norway  and  Denmark.  In 
Non\ay  the  men  of  Telemarken  and  Bamble,  led  by  Halvarrl  Graa- 
top,  marched  against  Oslo,  but  they  were  defeated  and  scattered  by 
Svarte-J0ns,  the  commander  of  Akershus  castle.'  In  Denmark  the 
peasants  rose  in  rel)cllion  against  the  nobility  and  clcru'y.  The 
situation  was  so  alanning  that  the  Council  invited  King  Eirik's 
nephew,  Duke  Gliristopher  (jf  Bavaria,  and  promised  him  the  crowns 
of  the  three  kingdoms,  an  assurance  which  was  contrary  both  to  the 
spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  act  of  union.  In  1439  King  Eirik  was 
formally  deposed  both  in  Sweden  and  Denmark;  Christopher  of  Ba- 
varia was  hailed  as  king  of  Denmark  at  the  Viborgthing  in  1440, 
and  the  following  year  he  was  also  elected  king  of  Sweden,  and 
crowned  at  Stockholm,  but  only  after  he  had  made  such  conces.sions 
to  the  Swedish  nobles  that  he  became  the  mere  shadow  of  a  king. 
The  revolution  in  Sweden,  which  had  i)een  set  on  foot  by  the  common 
people,  led  by  Engelbrecht  Engelbrechtsson,  had  been  carried  to 
comj)lction  by  the  aristocracy  under  the  leadership  of  Karl  Knutsson 
Bonde.     The  strong  royal  power  established  by  (^ueen  Margaret  had 

'  Gustav  Storm,  Hislnrisk  Tidsskrifl.  trodio  nokkc,  II.,  p.  110  fT.  Ludvig 
Uaat\  Ilistorisk  Tidsskrifl,  f0r8le  nekkc,  IV.,  p.  SO. 


52  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

been  shattered,  and  the  monarchic  union  estabhshed  at  Kalmar  had 
been  replaced  by  an  aristocratic  union.  The  nobles  of  Sweden  and 
Denmark  had  agreed  that  the  two  realms  should  remain  united  under 
a  shadow  king,  while  the  nobility  in  both  kingdoms  retained  all  real 
power. 

In  this  important  revolutionary  movement  Norway  took  no 
part,  aside  from  the  two  local  disturbances  mentioned,  although 
King  Eirik  had  virtually  ceased  to  rule  the  kingdom.  "The  reins 
had  slipped  from  his  hands  here  as  elsewhere,  but  there  was  no  one 
to  seize  them."  Though  Sweden  and  Deimiark  had  deposed  King 
Eirik,  and  had  chosen  Christopher  of  Bavaria  as  his  successor,  the 
Norwegian  Council  adhered  to  their  old  worthless  sovereign  with 
a  loyalty  which  would  have  been  pathetic,  if  it  did  not  furnish  evi- 
dence of  lack  of  national  self-consciousness  and  clear-sighted  political 
leadership.  Time  and  again  the  Council  sent  messages  to  Eirik  in 
his  voluntary  retirement,  assured  him  of  the  loyalty  of  the  Norwegian 
people,  and  asked  him  to  help  them,  but  the  eccentric  old  king  did 
not  even  answer.  The  only  evidence  that  he  still  regarded  himself  as 
king  of  Norway  was  a  few  appointments  which  he  seems  to  have  made 
to  please  the  Norwegians.  In  1438,  before  he  established  himself 
permanently  in  Gothland,  he  appointed  two  Norwegian  nobles,  Olav 
Buk  and  Olav  Nilsson,  commandants,  respectively,  of  Akershus  castle 
and  Bergen ;  and  in  1439  he  finally  appointed  a  new  drotsete,  Sigurd 
Jonsson,  and  also  a  new  chancellor,  Gunnar  Holk.^  When  it  finally 
became  evident  that  Eirik  had  altogether  ceased  to  rule,  the  Nor- 
wegian Council  consented  to  elect  King  Christopher.  In  1442  the 
Councils  of  the  three  kingdoms  assembled  at  Lodose,  where  Christo- 
pher was  chosen  king  of  Norway,  and  he  was  shortly  afterwards 
crowned  in  Oslo. 

In  his  retreat  in  Visborg  castle  in  the  island  of  Gothland,  King 
Eirik  was  now  left  alone  to  muse  over  the  strange  \dcissitudes  of 
human  affairs ;  but  his  spirit  was  not  of  the  kind  that  is  chastened 
by  misfortune.  He  turned  pirate  and  robbed  without  discrimi- 
nation Hanseatic  merchants  and  his  former  subjects.  In  his  castle 
he  defended  himself  stoutly  against  attacks,  but  prudence  finally 
led  him  to  cede  Gothland  to  King  Christian  I.,  Christopher's  succes- 
1  Samlinger  til  det  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  545. 


II  KING    EIUIK    UF    I'UMEUANIA  ij'.i 

sor,  and  to  retire  to  PoiiuTuiiia,  wlicrc  lie  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven. 

The  internal  comlitioiis  in  Norway  (hirini^  Mirik's  reifjn  reveal  an 
increasing  (lecach'nce,  wliich  was  fnrtiier  accelerate<l  tlirough  the 
mahiflininistration  dne  to  t"oreij;n  rule.  This  is,  })erhaps,  most  dis- 
tinctl\'  notieeahle  in  tiie  ehnrc  li,  which  up  to  the  |)erio(i  of  union  had 
retained  a  distinctly  national  character.  The  prelates,  as  well  as 
the  lower  clergy,  were  native-horn,  and  as  the  king  exercised  great 
influence  o\it  the  election  of  l)isho|)s,  the  state  church  j>rinciple  was 


I'lu.  J.  —  Vioborg  (Jaatlo 

maintaine<l  in  practice,  however  vigorously  it  might  be  assailed  in 
theory.  Both  Sverre  and  Haakon  Ilaakonsson  had  successfully 
defended  the  principle  that  the  king  was  the  head  of  the  Church  of 
.Norway.  The  l)ishoj)s,  who  were  elected  hy  the  chapters  of  the 
dioceses,  had  to  he  j)resented  to  the  king  to  receive  his  sanction 
hefore  they  were  con.secrated  by  the  Poj)e.  It  is  true  that  at  the 
council  of  Tunsherg,  1277,  King  Maginis  Lagahoter  renounced  tiie 
right  to  inllucncc  the  election  of  bishops;  but  this  act  was  not 
sanctioned  by  the  Norwegian  magnates,  and  during  succetnling 
reigns  the  bishoj)s  who  resisted  the  king  were  driven  into  exile. 
nuring  the  fourteenth  century  the  king  docs  not  seem  to  ha\'e  in- 
terfered with  the  election  of  bishops,  but  \\v  recci\-ed   the  right   to 


54  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

appoint  the  priests  of  the  royal  chapels.  Thereby  was  created  a  new 
class  of  clergy,  the  "chapel  priests,"  who  were  wholly  dependent  on 
the  king,  and,  hence,  loyally  attached  to  him.  From  among  these 
priests  the  king  could  select  his  chancellor  and  other  secretaries,  and 
when  the  Council  of  the  Kingdom  came  into  existence,  the  leaders 
of  this  clergy  also  received  a  seat  in  that  body  besides  the  bishops. 
The  Provost  of  the  Apostle  church  in  Bergen  was  member  of  the 
Council  as  magister  capellarum,  and  the  office  of  chancellor  should 
always  be  held  by  the  Provost  of  the  St.  Mary's  church  in  Oslo.  In 
this  way  the  national  character  of  the  Church  of  Norway  had  been 
maintained  prior  to  the  union.  Especially  after  King  Sverre's  time 
the  clergy  were  quite  loyal  to  the  sovereign.  The  sagas  of  the  kings 
of  Norway,  and  other  great  works  in  the  national  prose  literature, 
were  written  by  them  ;  they  were  not  only  the  spiritual  teachers,  but 
also  the  spokesmen  and  leaders  of  their  people. 

When  the  Kalmar  union  was  established,  the  process  of  denationali- 
zation of  the  Norwegian  Church  took  its  beginning.  The  union  kings 
maintained  wdth  renewed  energy  the  state  church  principle,  and 
sought  to  influence  the  election  of  bishops,  not  for  the  sake  of  main- 
taining the  national  independence  of  the  Norwegian  Church,  but  in 
order  to  strengthen  their  influence  in  the  Council  of  the  Kingdom. 
Their  chief  aim  was  to  secure  the  election  of  Danish  ecclesiastics, 
who  would,  naturally,  be  staunch  supporters  of  the  king  and  his 
policy.  This  practice  was  begun  by  Queen  Margaret,  who  in  1381 
made  the  Dane,  Nicholas  Finkenov,  Archbishop  of  Nidaros,  although 
the  Norwegian  ecclesiastic,  Haakon  Ivarsson,  had  been  unanimously 
chosen  by  the  chapter.^  Nicholas  did  not  attend  to  the  duties  of 
his  archdiocese,  but  returned  to  Denmark,  taking  with  him  the  books 
and  treasures  of  the  church.  In  a  similar  way,  a  Danish  monk, 
Benedict,  was  chosen  Bishop  of  Bergen  (1371),  and  later  another 
Dane,  Jacob  Knutsson,  was  chosen  bishop  of  the  same  diocese 
(1400),  but  in  1407  he  was"transf erred  to  the  diocese  of  Oslo.  King 
Eirik  pursued  the  same  policy,  and  meddled  in  church  affairs  in  a 
much  more  arbitrary  way  than  the  more  discreet  Queen  Margaret. 

^  Chr.  Lange,  Bidrag  til  Norges  Historie  under  Unionen,  Norsk  Tidsskrift 
for  Videnskab  og  Litteratur,  vol.  I.,  p.  217  ff.  Islandske  Annaler,  edited  by 
Storm,  p.  285. 


II  KING    EIRIK    f)F    POMERAVIA  55 

When  Aslak  liolt,  the  Bi.sliop  of  Berj^eii,  was  chosen  archhishop, 
KiiiK  Eirik  named  as  his  successor  the  immoral  and  wholly  unworthy 
Arne  Clementsson,  wlioni  he  hiter  forcefl  upon  the  Swedes  as  Arch- 
bishop of  rpsahi.  It  seems,  liowever,  that  Arne  was  never  conse- 
crate<i  Bisliop  of  Bertren.  In  1422  the  kin^  secured  the  election  of 
another  Dane  as  Hi>h(i|)  of  Oslo,  and  he  a!.>o  niadc  him  chancellor, 
though  that  olHce  helonjjed  to  the  Provost  of  the  St.  Mary's  church. 
This  was  a  most  important  office,  as  the  chancellor  was  the  keeper 
of  the  seal,  wiiich  had  to  be  afHxed  to  every  royal  document  to  make 
it  valid.  The  practice  thus  originated  by  Margaret  and  Kirik  of 
Pomerania  was  rontinued  by  their  successors,  who  often  used  their 
power  very  arl)itrarily  to  secure  the  election  of  Danes.  The  clergy 
became  more  and  more  foreign  in  character,  and  the  church  lost  its 
distinct  national  traits;  it  grew  apart  from  the  people,  and  cease<l 
to  be  the  nation's  intellectual  leader. 

.\  similar  downward  trend  is  noticeable  in  all  departments  of 
administration.  Prior  to  the  union  the  authority  exercised  by  the 
king  and  the  Council  had  articulated  well  with  the  local  administra- 
tive authorities,  by  whom  the  behests  of  the  central  government  could 
be  efficiently  carried  out.  After  the  union  was  established,  this  first 
princii)le  of  good  government  was  destroyed,  not  only  through  the 
negligence  and  lack  of  insight  of  the  sovereigns,  but  even  jnirposely 
in  order  to  strengthen  the  royal  power.  With  undisguised  efforts 
the  union  kings  sought  to  gather  all  power  into  their  own  hands,  and 
to  rule  by  issuing  royal  decrees  to  be  carried  out  by  fogeds  whom 
they  themselves  had  ai)pointed.  The  old  system  of  local  adminis- 
tration was  sullVred  to  fall  into  decay;  the  principle  of  government 
by  the  pet)ple  and  for  the  i)eople  was  disappearing.  Henceforth  the 
nation  was  to  be  ruled  by  a  \\ise  and  divinely  inspired  landcsvatcr, 
who  was  rising  to  the  position  of  a  sort  of  benevolent  despot.  In 
Sweden  and  Denmark  this  march  towards  absolutism  was  arrested 
by  the  revolution  of  1434-1440;  Norway  was  unable  to  profit  by 
this  t)pportnnity.  The  weakness  of  the  nobility,  which  made  it 
possible  for  the  king  to  exercise  full  control  in  Norway,  was  further 
augmented  by  the  appointment  of  foreigners  to  the  highest  positions 
of  trust  and  honor  both  in  church  and  state.  Thereby  the  leading 
Norwegians  were  gradually  excludeil    from   y)ublic  life,  and   force<i 


56  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

into  inactivity  and  obscurity,  while  the  government,  which  became 
wholly  extraneous  to  the  people,  grew  paternal  and  despotic.  From 
the  l)eginning  of  the  union  both  the  sovereign  and  the  Danish  Council 
sought  to  increase  their  power  and  influence  in  Norway.  The  oflBces 
of  the  kingdom  were  treated  as  a  royal  possession,  and  donated  at 
will  to  Danish  nobles  and  courtiers,  while  no  Norwegians  were  ap- 
pointed to  office  in  Denmark.  In  1415  the  German  Hans  Kropelin 
had  been  made  foged,  or  commandant,  of  Bohus,  and  Baltazar  van 
Dem  had  received  S0ndhordland  as  a  fief.  In  1424  Tideke  Rust 
was  commandant  of  Akershus,  and  later  Svarte-J0ns  was  appointed 
to  the  same  position.  John  Ummereise  and  Henrik  Schacht,  though 
they  were  foreigners,  were  made  members  of  the  Norwegian  Council. 
From  whatever  side  we  view  conditions  in  Norway,  it  becomes  evi- 
dent that  the  Danes  were  gaining  the  ascendancy.  Many  Danish 
nobles  and  courtiers  flocked  to  Norway,  and  married  Norwegian 
heiresses.^  In  this  way  they  became  the  owners  of  rich  estates,  and 
as  royal  favors  were  always  accorded  them  whenever  an  opportunity 
presented  itself,  these  dashing  foreigners  with  wealth  and  titles  soon 
elbowed  their  way  to  the  foremost  positions  in  the  land.  As  illus- 
trations of  this  kind  of  fortune  seekers  may  be  mentioned  Diderich 
Wistenakker,  who  received  as  a  flef  the  whole  of  Telemarken,^and 
Hartvig  Krumedike,  who  in  the  reign  of  Christian  I.  became  the 
richest  man  in  Norway. 

10.   An  Embryo  Democracy 

The  sources  dealing  with  social  conditions  in  this  period  are  very 
meager,  but  an  important  document  has,  however,  been  left  us  by 
the  Italian  sea-captain  Pietro  Quirini,  who  wrote  an  account  of  the 
life  and  customs  of  the  common  people  of  the  seacoast  districts  of 
northern  Norway  as  he  found  them  in  1432.  Quirini  was  ship- 
wrecked in  the  North  Sea  on  a  voyage  to  Flanders,  and  with  a  few 
surviving  companions  he  finally  reached  the  islands  off  the  north 
coast  of  Norway  in  a  boat.  They  landed  on  the  uninliabited  island 
of  Santi  (Sand0),  where  they  suffered  much  from  hunger  and  cold; 
but  some  men  who  came  to  the  island  to  look  after  their  sheep  found 
the  shipwrecked  men,  and  they  were  brought  to  the  island  of  R0st 
*  Samlinger  til  det  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  vol.  III.,  p.  608. 


II  AN   EMBRYO    DEMOCRACY  57 

where  tliey  si)ent  the  winter.'  (^uiriiii  says  that  K0st  was  only 
three  (Itahan)  miles  in  circumferenee,  and  had  126  inhabitants,  who 
supporteti  themselves  by  fishing',  as  no  fruit  or  grain  grew  there. 
They  caught  a  great  deal  of  codfish,  which  they  salted  and  dried  in 
the  sun.  This  they  prepared  for  the  table  by  pounding  it  until  it 
became  tender,  whereupon  the\'  mixed  it  with  butter  and  spices, 
which  made  it  very  j)alatable.  They  also  had  milk  and  beef,  and  by 
mi.xing  meal  into  the  milk  they  made  a  dough  from  which  cakes  were 
baked.  Usually  they  drank  sour  milk,  which  the  strangers  did  not 
find  to  their  taste,  but  they  also  had  beer.  Their  hou.ses  were  round, 
wooden  structures  with  an  opening  in  the  roof  through  which  light 
was  admitted,  and  in  winter  the  oi)ening  was  covered  with  a  trans- 
lucent membrane.  Their  clothes  were  mostly  of  coarse  London 
cloth,  but  not  of  skin.  The  author  speaks  also  of  the  vast  number  of 
wild  birds,  especially  wild  geese,  which  were  so  tame  that  they 
would  make  their  nests  close  to  the  houses,  so  that  when  the  people 
wanted  eggs,  they  lifted  the  birds  off  the  nests,  and  took  as  many 
as  they  needed,  but  otherwise  they  left  the  birds  undisturbed.  Their 
wealth,  he  says,  consists,  nt)t  in  money,  but  in  fish,  two  kinds  of  which 
were  especially  important ;  namely,  halibut  and  codfish.  In  the 
month  of  May  when  the  codfish  is  dry,  they  load  it  on  ships,  and  sail 
with  it  to  Bergen,  which  is  an  important  trading  center.  Thither 
come  ships  laden  with  articles  of  food  and  clothing  from  Gennany, 
England,  Scotland,  and  Prussia,  and  these  goods,  sucii  as  leather, 
iron,  cloth,  and  various  articles  of  food,  the  inhabitants  of  R0st  receive 
in  exchange  for  their  fish.  The  peoi)le,  both  men  and  women,  he 
says,  are  well-built  and  good-looking,  and  they  live  together  in  the 
greatest  innocence  and  brotherly  love,  and  usually  help  one  another 
without  any   thought  of  profit.     They  are  good  Christians ;  they 

'  H0.st  is  a  small  island  hotwoon  07°  and  68°  N.  L.  Quirini's  account  is 
found  in  Italian  in  Raniusio's  Rncoltc  diibi  Nangationi,  torn.  II..  and  in 
German  in  .1.  R.  Forstur's  Geschichte  der  Eutdeckungeti  im  Xordcn,  p.  2.'>1  IT. 
Gustav  Storm,  Wiirtianeriic  pan  Rost  i  l.'ffi2,  Dit  tiorskv  (ttografiskc  Selskabs 
Aarhog.  VIII.,  p.  37  fT. 

Accounts  of  their  stay  in  Norway  wore  al.so  written  hy  two  of  (Quirini's 
companions,  Christopher  Fioravante  and  Nieholaus  Michole.  SchoniuR, 
Del  norske  Videnskabcrs-Selskabu  Skrifter,  vol.  II.,  p.  9.'i  ff.  Rasmus  Nyerup, 
Historisk-slntintisk  Skildriug  af  Tihtandiri  i  Datimark  ng  Xorgc  i  aeldrc  og 
nyere  Tidcr,  vol.  I.,  p.  303  fT.     O.  A.  Qverland  Xorgcs  Ilistoriv,  vol.  V..  p.  ,S3  (T. 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

attend  church  regularly,  and  keep  the  fast-days ;  they  never  use 
profanity  or  mention  the  name  of  the  devil ;  they  are  so  honest  that 
they  take  no  care  to  hide  their  property  behind  locks  and  bars,  but 
leave  all  doors  and  drawers  unlocked ;  neither  do  they  fear  that  their 
sons  and  daughters  shall  transgress  against  virtue.  All  of  them, 
young  and  old,  lead  such  virtuous  lives,  and  live  in  such  perfect 
obedience  to  the  moral  law  that  they  do  not  know  what  incontinence 
is.  They  marry  only  to  fulfill  the  commandment  of  God,  and  not 
from  carnal  appetite,  which  can  get  no  power  over  them  because  of 
the  cold  air  and  the  cold  country  in  which  they  live.  When  their 
father,  mother,  husband,  wife,  children,  or  other  near  relatives  die, 
they  go  to  church  and  praise  God  because  he  suffered  the  deceased 
to  dwell  so  long  among  them ;  and  neither  in  word  nor  deed  do  they 
betray  any  sorrow  or  sadness  any  more  than  if  the  dead  w^ere  only 
sleeping.  When  a  woman's  husband  dies,  the  w^idow  makes  a  great 
feast  for  all  the  neighbors  on  the  day  of  the  funeral.  They  are  then 
attired  in  their  best  clothes,  and  the  widow  encourages  the  guests  to 
eat  and  drink  heartil}^  and  to  be  of  good  cheer  in  memory  of  her 
husband's  departure  into  eternal  rest  and  peace. 

In  the  month  of  INIay  the  people  of  R0st  began  to  prepare  for  their 
yearly  trip  to  Bergen,  whither  the  strangers  were  to  accompany 
them.  A  few  days  before  their  departure  a  noble  lady,  the  wife  of 
the  governor  of  the  district,  who  had  heard  that  some  strangers  were 
staying  on  the  island,  dispatched  her  chaplain  to  Quirini  and  his 
companions  with  a  present  consisting  of  sixty  dried  codfish,  three 
loaves  of  rye  bread,  and  a  cake.  She  also  sent  her  greetings,  saying 
that  as  she  had  learned  that  the  people  of  R0st  had  not  showed  so 
great  a  hospitality  as  they  should  have  done,  they  should  report  to  her 
any  wrong  which  they  might  have  suffered,  and  full  restitution 
would  be  made  them.  The  inhabitants  of  R0st  were  also  instructed 
to  show  the  strangers  the  greatest  courtesy  and  hospitality,  and  to 
bring  them  along  to  Bergen.  Quirini  and  his  men  expressed  their 
heartfelt  gratitude  to  the  lady  for  her  kindness.  They  testified  to 
the  people's  innocence  of  any  wrongdoing,  and  praised  them  most 
highly  for  their  great  hospitality.  Quirini  sent  the  lady  a  pater- 
noster chain  of  amber  as  a  present,  and  asked  her  to  pray  for  their 
happy  return  to  their  own  country. 


n  AN    i:.MliKV(J    DEMUCHACY  59 

On  the  14th  of  May  tliey  set  sail  for  Her^,M'^,  and  on  the  way  they 
met  Archbishop  Aslak  Bolt,  who  was  niakinj;  a  tour  of  insj)ecti(jn 
in  his  diocese.  When  he  heard  the  tiile  of  the  strangers,  he  was  filled 
with  compassion  and  gave  them  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  the 
people  of  Nidaros  (Troiidhjem).  where  they  were  received  with  the 
greatest  kiiidiiess.  On  Ascensit^n  day  they  attended  mass  in  the 
great  cathedral,  and  they  were  afterwards  invited  by  the  syaselmand 
to  a  bamiuet,  where  they  were  well  entertained.  After  a  ten  days' 
\'isit  in  the  city,  they  began  their  journey  overland  to  Stegeborg  in 
Ostcrgotland,  Sweden,  where  an  Italian,  Giovanni  Franco  (called  in 
Swedish  Joiin  Wilcii),  was  commandant,  (^uiriiii  gave  the  .sijt<sd- 
mnnd  some  small  trinkets  which  he  still  had  in  his  possession,  and 
the  nyssehiuuid  gave  him  in  return  a  pair  of  boots  with  spurs,  a  little 
ax  with  the  picture  of  St.  Olav,  a  saddle,  a  hat,  four  Rhenish  gulden, 
and  a  sack  of  provisions.  The  archbishop  had  given  the  people 
instructions  to  suj^ply  Quirini  with  a  horse,  and  the  syssebiiand  gave 
him  two  more.  Thus  jjrovided,  they  started  on  their  journey,  accom- 
panied by  a  guide,  and  they  traveled  eastward  for  fifty-three  days. 

The  kingdom  was  thinly  settled,  says  the  author,  and  they  often 
came  to  houses  where  the  i)eople  lay  sleeping,  as  it  was  nighttime, 
though  the  sun  was  shining.  The  guide,  who  knew  the  custom  of 
the  cotmtry,  entered  without  knocking  at  the  door,  and  they  found 
tlie  tal)Ie  decked,  and  chairs  around  it.  There  were  als(j  fur  ticks 
tilled  with  down  or  feathers  to  sleep  on.  Everything  was  open,  so 
that  they  could  eat  what  there  was,  and  lie  down  to  sleep ;  and  it 
often  happened  that  the  man  of  the  house  came  and  found  them 
sleeping,  and  when  the  guide  told  them  where  they  were  from,  and 
who  they  were,  he  became  astonished  and  gave  them  food  without 
pa>',  so  that  tiie  twelve  men  with  three  horses  did  not  spend  more 
than  the  four  liheiiish  gulden,  though  they  traveled  for  tifty-three 
days.  On  their  way  they  found  huge  mountiiins  and  deep  valleys, 
where  they  saw  great  numbers  of  animals  which  resembled  roebucks, 
swarms  of  snow-white  birds  of  the  >i/.e  of  heath-cocks,  and  j)artridges 
and  pheasants  as  large  as  geese.  Other  birds,  as  hawks  and  falcons, 
were  all  white,  due  to  the  very  cold  clinuite  of  the  country.  They 
had  also  seen  in  the  St.  Olai  church  a  white-bejir  skin  about  fifteen 
feet  long. 


60  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

In  Stegeborg  they  were  well  received  by  their  countryman  Giovanni 
Franco.  He  sent  them  to  Lodose,  whence  they  went  to  England, 
and  they  finally  returned  to  Italy  in  safety. 

Captain  Quirini's  account  of  the  life  and  customs  in  these  remote 
seacoast  settlements  is  the  more  interesting  since  we  still  find  in 
the  country  districts  of  Norway  the  same  generous  hospitality,  the 
mutual  helpfulness,  the  unsuspecting  honesty,  and  with  no  great 
modifications,  also  the  customs  which  he  describes.  The  traits 
which  attracted  the  captain's  attention  were  not  limited  to  a  single 
locality  or  period  of  time,  but  are  general  characteristics  of  the  Nor- 
wegian people  in  all  ages.  These  traits  bespeak  a  people  leading  a 
healthy  rustic  life,  free  from  oppression  or  class  struggles ;  whose 
simple  virtues  have  been  reduced  to  time-honored  customs,  the 
origin  of  which  is  hidden  in  a  remote  antiquity.  Norway's  com- 
merce and  sea-power  had  fallen  into  decay,  her  national  greatness 
had  sufi'ered  a  total  eclipse,  and  even  her  political  independence  was 
being  gradually  sacrificed  in  the  interest  of  an  unprofitable  union 
with  Denmark;  but  the  social  and  economic  life  of  the  people  in  its 
local  enviroimient  was  left  almost  untouched  by  these  changes,  and 
retained  its  former  health  and  vigor.  The  growing  weakness  and 
ineflBciency  of  the  public  regime,  to  which  the  rapid  deterioration  of 
the  military  and  national  power  of  Norway  must  be  ascribed,  reflects 
in  no  way  any  inner  social  decay. 

Nowhere  did  the  people  govern  themselves  in  national  matters 
in  this  period.  The  central  government  was  either  vested  in  a  king 
and  his  advisers,  as  in  Norway,  or  in  an  aristocracy,  as  in  Sweden 
and  Deimaark.  If  this  government  was  unwarlike  and  inactive,  the 
state  was  weak,  though  the  people  might  be  relatively  prosperous 
and  well  content.  If  the  government  was  aggressive,  and  maintained 
an  efficient  military  organization,  the  state  was  strong,  as  people  at 
that  time  counted  strength.  Great  wars  could  be  fought,  castles 
and  palaces  could  be  built,  the  nobles  could  display  a  dazzling  pomp, 
and  the  national  greatness  was  commensurate  with  their  number 
and  power;  but  with  the  development  of  this  intense  mihtary 
activity  followed  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  feudalization  of  society,  by 
which  the  people  were  deprived,  not  only  of  their  local  autonomy, 
but  of  their  personal  freedom.     They  were  gradually  reduced  to 


n  AN    KMintVO    DKMOCRACV  C>] 

serfdom,  and  forced  to  shoulder  iiitolenihle  burdens,  which  left  them 
in  hopeless  j)()verty  and  intellectual  apathy.  In  Denmark,  where 
the  aristocracy  was  stronj;,  the  nohles  owned  two-fifths  of  all  the  land 
besides  their  lar^e  family  estates.  Serfdom  and  socaj^c?  were  intro- 
duced, and  the  hondrr  were  reduced  to  a  most  wretched  condition.' 
The  nobles  who  devoted  them.selves  to  military  exploits  could  place 
in  the  field  well-drilled  armies  of  mailed  horsemen,  capable  of  wa^'inj; 
successful  campaigns  even  beyond  the  borders  of  the  kingdom  ;  but  the 
burdens  fell  upon  the  unfree  tillers  f)f  the  soil,  who  were  wholly  at 
the  mercy  of  their  feudal  masters.  This  kind  of  national  greatness, 
though  it  produced  a  rather  showy  intellectual  activity  among  the 
upper  classes,  and  a  few  heroic  and  interesting  personalities,  was 
unquestionably  attended  with  social  retrogression  and  growing 
internal  de<'ay.  The  people's  strength  was  gradually  sapped,  society 
was  stratifie<l  into  hostile  classes,  and  difficult  social  problems  were 
created  which  had  to  be  solved  before  the  life  of  the  nation  could 
;be  lifted  to  a  higher  j)Iane.  It  is  quite  evident  that  national  strength 
in  the  feudal,  medieval  sense  must  not  be  confounded  with  national 
progress,  and  it  follows  that  national  weakness,  taken  in  the  same 
sense,  need  not  be  associated  with  economic  and  social  decay.  In 
Norway  the  aristocracy  had  been  almost  destroyed  by  the  king, 
and  when  the  royal  family  died  out,  a  vigorous  government,  which 
was  tantamount  to  a  strong  Norway,  was  impossi!)le.  The  people 
seem  to  have  had  no  regrets.  They  welcomed  cheerfully  a  Swedish 
or  a  Danish  king,  if  he  would  not  \iolate  their  laws,  or  infringe  on 
their  local  autonomy.  Tliey  jiad  lost  their  kings  and  their  nol)ility, 
which  might  have  maintained  their  national  greatness,  but  they 
li.id  also  been  relieved  of  the  classes  which  could  oppress  them  and 
riihice  them  to  serfdom,  and  Nonvay  thereby  escaped  the  evils  of 

*  Tho  old  historian  PedtT  Friodrich  Suhm  says:  "The  great  lords,  clergy 
u  well  as  others,  oppressed  here  as  elsewhere  the  poor,  who  thereby  were 
l>rought  to  despair,  so  that  they  frequently  revolted.  But  in  Norway  this 
aocurred  much  more  seldom  than  in  Denmark,  because  the  lords  were  not 
K)  numerous  there,  and  their  estates  were  smaller,  hence  they  demanded 
less  service."     Snmlcdc  Skriftcr.  VIII..  p.  361. 

"Agriculture  was  dccliniii);.  and  likewise  the  |)<)pulntion.  The  continual 
Jtrife  between  the  nobility  and  the  common  people  was  the  cause  of  this." 
SamUde  Skrifler,  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  359. 


62  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  feudal  system.  The  union  government,  which  was  exercised  at 
a  distance,  was  paternal  and  inefficient  rather  than  oppressive, 
and  although  greedy  fogeds  might  commit  individual  acts  of  injustice, 
they  lacked  the  power,  if  they  did  possess  the  will,  to  oppress  the 
whole  people.  Cut  off  from  international  confficts,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  wars  forced  upon  them  through  their  union  with  Den- 
mark, the  Norwegians  were  left  to  themselves  to  lead  an  uneventful 
rustic  life  among  their  own  fjords  and  mountains,  where  they  pre- 
served their  own  laws,  local  institutions,  love  of  freedom,  and  robust 
spirit  of  independence.  With  the  disappearance  of  the  court  and 
the  nobility  a  leveling  of  social  conditions  followed  which  gradually 
obliterated  the  old  class  distinctions,  and  consolidated  the  people 
into  a  hardy,  plain-spoken  yeomanry.  In  their  homes  around  the 
fjords  and  in  the  mountain  valleys,  the  Norwegians  were  as  much 
their  own  lords  in  the  period  of  union  as  they  had  been  in  the  Viking 
Age ;  and  their  irrepressible  love  of  freedom  was  often  whetted  into 
violent  resistance  to  oppression,  and  jealous  hatred  and  distrust  of 
the  new  upper  class  of  Danish  priests  and  officials  which  sprang  into 
existence  in  the  period  of  union  with  Denmark.  Whatever  the  Nor- 
wegians might  have  lost  through  the  disappearance  of  military  power 
and  national  prestige,  the  unimpaired  manhood  and  womanhood  of 
the  people,  than  which  nothing  is  better  worth  preserving,  remained 
to  live  and  grow  in  a  free  and  healthy  domestic  enviroimient.  It  is 
true  that  the  spirit  of  the  nation  no  longer  found  expression  in  great 
achievements,  but  whenever  opportunity  was  offered,  it  manifested 
itself  in  a  way  which  created  respect  and  admiration.  We  see  it  in 
the  great  naval  heroes  Kort  Adelaer  and  Peter  Tordenskjold,  and  in 
the  great  respect  which  the  Norwegian  soldiers  always  enjoyed  in 
Denmark.  The  Danish  kings  in  the  union  period  surrounded  them- 
selves with  a  Norwegian  bodyguard,  and  the  Danish  naval  forces 
were  largely  recruited  in  Norway.  Molesw^orth  says :  "  The  best 
seamen  of  the  King  of  Denmark  are  the  Norwegians."  ^  The  rather 
bombastic  patriotic  songs  of  a  later  period  praising  the  bravery, 
fidelity,  and  intense  love  of  liberty  of  the  Norwegians  need  not  be 

^  Robert  Molesworth,  An  Account  of  Denmark  as  It  Was  in  the  Year  1692, 
London,  1694,  p.  130.  Molesworth  was  an  Enj^lisb  writer  and  diplomat. 
Anathon  Aal,  Henrik  Ibsen  als  Dichter  und  Denker,  Halle,  1908,  p.  41  ff. 


II  AN   EMBRYO    DEMOCRACY  63 

taken  literally,  but  we  would  wholly  misunderstand  them  if  we  failed 
to  recognize  that  they  express  in  an  almost  stereotyped  and  conven- 
tional way  a  well-established  general  opinion.  Anathon  Aal  says : 
"The  {)eople  were  always  free,  the  binder  (yeomanry)  much  more  so 
than  elsewhere  in  Europe,  but  they  lacked  political  leaders  who 
could  maintain  tiie  national  principle."  This  was  a  loss,  but  it  was 
also  a  gain.  When  the  aristocracy  and  the  national  kingship  dis- 
appeared, the  defense  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  and  the  future 
destiny  of  the  nation  was  j^laced  for  the  first  time  in  the  people's 
own  hands.  Those  who  ruled  and  those  who  led  were  gone;  the 
people  had  to  rely  upon  themselves.  However  this  may  be  inter- 
preted, it  was  a  social  revolution  which  necessarily  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  era  in  the  people's  social  and  political  development. 
The  yeoman  class  grew  strong  and  numerous.  They  loved  their  old 
freedom,  they  cherished  their  rights,  they  were  united  by  common 
customs  and  the  equality  of  economic  and  social  conditions.  They 
lacked  the  means  as  well  as  the  ability  to  seek  the  glor\'  of  military 
exploits  or  international  politics,  but  they  learned  to  act  together 
in  resisting  encroachments,  and  in  managing  their  own  domestic 
affairs.  They  were  not  only  freer  than  the  people  elsewhere,  but 
they  were  also  more  independent  economically.  We  have  seen  that 
natural  conditions,  especially  the  small  and  scattered  areas  of  tillable 
soil,  had  hindered  the  growth  of  a  feudal  aristocracy  in  Norway. 
Few  castles  were  built,  and  a  fairly  equitable  distribution  of  land 
was  maintained  by  the  law  of  odd,  which  safeguarded  the  bonder  in 
the  possession  of  their  land.  The  absence  of  feudal  lords,  and  the 
division  of  the  land  among  the  bdmler,  who  owned  and  tilled  tlieir 
own  little  fanns,  made  the  large  class  of  freeholders  economically 
independent,  and  gave  Norwegian  society  a  distinctive  democratic 
character.'  Because  they  were  left  without  such  an  aristocratic 
upper  class,  the>-  also  deveIoj)ed  a  love  for  inde|)endent  action,  and 
I  spirited  self-reliance  which  fomis  the  theme  of  the  patriotic  national 
11,'s,  and  which  won  the  admiration  of  the  Danes  in  the  union  period. 
1  "his  was  not  national  greatness,  but  it  can  safely  be  called  social 
trogress.  The  only  trouble  was  that  this  developTiicnt  in  Norway 
ame  in  an  age  which  was  not  yet  able  to  profit  by  democratic  con- 
'  See  Bj0rn8tjcrne  Bj0rn6on's  p>oem,  "Norge,  Norge." 


64  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

ditions,  and  make  them  a  new  force  in  national  development.  But 
although  centuries  were  yet  to  pass  before  this  life,  under  unfavor- 
able political  circumstances,  ripened  into  a  new  self-conscious  nation- 
alism, we  find  in  the  Norwegian  people  after  the  completion  of  this 
great  social  and  political  change  the  future  Norwegian  democracy 
in  embryo.  We  see  nursed  in  the  quiet  the  social  conditions  and  the 
traits  of  character  which  so  quickly  placed  Norway  in  the  front  rank 
of  poHtical  and  social  democracies  when  the  great  awakening  finally 
came. 

11.    King  Christopher 

When  Christopher  of  Bavaria  finally  succeeded  King  Eirik  of 
Pomerania  on  the  thrones  of  the  Northern  kingdoms,  the  three 
realms  were  again  united  under  a  common  king,  but  the  idea  of  unit- 
ing them  into  a  single  Danish  kingdom  under  the  personal  rule  of  the 
king,  which  had  been  Queen  Margaret's  plan,  was  now  abandoned. 
Separate  administration  for  each  kingdom  was  emphasized,  and  the 
only  frail  strand  of  the  union  idea  yet  remaining  was  that  of  a  com- 
mon sovereign,  who  luider  the  new  arrangement  had  but  limited 
powder.  In  Sweden  and  Denmark  the  nobility  forced  Christopher 
to  subscribe  to  charters  which  greatly  reduced  his  power  and 
strengthened  the  influence  of  the  Council.  Sweden  secured  full 
autonomy.  The  kingdom  should  be  left  in  full  enjojTnent  of  its 
laws,  liberties,  privileges,  and  ancient  customs;  the  taxes  collected 
should  be  used  in  the  kingdom,  the  king  should  have  only  Swedish 
councilors  and  courtiers,  the  castles  of  the  kingdom  should  be  given 
to  Swedes,  and  upon  the  king's  death  they  should  be  turned  over 
to  a  committee  consisting  of  six  of  the  leading  men  of  the  realm.  In 
Norway  no  specific  agreement  was  signed,  but  the  king  never  visited 
the  country  after  his  coronation.  The  administration  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  Council,  w^hich  now  acted  with  greater  authority 
than  it  had  ever  done  since  the  union  was  first  established  in  1397. 
Fortunately,  King  Christopher  seems  to  have  coveted  peace  and 
comfort  rather  than  power.  He  is  described  as  short  and  stout 
merry,  and  good-natured,  and  he  evidently  sought  to  rule  in  ful 
harmony  with  the  conditions  to  which  he  had  subscribed.  But  foil 
all  his  good  intentions,  he  was  not  popular  in  Sweden,  where  th 


II  K1N(;    CllIUSTOI'lIKU  G.J 

powerful  Karl  Kiiutssoii  Boiide  covi'tccl  the  tlirotic.  It  had  l)ec()ine 
Ji  fixed  belief  aiiH)ii<;  the  eoiimioii  i)e<)i)le  that  Karl  Kiiut>s()ri  would 
become  king.  An  old  clairvoyant  woman  had  toM  liini  s(»,  and  a 
little  girl  had  seen  a  crown  settle  on  his  head  while  he  was  sitting  in 
church.  The  taxes  were  unjust,  it  was  claimed,  aufl  the  hard  times 
due  to  eroj)  failure  caused  great  dissatisfaction.  The  i)eoj)le  said 
that  the  grain  was  fed  to  the  king's  horses,  while  they  had  to  make 
bread  of  bark,  and  they  nicknamed  him  Christopher  Barkking.  In 
\()rwa\-  there  was  also  great  unre.st,  especially  in  the  southeastern 
districts.  The  people  rose  against  their  fogrds,  and  in  fiudbransdal 
Bengt  Ilarniktsson  (lyldcnlovc.  a  member  of  the  ('ouncil,  was  slain. 
The  Ilanseatic  League  still  controlled  Norwegian  connnerce,  and 
the  IlaiKseatic  factory  at  Bergen  enjoyed  at  this  time  its  greatest 
prosperity  and  power.  Its  members  treated  the  native  population 
and  even  the  city  government  with  unbearable  arrogance,  and  law- 
lessness and  licentiousness  passed  all  bounds,  but  the  local  authorities 
were  unable  to  enforce  the  laws.  The  members  of  the  Ilansa  had 
even  enterefl  the  town  hall,  sword  in  hand,  and  had  forcibly  ejected 
the  city  council.'  In  1444  the  Council  of  the  kingdom  met  in  Ber- 
gen to  discuss  the  situation.  The  opinion  prevailed  that  the  German 
merchants  should  no  longer  ])e  tolerated  as  a  state  within  the  state, 
that  their  privileges  should  be  reduced  to  what  they  had  been  in  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.'-  Some  of  the  councilors  went 
ito  Copenhagen,  and  placed  this  proposition  before  the  king,  who 
sanctioned  it  in  a  ro\al  rescript  of  \[l\  relative  to  the  trade  of 
foreign  merchants  in  Bergen.  Nothing  was  gained,  however.  In 
li  1447  the  king  granted  the  most  unrestricted  privileges  to  the  Rostock 
nu'rchants  to  trade  in  the  city  of  Oslo  and  Tunsberg  in  southern 
Norway,  while  in  Bergen  the  conuiiandaiit,  Olav  Nilsson.  the 
leader  of  the  opposition  to  the  Ilanseatic  merchants,  struggled  with 
determination,  but  under  great  difficulties,  to  enforce  the  new  regu- 
lations. A  most  critical  situation  had  been  created  when  King 
Christopher  suddenly  died  in  I  US.'' 

'  Yiijjvar  Nielsen.  Hir<i(  n,  p.  2."»7.     Diplomnlnriuui  Nonrcgirum,  I.,  no.  801. 

^Fhr(ictis  Finulnl.s,  written  about  1.'>S();  puhlished  l)y  N.  Xi<'oInysen  in 
Nomkr  .\f(ui(isiii,  I.      Diplomntnriitm  Xonrrfficum,  vol.  VII.,  no.  117. 

'  The  Hanseiiti(^  merchants  resented  the  attempt  to  restrict  their  privilepos. 
In  1447  they  issued  a  document  in  which  they  a<'cused  Ohiv  N'ilsson  of  the 
VOL.  n  —  F 


66  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

In  Trondhjem  the  Hanseatic  merchants  had  gained  no  foothold, 
as  the}^  were  forbidden  to  trade  north  of  Bergen.  Trondhjem  had 
always  been  the  chief  center  of  trade  with  the  Norwegian  colonies, 
especially  with  Iceland,  but  this  trade  declined  with  the  decay  of 
Norwegian  commerce  and  sea-power,  and  in  the  later  Middle  Ages 
almost  nothing  is  known  of  the  city's  commercial  activity.^  The 
Hanseatic  supremacy  resulted,  very  naturally,  in  a  stagnation  of  the 
Norwegian  cities,  as  the  native  merchants  were  driven  out  of  busi- 
ness, and  the  population  could  not  grow  while  the  trade  was  in  the 
hands  of  unmarried  foreigners,  who  were  strictly  confined  within 
the  precincts  of  the  factory,  cut  off  from  all  social  intercourse  with 
the  townspeople.  The  attempt  of  Olav  Nilsson  and  the  Norwegian 
Council  to  assert  Norway's  sovereign  authority  over  these  foreigners 
was  a  move  in  the  right  direction,  but  their  zeal  was  greater  than 
their  strength,  and  the  effort  ended  in  dismal  failure. 

12.   Christian  I.  of  Denmark  and  Karl  Knutsson  of  Sweden 

As  King  Christopher  left  no  children,  the  question  arose  who  should 
be  chosen  his  successor,  if  the  union  were  to  be  maintained.  Den- 
mark favored  the  union  because  it  was  considered  to  be  the  leading 
kingdom.  In  the  late  reigns  the  candidates  for  the  throne  had  been 
selected  by  the  Danish  Council,  and  the  kings,  who  resided  for  the 
most  part  in  Denmark,  had  sought  to  give  that  kingdom  great  pre- 
ponderance in  the  union.  This  time  the  Danes  selected  Christian  of 
Oldenburg,  another  German,  as  their  candidate,  but  this  created 
great  ill-will  among  the  Swedes,  who  claimed  that  the  Danes  had 
broken  the  union  agreement  by  constantly  selecting  the  royal  candi- 
dates without  conferring  with  the  other  kingdoms.  A  small  party 
in  Sweden  were  favorably  disposed  towards  the  union,  but  many 
Swedish  nobles  coveted  the  throne.     In  Norway  some  were  in  favor 

most  arbitrary  and  unlawful  procedure.  The  document  is  published  by 
Professor  Yngvar  Nielsen  in  the  Christiania  Videnskabs-Sclskabs  Forhand- 
linger,  1877  and  1878.  See  also  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Af  Norges  Historic, 
p.  110  ff.     Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  vol.  XVI.,  no.  160. 

*  Alexander  Bugge,  Nidaros's  Handel  og  Skibsfart  i  Middelalderen,  Fest- 
skrifl  udgivel  i  Anledning  af  Trondhjems  900  Aars  Jubilceum,  1897,  Trondhjem, 
1897.  Alexander  Bugge,  Studier  over  de  norske  Byers  Selvstyre  og  Handel, 
p.  131  ff.     Norges  gamle  Love,  anden  rsekke,  vol.  I.,  p.  116  £E. 


II  CnniSTIAN    I.    AND    KARL    KN'L'TSSON  67 

of  j)luciiiK  the  iuiti\e-b(jrn  Sigurd  Jonsson  on  the  throne,  hut  the 
nuijority  were  ready  to  abide  by  the  choice  made  by  the  other  king- 
doms. In  the  meanwhile  Karl  Knutsson  had  matured  his  plans. 
On  May  2;i,  1448,  he  entered  Stockholm  with  800  anned  men.  A 
mild  spring  rain  was  falling,  and  this  was  interpreted  by  the  common 
people  as  an  auspicious  omen ;  the  great  nf)ble  was  the  man  of  the 
hour.  On  June  20  he  was  elected  king  of  Sweden,  and  he  was  soon 
after  crowned  at  L'psala.  The  Danes  were  quite  sur])rised  to  learn 
that  the  union  had  been  dissolved,  but  they  nevertheless  chose  their 
own  candidate.  Christian  of  Oldenburg,  king  of  Denmark. 

In  N(irwa\'  great  indecision  prevaile<i.  Sigurd  Jonsson,  the  richest 
nol)le  in  the  kingdom,  had  been  chosen  regent,  but  he  woukl  not  be 
a  candidate  for  the  throne,  though  he  descended  from  King  Haakon 
V.  The  Council  was  divided  into  a  Danish  and  a  Swedish  party. 
Archbishop  Aslak  Bolt  and  many  of  the  councilors  favored  a  union 
with  Sweden,  but  Bishop  Jens  of  Oslo,  and  the  powerful  baron  Ilart- 
vig  Krumedike,  both  of  Danish  birth,  were  eager  to  maintain  a  union 
with  Denmark.  They  e\en  went  to  Denmark  as  representatives  of 
their  party,  and  acknowledged  Christian  of  Oldenburg  king  of  Nor- 
way. But  Archbishop  Aslak  Bf)lt  with  the  Swedish  party  met  at 
Bohus  in  February,  1449,  and  chose  Karl  Knutsson  of  Sweden.' 

In  the  meantime  Bishoj)  Jens  of  Oslo  and  Ilartvig  Krumedike  had 
returned  from  Denmark  with  an  anned  force,  and  the  Council  was 
summone<l  to  meet  at  Oslo.  None  of  the  Swedish  i)arty  would  meet 
under  these  circumstances,  except  Archbishop  Aslak  Bolt,  who 
happened  to  be  in  the  city.  At  this  meeting  June  3,  1440,  the  Danish 
party  chose  Christian  of  Oldenburg  king  of  Norway,  and  at  a  second 
meeting  at  Marstrand  in  July  King  Christian  granted  the  Norwe- 
gians a  charter  with  the  following  main  stipulations : 

1.  The  Norwegian  people  should  retiiin  their  laws  and  liberties. 
and  the  Church  of  Norway  its  rights  and  privileges. 

2.  No  foreigners  should  receive  fiefs  in  the  kingdom,  nor  should 
they  be  members  of  the  Council,  exccj^ting  those  who  already  resided 
in  Norway,  or  those  who  in  the  future  should  actjuire  the  right  of 
citizensliip  tiironi^h  marriage  within  the  kiiiphtm. 

*  LuduR  Daae,  En  Krdnike  om  Erkcbiskopperne  i  Nidaros,  Festakrift 
udgivet  i  Anhdning  af  Trondhjcms  000  Anm  JubiUrum,  1S97,  p.  1.58  fif. 


68  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

3.  No  important  matter  touching  Norway  should  be  decided 
except  with  the  advice  of  the  Norwegian  Council. 

4.  Norway  should  henceforth  be  a  free  elective  kingdom, 

5.  The  king  should  visit  the  kingdom  every  three  years. 

6.  The  trade  between  Norway  and  Deimiark  should  be  free  from 
duties. 

7.  Only  in  cases  of  emergency  could  the  Norwegian  Council  be 
summoned  to  meet  in  Denmark,  and  its  stay  there  should  be  as  short 
as  possible.^ 

The  Swedish  party  would  not  recede  from  their  position,  as  they 
resented  the  use  of  force  by  the  leaders  of  the  Danish  party.  In  the 
fall  of  1449  Karl  Knutsson  came  to  Hamar,  where  he  was  pro- 
claimed king  of  Norway.  On  November  20th,  he  was  crowned  in 
Trondhjem  by  Archbishop  Aslak  Bolt,  after  giving  a  charter  in  which 
he  granted  the  prelates  and  the  cathedral  many  privileges.^  Fifteen 
Norwegian  nobles  were  knighted,  and  the  king  even  sanctioned  the 
Tunsberg  concordat  of  1277  to  please  the  archbishop.  While  affairs 
remained  thus  unsettled,  Aslak  Bolt  died  in  1450,  and  Olav  Thronds- 
son  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as  Archbishop  of  Nidaros. 

After  his  coronation  Karl  Knutsson  returned  to  Sweden,  but 
shortly  after  New  Year,  1450,  he  came  to  southern  Norway  with  an 
army,  and  tried  to  seize  Oslo,  which  was  held  by  Christian's  chief 
adherent,  Hartvig  Krumedike.^  He  was  unable,  however,  to  take 
Akershus  castle,  and  an  armistice  was  concluded  until  a  council 
could  be  assembled  at  Halmstad,  where  all  disputes  should  be  settled.^ 
When  the  Swedish  and  Danish  councilors  assembled  in  that  city. 
May  1,  1450,  the  Swedish  councilors  sided  with  the  Danes,  and  a 
treaty  was  concluded  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  Karl  Knutsson 
should  surrender  Norway  to  King  Christian  of  Denmark ;  ^    that 

1  Diplomatarium  Norivegicum,  vol.  VIII.,  no.  345.  Arild  Huitfeldt, 
Danmarks  Riges  Kr^nike,  II.,  p.  845  ff. 

2  Diplomatarium  Norivegicum,  vol.  VI.,  no.  530;  vol.  V.,  no.  762. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  X.,  no.  201 ;  vol.  IX.,  no.  308.  Eirik  Salmundsson,  who  had 
been  made  regent  in  Norway  by  King  Karl  Knutsson,  labored  hard  to 
overcome  the  resistance  of  the  Danish  party  in  southern  Norway. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  v.,  no.  765. 

^  Ibid.,  vol.  III.,  no.  809;  vol.  VIII.,  no.  340.  This  promise  was  later 
ratified  by  King  Karl.  See  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  vol.  III.,  no.  809, 
no.  810. 


II  CHIUSTIAN    I.    \Sl)    KVUL    KNUTSSON  69 

when  one  of  tlie  kiiij^s  died,  the  one  surviving  should  he  kin^  of  both 
reahns,  or  a  regency  mi^ht  he  estuhlished,  and  tlie  clioice  of  a  kin^ 
p()stpone<l  until  both  the  kin^s  were  dead,  when  twelve  Swedish  and 
twelve  Danish  councilors  should  meet  at  Ilalnistad,  and  choose  a 
kinj;  for  hoth  realms,  who  should  he  either  a  Dane  or  a  Swede.  About 
Norway  it  was  stated,  as  a  sort  of  afterthou^dit,  that  "when  it  shall 
please  God  to  unite  aj^ain  the  three  realms  under  one  kinj^,  if  it  shall 
please  the  Norwegian  Council  and  peo|)le  to  remain  in  the  union, 
they  shall  enjoy  with  us,  and  we  with  them,  all  liberty  and  inter- 
course as  stated."  That  Norway  would  remain  in  the  union  imder 
all  circumstances  was,  of  course,  tiiken  for  j^^rantcd  by  the  worthy 
nobles  who  directed  the  j)olitical  affairs  of  the  kinj^doms. 

Christian  I.  was  crowned  in  Denmark  October  2S,  1449,  and  on 
the  same  day  he  was  married  to  the  eijijhteen-year-old  widow  of  King 
Christopher,  Dorothea  of  Brandenburg.  The  following  year  he 
arrived  in  Norway,  and  the  Ilanseatic  merchants  of  Bergen,  who 
receive<i  the  young  king  with  great  pomp,  gave  him  an  escort  of  'MM) 
men  and  five  ships  to  accompany  him  to  Trondhjem.  After  the 
Council  had  formally  declared  the  election  of  Karl  Knutsson  to  be 
null  and  void,'  King  Christian  was  crowned  in  that  city  with  elaborate 
ceremonies  August  2,  1450. 

A  new  act  of  union  drawn  uj)  in  Bergen,  dated  August  29,  1450, 
specified  the  terms  on  which  the  two  kingdoms  should  henceforth 
remain  united.  After  a  rather  elaborate  introduction  the  document 
goes  on  to  say  : 

"We  have  now  with  our  gracious  lord  and  higli-born  prince,  the 
said  King  Christian's  counsel,  will,  and  consent  fonncd  a  finn,  per- 
petual, and  unbreakable  union  between  the  said  kingdoms  of  Den- 
mark and  Norway,  for  us  and  maii,\'  of  our  brethren,  tlu'  Archi>ishop 
of  Lund,  bishops,  prelates,  knights  and  squires,  the  councils  and  in- 
habitants of  both  kingdoms,  lK)th  those  who  now  live,  and  those  who 
will  be  born  hereafter,  both  born  and  unborn,  with  such  preface  and 
conditions  that  both  kingdoms,  Denmark  .iiid  NUrw.iy,  shall  henci^ 
forward  remain  united  in  ])roth(Tl>-  loxt-  and  friendship,  and  one  shall 
not  Ion!  it  over  the  otlier,  but  each  kingdom  is  to  be  tuUmI  by  nati\'e- 
born  magistrates,  as  shown  by  the  privileges  of  l)i>tli  kingdoms;  in 
'Ibid,  vol.  VI  [I.,  n...  ;MJ. 


70  HISTORY   OF   THE   NOKVVEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

such  wise  that  each  kingdom  enjoys,  keeps,  and  uses  freely  its  written 
laws,  freedom  and  privileges,  old  and  new,  which  they  now  have,  or 
hereafter  may  receive,  and  that  both  kingdoms,  Denmark  and  Nor- 
way, shall  henceforth  remain  under  one  king  and  lord  forevermore. 
And  the  Council  of  each  kingdom,  and  its  inhabitants,  shall  aid  and 
assist  the  Council  and  inhabitants  of  the  other.  And  one  kingdom 
and  its  people  shall  give  the  other  aid  and  consolation  as  the  need 
may  be.  But  neither  kingdom  shall  make  war  without  obtaining 
the  consent  of  the  Council  of  the  other.  But  the  kingdom  which 
asks  for  assistance  shall  supply  provisions  and  means  of  sustenance, 
and  the  king  shall  guarantee  against  loss.  And  when  it  shall  please 
God  to  let  so  sad  a  thing  happen  that  the  king  dies,  then  shall  the 
kingdom  in  which  the  king  dies  at  once  invite  the  Council  of  the 
other  kingdom,  that  the  Councils  of  both  may  speedily  assemble  at 
Halmstad  according  to  the  stipulations  in  the  earlier  agreement  regard- 
ing this  place.  If  the  king  then  has  one  legitimate  son  or  more, 
then  the  Councils  shall  choose  the  one  to  be  king  whom  they  consider 
to  be  the  best  qualified,  and  the  others  shall  be  properly  provided  for 
in  both  kingdoms.  But  if  such  an  unfortunate  circumstance  should 
occur,  which  God  forbid,  that  the  king  has  no  legitimate  son,  then 
shall  the  Councils  of  both  kingdoms  nevertheless  meet  in  said  city, 
and  choose  the  one  for  king  whom,  on  behalf  of  both  kingdoms,  they 
consider  to  be  best  qualified.  In  these  stipulated  articles  neither 
kingdom  shall  suffer  any  slight  or  neglect,  and  especially  in  the  choice 
of  the  king  the  Council  of  each  kingdom  shall  have  full  hberty, 
powder,  and  free  will,  without  let,  hindrance,  or  deceit,  and  they 
shall  not  part  until  they  have  agreed  upon  the  choice  of  a  lord  and 
king  over  both  realms,  and  only  one;  but  in  such  a  way  that  each 
kingdom  retains  its  old  laws  and  justice,  liberty  and  privileges." 

By  this  agreement  an  important  change  was  made  in  the  Nor- 
wegian constitution.  The  old  principle  of  an  hereditary  monarchy 
was  abandoned,  and  an  elective  kingship  was  substituted.  This 
change  had,  however,  already  been  made  in  practice.  After  the  Nor- 
wegian royal  line  became  extinct,  circumstances  had  made  it  neces- 
sary to  repeatedly  place  kings  on  the  vacant  throne  by  election.    In 

1  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  vol.  VIII.,  no.  345.  Samlinger  til  del 
norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  344  ff. 


II 


CHRISTIAN    I.    AND    KARL   KNUTS80N  71 


theory  the  principle  of  hereditnry  kingship  hiul,  indeed,  been  adhered 
to,  l)ut  lis  it  could  no  lonj^er  he  carried  out  in  practice,  it  was 
becoming  a  mere  tradition.  It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  this 
tradition  continued  to  hve,  and  it  was  even  strengthened  by  tlie 
union  kings  of  the  House  of  Ol(h'nl)urg,  who  caHecl  themselves  heirs 
to  the  throne  of  Norway,  and  spoke  of  Norway  as  an  hereditary  king- 
d(jm.  If  the  impression  could  be  created  that,  in  spite  of  the  Bergen 
agreement,  the  Oldenburg  kings  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Norway 
by  right  of  inheritance,  it  would,  naturally,  tend  to  safeguard  the 
union,  and  to  iiind  Norway  more  closely  to  the  kingdom  of  Denmark.' 
In  the  articles  of  union  the  e(iuality  of  the  two  kingdoms  was 
strongly  emi)ha.si/ed.  One  should  not  lord  it  over  the  other,  but  each 
should  keep  its  laws,  freedom,  and  privileges.  The  autonomy  and 
sovereignty  of  Norway  seemed  thereby  fully  safeguarded,  so  far  as 
this  could  be  done  on  {)aper,  but  circumstances  could  not  fail  to 
operate  against  the  maintenance  of  such  an  ecpiality.  The  king 
resided  in  Denmark,  where  he  was  constantly  surrounded  1).\  Danish 
councilors  and  officers  of  state,  and  in  a  not  distant  future  he  would 
naturally  regard  Denmark  as  the  princi|)al  kingdom,  if  he  did  not 
already  do  so.  Bygone  events  had  already  illustrated  this  so  clearly 
that  no  doubt  could  exist  as  to  the  final  outcome.  The  true  char- 
acter of  the  political  situation  soon  re\ealed  itself.  Though  King 
Christian  had  agreed  to  come  to  Norway  once  every  three  years, 
he  did  not  visit  the  kingdom  above  four  times  after  his  coronation 
during  a  long  reign  of  thirty-one  years,  but  the  administration  of 
Norwegian  affairs  he,  nevertheless,  took  into  his  own  hands,  and 
left  the  Council  of  the  Kingdom  almost  wholly  out  of  consideratir)n. 
He  even  attempted  to  force  upon  the  people  the  unscrupulous  ad- 
venturer Marcellus  as  Archbishop  of  Trondhjem,  though  the  chapter 
had  already  chosen  Olav  Throndsson.  Only  the  refusal  of  the  Pope 
to  consecrate  that  unworthy  candidate  saved  the  Church  of  Norway 
from  this  humiliation.'-  His  royal  edicts  were  always  prefaced  with 
the  autocratic  phrases  :  "  \Vc,  Christian,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of 
Denmark-Norway,  of  the  Wends  and  Goths,  Count  of  Oldenburg 

'  T.    II.    Aschohoug,    Slalsforfatningrn   i    Nnrgc  oij    Danmark    indtil    1814, 
p.  197  f. 

*  R.  Kovsor.  Dcfi  nnrKkc  Kirlcm  Hii^lorii'  mulrr  Knlholicismrrt,  II..  p.  .'>4.S  fT. 


72  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

and  Delmenhorst,"  etc.  The  Council  is  seldom  mentioned  in  these 
documents,  as  if  its  advice  or  consent  was  a  matter  of  slight  impor- 
tance. The  seal  of  the  kingdom  was  kept  by  the  Danish  chancellor, 
while  the  Norwegian  chancellor  became  a  mere  judicial  oflBcer, 
and  the  office  of  drotsete,  the  highest  in  the  kingdom,  was 
virtually  abolished.  The  Council,  too,  was  allowing  the  control  of 
public  affairs  to  slip  from  its  weakening  grip.  This  became  especially 
true  after  a  number  of  immigrated  Danes  had  become  members. 
They  had  settled  permanently  in  Norway,  where  they  had  gained 
wealth  and  social  standing  by  marrying  Norwegian  heiresses,  but 
they  were  still  Danes  in  sympathy,  and  as  they  were  not  deeply 
concerned  with  affairs  of  local  administration,  their  presence  in  the 
Council  rapidly  destroyed  its  last  vestige  of  efficiency  and  usefulness, 
and  it  gradually  became  a  mere  appendix  to  the  Council  of  Denmark. 
The  Norwegian  clergy  was  still  native-boril  and  national-spirited, 
but  it  had  been  weakened  like  the  aristocracy,  and  could  no  longer 
assert  its  former  independence.  Coming  events  cast  their  shadows 
before.  Christian,  the  king  by  divine  right  and  the  grace  of  God, 
had  given  the  Norwegian  people  a  first  installment  of  Oldenburg 
absolutism. 

King  Christian's  policy  was  wholly  dictated  by  dynastic  and  Danish 
interests.  In  Bergen  Olav  Nilsson  had  struggled  earnestly,  though 
not  with  proper  moderation,  to  enforce  the  laws  against  the  Han- 
seatic  merchants.  Sometimes  he  had  even  used  violent  and  lawless 
means  to  subdue  them.  While  Christopher  lived,  he  supported 
Nilsson,  but  Christian  changed  this  method.  He  needed  the  support 
of  the  Hansa  towns  in  a  war  with  Sweden,  and  he  considered  it  more 
important  to  win  their  friendship  than  to  compel  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  Norway.  In  1-453  he  arrived  in  Bergen  accompanied  by  his 
queen,  and  summoned  Nilsson  to  answer  to  charges  preferred  against 
him  by  the  merchants.  Nilsson  sought  safety  in  flight,  and  only 
after  the  king  had  issued  a  safe-conduct  did  he  return  to  Bergen  to 
answer  the  accusations.  King  Christian  confiscated  all  his  fiefs,  and 
appointed  a  Swede,  Magnus  Gren,  commandant  in  Bergen.  But 
the  doughty  baron  would  not  submit.  He  seized  the  strong  castle 
of  Elfsborg  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gota  river,  and  threatened  to  hand 
it  over  to  the  Swedes,  if  the  king  did  not  return  to  him  his  fiefs,  and 


II  CHRISTIAN    I.    AND    KAKL    KNUT880N  73 

reinstate  him  as  commaiidaiit.  The  kin^  now  found  it  a(lvisal)le 
it)  yield,  and  Ohiv  Nilssoii  returned  to  Her^'en.  But  wliile  at  Kif.^- 
Iinri,'  he  h:i<l  sent  out  privateers  to  prey  ui^m  Ilanseatic  merchant 
shij)s,  and  the  niereliants  conspired  to  kill  him.  When  he  ap[)care<l 
at  tiie  city  thing,  he  was  attacked  by  an  anned  force,  and  when  he 
(led  to  the  monastery  of  Munkeliv,  the  merchants,  to  the  number  of 
L'OOO,  stormed  tlu'  monastery,  slew  Bishop  Thorlci\'  and  several 
priests  before  the  altar  of  the  church,  and  killed  in  all  sixty  men. 
Xilsson  had  sou^dit  refuj^e  in  the  tower,  but  they  set  fire  to  the  build- 
iii<;s.  'I'lie  monastery  was  destroyed,  and  he  was  seized  and  put  to 
death.'  Kinj.^  Christian  did  nothing  to  punish  the  offenders,  though 
tlicN"  were  sentenced  to  rel)uild  the  monastery  at  their  own  expense, 
"'riie  king  did  not  care  much  about  it,  as  it  please<I  him  that  Oiav 
was  killed,  because  he  had  o])posed  the  king,  and  had  oU'ended  him 
by  seizing  l-'JtVborg  castle,"  says  the  chronicler.'-  In  lib!)  he  even 
uraiited  them  full  pardon  upon  the  request  of  the  cities  of  Lul)eck 
and  Hamburg,  and  rcleascMl  them,  on  behalf  of  the  kingdom,  from 
any  obligation  to  pay  damages.  He  had,  indeed,  earned  the  praise 
of  the  Liibt-ck  chronicler,  who  calls  him  "ein  gniidich,  myldich, 
sachtuiodich  Norste."  ^ 

Other  arbitrary  and  unstatesmanlike  acts  of  the  king  were  equally 
prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  realm.  In  1469  his  daughter 
Margaret  was  nuirried  to  King  James  III.  of  Scotland,  but  Christian 
1.,  who  sj)ent  money  lavishly,  and  always  was  in  financial  difficulties, 
(•(Mild  not  pay  the  stipulated  dowry.  In  the  marriage  contract  he 
agreed  to  annul  the  aiuuiity  payable  to  the  kingdom  of  Norway  in 

'  William  ('liristniscn,  U nionskongcrnc  og  Hanscstcrdernc.  Munkoliv  monas- 
tery of  the  Bcnccliclino  order  was  foundtul  about  1110.  It  sufTerod  much 
from  tlu>  ravages  of  the  Victual  Brothers,  and  in  1421-1434  it  was  chanRt'd 
to  a  monastery  of  the  order  of  St.  Birjritla  with  double  convent,  one  for 
monks,  and  one  for  nuns.  With  the  i)ermission  of  the  Pope  this  was  done 
liy  KiuK  Kirik  of  Pomerania  and  his  queen,  Piiilippa,  who  introduced  tliis 
order  in  Norway  and  Denmark.  Lannc,  I)e  tiomke  Klostrcs  Ilisturii.  Lu<l\i'.; 
I);uie.  Koiuj  Chri.ttiiru  din  fdrtilcs  tiorskv  Ilislorir,  I .',.',8-1  .',5S,  Christiania.  1S71). 

*  Dihnnrs  Chronik,  edited  by  GrautofT,  II.,  180.     Quoted  by  Lanjje. 

M.  P.  Willebrandt.  Ilnnsische  Clironik;  Lubeck.  174S.  III..  SI.  Soo  also 
Safnlinger  HI  dtl  norshc  Folks  Sprog  og  llisforic,  vol.  IV..  p.  'M^).  Liibcckischt' 
Chrouikcn,  edited  by  rirautoff,  II..  p.  420.  Quoted  by  J.  K.  Sars  in  I'dsigt 
iiirr  den  norskr  Ilislnric,  III.,  p.  l.">7.  liUdviij  Daae.  Christicrn  den  fprslcs 
noDfkc  Ilisloric,  p.   K)'.) ;   Ilistoriskc  >'<kildritigir,  p.  33  fT. 


74  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

consideration  of  the  cession  of  the  Hebrides  according  to  the  treaty 
of  Perth,  and  also  the  unpaid  arrear  of  this  annuity.  Of  the  60,000 
gulden  to  be  paid  as  dowry  only  10,000  should  be  paid  immediately, 
and  as  security  for  the  balance  he  mortgaged  the  Orkneys  to  Scot- 
land by  a  document  dated  September  8,  1468.  When  a  fleet  arrived 
in  Copenhagen  to  bring  the  bride  home,  he  was  not  able  to  pay  more 
than  2000  gulden,  and  as  security  for  the  remaining  8000  he  also 
included  the  Shetland  Islands  in  the  mortgage,  1469.  All  this  was 
done  without  consulting  the  Norwegian  Council,  and  as  these  debts 
were  never  paid,  the  mortgaged  islands  were  annexed  to  Scotland,  and 
Norway  was  thus  made  to  pay  the  whole  expense  of  the  marriage  of 
the  king's  daughter.^ 

King  Christian  I.  was  a  tall  and  stately  man,  fond  of  luxury  and 
display.  R.  Keyser  characterizes  him  as  follows  :  "He  was  a  shrewd 
statesman  according  to  the  standards  of  his  times,  but  he  lacked 
sincerity  and  mental  depth.  He  was  active,  but  cannot  be  called 
a  good  ruler ;  he  was  brave  without  being  a  great  general ;  he  was, 
finally,  such  a  wretched  manager  of  the  finances  of  his  kingdoms  that 
the  Swedes  very  aptly  called  him  'the  bottomless  purse.'  "  ^  In  his 
administrative  policy  he  was  guided  by  family  interests  and  love  of 
power  and  dominion  rather  than  by  true  concern  for  the  welfare  of 
his  realm  and  the  happiness  of  his  subjects.  The  year  after  his 
coronation  as  king  of  Norway,  w^e  find  him  engaged  in  a  war  with 
Sweden,  which  was  begun  for  the  most  trivial  reasons,  the  real  cause 
being  jealousy  and  rivalry  between  the  two  kings.  An  armed  force 
from  Norway  attacked  Vermland  even  before  war  had  been  declared, 
but  in  1452  Karl  Knutsson  formally  declared  war  against  Christian 
I.  and  marched  with  an  arm.y  into  Skane.  Tr0ndelagen  was  occupied 
by  a  Swedish  force  under  Goran  Karlsson,  and  another  attack  was 
directed  against  Bohus  in  southeastern  Norway.^  An  armistice  was 
concluded  in  1453,  which  lasted  for  two  years,  but  in  1455  the  war 
was  renewed. 

Karl    Knutsson   was    a    weak    and    unpopular    king.      He   had 

^Fredrik  Scheel,  0rkn^erne  og  Hjallland  i  Pantscettelsestiden  1469-1667, 
Historisk  Tidsskrift,  femte  raekke,  vol.  III.,  p.  381  flF. 

*  R.  Keyser,  Den  norske  Kirkes  Historie  under  Kalholicismen,  II.,  p.  569  f. 
'  Ludvig  Daae,  Kong  Christiern  den  f^rstes  norske  Historic. 


! 


II  CHUISTIAX    I.    AND    iLKRL    K.NUTSSON  75 

failed  to  secure  tlie  tlironc  of  Norway,  Gutliland  had  been  taken 
hy  Christian  1.,  and  \w  hjid  many  powerful  (•j)j)()tient.s  auion^  the 
nobles,  who  reluctantly  had  ])Iace<l  him  on  the  throne.  In  1457 
his  old  encniN ,  Archbishop  Jons  of  Ui>sala,  luiiled  a  proclamation  on 
the  door  of  the  cathedral,  renouncing  his  alle|,nance  to  him.  Stcjck- 
holm  was  quickly  invested,  and  Karl  Knutsson,  who  found  the 
situation  hopeless,  fled  to  Danzij;,  where  he  was  harbored  by  King 
Casimir  IV.  of  Pohmd.  Christian  I.,  who  by  fair  promises  had 
j^ained  strong  support  among  the  nobility,  was  |)lacefJ  on  the  throne 
of  Sweden.  In  1  KiO  he  was  also  elected  Duke  of  Ilolstein  and  Count 
of  Schleswig  and  Stonnarn.  whereby  these  provinces  were  united 
with  the  crown  of  Denmark.  Xo  king  in  the  North  had  ever  ruled 
so  large  a  realm  as  the  one  now  united  imder  his  scepter,  but  it  was 
loosely  knit  together  and  badly  governed.  The  outward  greatness 
represented  no  corresponding  internal  strength.  J.  E.  Sars  says : 
"Never  has  Norway  been  governed  so  wretchedly  as  under  the  first 
king  of  a  dynasty  which,  to  such  a  remarkai^le  degree,  should  l)ecome 
the  object  of  the  Norwegian  people's  loyalty  and  devotion.  The 
thirty-one  years  during  which  this  king  ruled  belong  to  the  saddest  in 
our  histors',  not  only  because  of  the  many  hannful  measures  due  to 
his  weakness  and  recklessness,  his  lack  of  will  and  ability  to  do  his 
duty  to  Norway,  but  also  of  the  perfect  tranquillity-  which  continue<l 
to  e.xist  in  spite  of  his  maladministration.  Hut  that  great  ill-will 
had  been  quietly  stored  up  became  manifest  wiien  the  king  died."  ' 
In  Sweden  King  Christian's  government  was  no  less  unpopular 
than  in  Norway.  I  lis  purse  was  always  empty,  and  as  he  agreed 
to  j)ay  claims  to  the  heirs  of  the  former  princes  of  Schleswig-IIolstein 
to  the  amount  of  lO.'i.OOO  gulden,  he  resorted  to  the  le\ying  of  heavy 
taxes  and  loans,  secured  by  mortgages  in  castles  and  crown  lands,  to 
increase  his  revenues.  These  heavy  burdens  created  the  greatest 
discontent.  In  1  Ki.S,  while  the  king  tried  to  levy  an  extra  tax  for 
an  exi)edition  against  Russia,  a  re\'olt  broke  out.  led  by  Archbishop 
Jons  of  I'psala.  who  was  an  irrivoncilable  op|)onent  both  of  Karl 
Knutsson  and  the  Danes.  The  uprising  was  suppressed  with  great 
severity,  and  the  archbishop  was  brought  captive  to  Demnark,  but 
King  Christian  returned  home  only  to  find  that  new  trouble  had 
'  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norskc  llutoric.  III.,  p.  l.V.)  (T. 


76  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

broken  out.  In  the  winter  of  1464  he  led  an  army  into  Sweden, 
but  was  defeated  at  Helleskog  by  the  Swedish  peasants  under  Sten 
Sture.  When  he  also  found  that  Stockholm  was  closely  besieged, 
he  abandoned  the  campaign  and  returned  home.  Karl  Knutsson 
was  recalled,  but  Archbishop  Jons,  who  had  returned  from  his  cap- 
tivity, stirred  up  his  partisans  against  him,  and  when  he  found  the 
situation  as  hopeless  as  before,  he  formally  abdicated,  promised 
never  again  to  aspire  to  the  throne,  and  retired  to  his  estates  in  Fin- 
land, 1465.  The  ambitious  archbishop  was  now  chosen  regent, 
but  he  did  not  long  retain  the  high  office,  as  other  nobles  also  aspired 
to  the  honor.  The  following  year  Eirik  Axelsson  Thott  succeeded 
him,  and  the  crafty  prelate  died  soon  after  on  the  island  of  Oland, 
"  poor  and  in  exile ;  mourned  by  none,  hated  by  many,  and  feared  by 
all."  ^  Karl  Knutsson  again  became  king  of  Sweden,  but  Christian 
I.  would  not  give  up  the  hope  of  regaining  the  Swedish  throne,  an 
aim  which  had  become  more  difficult  of  attaining  since  the  struggle 
was  no  longer  a  mere  contest  between  rival  aspirants  to  the  throne, 
but  a  patriotic  endeavor  of  the  Swedish  people  to  rid  themselves  of 
Danish  overlordship.  On  his  death-bed  Karl  Knutsson  exhorted  the 
people  to  fight  to  the  utmost  against  the  Danes,  and  Sten  Sture, 
who  was  chosen  regent  by  the  Council,  rallied  the  people  round  his 
standards  to  fight  for  the  national  cause.  King  Christian  does  not 
seem  to  have  fully  grasped  the  situation.  In  1471  he  arrived  before 
Kalmar  with  a  fleet  of  seventy  ships,  and  advanced  a  little  later  to 
Stockholm.  He  still  hoped  to  accomplish  his  purpose  through  nego- 
tiations, but  if  this  failed,  he  trusted  in  his  armed  knights.  He 
landed  his  forces,  and  took  up  a  strong  position  at  Brunkeberg,  but 
on  the  10th  of  October  he  was  attacked  by  Sten  Sture,  and  suffered  a 
crushing  defeat.  Christian  himself  was  brought  to  his  ships  severely 
wounded.  The  victory  was  decisive;  Sweden  had  successfully 
maintained  her  independence. 

In  1474  King  Christian  made  a  journey  to  Rome  with  a  large 
escort.  In  Rotenburg  in  Germany  he  visited  Emperor  Frederick 
III.,  who  received  him  well,  hoping  to  gain  his  support  against 
Charles  the  Bold  and  the  Turks.  The  Emperor  united  Holstein  and 
Stormarn  into  a  dukedom,  into  which  he  also  incorporated  Dit- 
^  O.  A.  Pverland,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  V.,  p.  161. 


11  Tin:  ui;i<;n'  <>f  kinc  mans  (johs)  77 

iiiarskcii,  wliicli  had  hitherto  hrrii  an  iiKh'pciuh'iit  republic,  and  this 
n«'W  (hich>'  <>r  IIol>tein  he  j^Tanted  Kin;^  rhri>tian  I.  us  a  fief,  evi- 
(h-ntly  for  the  purpose  of  ^aininj;  fiis  ^ood  will.  Why  Christian  un(h'r- 
took  this  journey  is  not  known,  and  httle  j^ood  came  of  it.  His 
expenses  were  hirj^e,  and  wlien  he  came  t«)  Italy,  lie  had  to  borrow 
money  from  the  Ilanseatic  merchants,  who  were  willinj^  enouf^h  to 
^rant  him  the  neces>ar\'  loan.->,  knowin<^  that  they  would  l»e  able  to 
obtain  charters  and  trade  pri\"ile^'cs  in  return.  By  a  letter  of  Sej)- 
tember  (»,  1  171.  the  kin^  annidled  all  restrictions  placed  on  the  trade 
of  the  Ilanseatic  meri-hants  in  Oslo  and  Tuii.sberj;,  "for  the  good 
will  and  love  which  the  Rostock  merchants  had  shown  him."  and 
confinncd  all  tlu'  ]tri\ile<;es  which  had  been  prante<l  them  by  his 
j)redeccs.sors.  In  1  lt»'.>  he  had  issued  a  letter  which  insured  them 
against  competition  frotn  the  Hollanders,  by  restricting  the  trade  of 
Holland  merchants  in  Bergen  to  one  or  two  cargoes  a  >ear.  King 
Christian  had  diligently  sought  to  please  the  Hanseatic  merchants, 
and  to  maintain  their  hated  commercial  monopoly.  In  vain  the 
people  of  Bergen  complained  of  outrages  committe<l  by  them.  The 
king  Would  not  be  annoyed.  He  sufl'ered  the  laws  to  sleep  and  his 
own  pledges  to  remain  a  dead  letter,  but  the  ill-will  created  by  his 
\vretche<l  rule  did  not  find  expression  until  after  his  death,  wliich 
occurred  May  22,  14S1. 

13.    TiiK  Rkic.n  of  Ki\(;  Hans  (John) 

At  the  time  of  King  Christian's  death  his  son  and  successor  Hans 
Was  twenty-six  years  old.  As  early  as  HoS  tlu'  Norwegian  Council 
had  made  a  written  promise  that  he  shoidd  succeed  his  father  on  the 
throne  of  Norway.  "When  it  shall  i)lease  (iod."  says  the  letter, 
"to  call  our  gracious  lord  from  this  world,  then  will  we  in  lo\e  and 
obedience  accept  and  receive  his  eldest  son,  if  God  lets  him  live ;  but 
if  he  dies,  then  his  gracious  son  who  is  the  next  oldest,  son  after  son, 
to  whom  wc  now.  one  after  another  with  this  our  open  letter  and 
power  pa>-  honiagt*  an<l  receive  as  our  rightful  lord  and  king  of  Nor- 
way, and  wr  will    faithfully  serve  and    obey   jiini."  '      In    1  !>«»•  this 

'  Diplomtihirium  Xorwigintm.  III.,  no.  S42.  Cliristian  I.  h.ml  four  sons: 
Knut  and  Olav,  who  died  iu  childhood,  aud  Ilaus  and  Frederick,  who  sur- 
vived him. 


78  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

promise  was  renewed  by  the  Norwegian  Council  in  Halmstad,  where 
Hans  was  made  coregent  with  his  father.^  Even  in  his  father's 
Hfetime  he  had  been  in  Norway,  where  he  had  exercised  royal  ad- 
ministrative authority,  and  had  styled  himself  "The  son  of  King 
Christian,  elected  King  of  Denmark,  and  rightful  Heir  to  the  throne 
of  Norway,"  but  when  Christian  died,  the  Norwegians  showed  no 
inclination  to  accept  Hans  as  their  king  in  spite  of  these  promises. 
Misgoverimient  had  made  them  cautious,  and  they  were  now  fully 
detennined  to  seek  redress  for  past  wrongs  before  another  king  was 
placed  on  the  throne.  On  February  1,  1482,  sixteen  members  of  the 
Norwegian  Council  entered  into  an  agreement  with  deputies  from 
Sweden  that  the  two  kingdoms  should  aid  one  another  in  defending 
their  rights  and  liberties,  and  that  in  the  election  of  a  king  neither 
should  take  any  step  not  sanctioned  by  the  Council  of  the  other. 
The  Norwegian  councilors  at  the  same  time  issued  a  letter  in  which 
they  recounted  the  injuries  which  the  kingdom  of  Norway  had  suffered 
in  King  Christian's  reign :  the  mortgaging  of  the  Orkney  and  Shet- 
land islands,  the  outrages  committed  in  Bergen  by  the  Hanseatic 
merchants  in  1455,  when  no  attempt  was  made  by  the  king  to  punish 
the  guilty  parties,  the  privileges  granted  by  Christian  I.  to  the  Ger- 
man cities,  the  harmful  journeys  by  which  the  Council  had  been 
compelled  to  leave  the  kingdom,  the  numerous  wars  which  had  been 
forced  upon  the  people  without  the  consent  of  the  Council,  that  the 
revenues  of  the  kingdom  had  been  sent  out  of  the  country,  that 
Bohus  and  other  fiefs  had  been  granted  to  foreigners  against  the  advice 
of  the  Council,  and  that  these  foreigners  had  received  greater  powers 
and  privileges  in  Christian's  time  than  ever  at  any  time  before. 
"  When  we  made  complaints  against  the  foreigners,  we  could  receive 
no  justice,  but  if  one  of  our  own  citizens  broke  the  laws,  he  was  most 
severely  punished."  ^  This  indictment  of  the  late  king  breathes  a 
bitter  resentment  which  could  not  easily  be  appeased. 

In  former  elections  the  Danish  Council  had  at  times  acted  too 
hastily ;  this  time  it  proceeded  with  greater  caution.     The  situation 

1  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historie,  III.,  p.  160.  R.  Keyser, 
Den  norske  Kirkes  Historie  under  Katholicif^men,  II.,  p.  570,  580. 

*  Hadorph,  Tva  gambla  Rijmkronikor,  Bihaiig,  p.  302  ff.,  quoted  by  J.  E. 
Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historie,  III.,  p.  161. 


II  THE    UVAGS    OF    KINO    HANS    (jOHN)  79 

was  (liffioiilt.  Sweden  Ii;ul  already  broken  away  frf)m  the  union, 
the  diiehies  of  S(  lile>\vi^-IIolstein  were  hut  loosely  connected  with 
the  crown,  and  in  Norway  great  dissatisfaction  prevailed.  Under 
these  circumstances  Denmark  could  not  proceed  to  elect  a  king 
alone  without  incurring  the  risk  of  destroying  the  union.  In  August, 
14S2,  the  Danish  and  Swedish  councilors  met  at  Kalmar,  where  they 
agreed  that  peace  should  exist  between  the  two  kingdoms,  and  that 
they  should  he  united  under  the  same  king,  hut  the  Swedes  would 
not  elect  a  king,  as  the  Norwegian  councilors  were  not  present.  A 
new  meeting  was  to  be  assembled  at  Ilahnstad,  January  13,  1483,  as 
it  was  hoped  that  Norway  would  then  be  represented.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Danes  tried  to  i)ersuade  the  Norwegian  councilors  to  join 
them  in  electing  Hans,  but  this  they  would  not  do  until  they  receive<l 
full  assurance  of  redress  of  grievances.  They  were  especially  ag- 
grieved, because  a  Danish  noble,  J()rgen  Larensson,  had  been  made 
connnandant  of  Bohus  castle  without  the  consent  of  the  Council. 
They  determined  to  drive  away  the  hated  commandant  by  force, 
and  the  people  of  the  neighboring  districts  rallied  to  their  support. 
The  Council  wrote  to  their  Swedish  colleagues  complaining  of  the 
humiliations  and  grievances  which  Norway  had  sulfered.  The 
Danes  urged  the  Norwegians  to  desist  from  the  siege  of  Bohus  castle, 
but  the  councilors  replied  in  a  second  letter  to  their  Swedish  brethren 
that  "it  would  be  a  harmful  peace  if  each  realm  did  not  maintain  its 
rights  at  home,  or  defend  its  own  thanes  and  territories.  According 
to  the  tenns  of  the  act  of  union,  each  kingdom  should  aid  the  other 
herein  instead  of  placing  obstacles  in  its  way."  '  The  Swedes  gave 
them  no  support  in  the  attack  on  Bohus,  but  invited  them  to  meet 
with  the  Swedi.sh  and  Danish  councilors  in  Ilalm.stad,  January  13. 
1483,  to  negotiate  regarding  tiie  interests  and  welfare  of  the  three 
reahiis.-  The  besiegers  were  unable  to  capture  the  strong  castle, 
and  as  the  Danes  removed  the  connnandant,  the  Council  found  that 
under  the  <ir<nmstances  they  could  do  no  better  than  to  attend  the 
Hahnstad  conference.     Sixteen  Danes  and  nine   Norwegians  met  on 

'J.  E.  Sars,  I'llsigl  over  dm  norKkr  Ifistnrir,  III.,  p.  ICt'J.  ITadorph,  TiS 
gambla  Rijinhr,)nik()r,  Bihanq,  p.  .'ilV.l  f. 

-  Diplomntarium  Norirrgicum,  III.,  no.  039.  Iladorph,  Tvi  gambla  Rijm- 
krdnikor,  Bihang,  p.  31 1  f. 


80  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  date  fixed.  Two  weeks  later  four  Swedish  delegates  arrived, 
but  as  the}'  had  no  power  to  participate  in  the  election  of  a  king,  the 
Danes  and  Norwegians  chose  Hans  to  be  king  of  Denmark  and 
Norway,  and  issued  a  charter  according  to  which  he  should  rule 
both  kingdoms.  In  this  document,  signed  and  sw(jrn  to  by  the  king, 
every  precaution  seems  to  have  been  taken  to  safeguard  the  privileges 
of  the  church,  to  guarantee  the  laws,  liberties,  and  full  equality  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  and  to  secure  full  assurance  of  redress  of  griev- 
ances. The  king  promised  to  maintain  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
the  church  and  the  clergy  as  they  had  been  confirmed  by  the  Pope, 
and  to  rule  each  kingdom  according  to  its  own  laws  and  charters. 
No  foreigners  should  be  made  members  of  the  Council  of  the  King- 
dom, nor  should  castles  or  fiefs  be  granted  to  foreigners,  but  the  king- 
dom should  be  ruled  by  native-born  m.en.  No  taxes  should  be 
levied,  no  city,  castle,  lands,  or  fiefs  should  be  mortgaged  or  sold, 
no  officials  appointed,  no  one  should  be  made  a  member  of  the 
Council,  no  privileges  should  be  granted  to  foreign  merchants  except 
by  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council  of  the  Kingdom.  Each 
kingdom  should  have  its  own  archives  and  treasury,  and  each  should 
mint  its  own  coin,  which  should  be  of  equal  value.  The  king  should 
spend  an  equal  length  of  time  in  each  kingdom,  and  when  he  was  not 
present  in  the  realm,  a  commission  consisting  of  four  members  of  the 
Council  should  have  full  authority  to  maintain  law  and  order.  The 
king  also  promised  to  redeem  the  lands  and  revenues  belonging  to 
the  kingdom  of  Norway,  which  had  been  alienated  in  the  reign  of  his 
father,  King  Christian  I,,  and  to  see  that  full  restitution  was  made 
for  the  outrages  committed  in  Bergen  against  Olav  Nilsson  and  others. 
The  Norwegian  Council,  furthermore,  was  to  meet  once  every  two 
years  in  Bergen  and  Oslo  alternately,  whether  the  king  was  present 
in  the  kingdom  or  not,  and  the  king  pledged  himself  to  sanction  and 
enforce  all  its  decrees.^ 

King  Hans  was  crowned  in  Copenhagen,  May  18,  1483,  and  in 
Trondhjem  July  20  of  the  same  year. 

•  C.  G.  Styffe,  Bidrag  til  Skandinaviens  Historie,  IV.,  p.  Ix.  Yngvar 
Nielsen,  Det  norske  Rigsraad,  p.  341.  Arild  Huitfeldt,  Kong  Hans,  p.  37  ff. 
King  Hans'  charter  is  found  in  Samlinger  til  det  norske  Folks  Sprog  og 
Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  347  ff. 


II  Tin;    KKIC.V    OF    KINO    HANS    (ji)II\)  81 

In  Sweden  tlie  aMe  Stcii  Sture  was  rej^enl.  He  did  not  attempt 
to  seize  tlie  erowii,  as  Karl  Kinitssoii  had  done,  but  he  did  not  favcjr 
the  eleetioii  ol  Hans,  and  seems  to  lia\e  opposed  a  union  with  Den- 
mark on  any  eoiKhtions.  Tlie  eounciiors  had,  indee<l,  agreed  to  a 
union  with  Denmark  and  Norway  under  a  joint  kinj;,  l)Ut  in  consent- 
ing to  accept  Hans  as  kinj;  of  Sweden,  they  submitted  a  charter 
which  Would  ])lace  all  j)()Wcr  in  tlie  hands  of  the  nobles,  and  reduce 
tlie  kinj^  to  a  mere  name.  As  these  tenns  could  not  be  accepted  by 
the  Danish  councilors,  no  choice  was  made,  and  the  cjuestion  con- 
tinued to  be  agitated.  Sten  Sture  was  supported  by  the  coniTnoii 
people,  but  the  nobles  opposetl  him,  and  in  order  to  drive  him  from 
power,  they  organized  a  strong  party  of  (opposition  against  him, 
and  turned  to  King  Hans  for  aid.  Sture,  who  still  championed 
Swedish  independence,  would  not  yield,  and  war  broke  out  in  14!)7. 
The  struggle  could  not  last  long,  as  the  forces  jolaced  in  the  field  iiy 
King  Hans  and  his  supj>orters  were  too  strong  to  be  successfully 
resisted.  Elfsborg  was  taken,  and  a  large  Danish  army  advanced 
against  Kalmar.  Sture  hastened  to  Stockholm  to  defend  the  capital, 
but  the  Danes  seized  Hrunkeberg,  and  after  defeating  a  force  of  Dal- 
karlean  peasants  who  were  marching  to  his  aid,  they  took  Stock- 
holm ;  Mlfsborg  fell,  and  Sture  was  forced  to  give  uj)  the  struggle. 
On  November  2.3,  1497,  Hans  was  proclahned  king  of  Sweden,  and 
the  union  of  the  three  kingdoms  was  again  established,  although 
Swetlen,  as  represented  by  Sten  Sture's  j)arty,  had  entered  into  the 
new  compact  as  a  most  unwilling  partner.  In  order  to  ni^ke  the  union 
stid)le  and  permanent,  the  Swedish  Council  agreed  that  Prince  Chris- 
tian, the  son  of  King  Hans,  should  succeed  his  father  on  the  throne. 
and  he  was  fonnally  hailed  as  heir  to  the  throne  of  Sweden  at  Stock- 
holm in   IMH). 

The  ct)mmercial  affairs  of  the  North  were  at  this  time  in  a 
chaotic  state.  Hostilities  had  broken  out  between  Kngland  and 
Denniark-Norwa.w  because  iMiglish  merchants  continued  to  trade 
with  Iceland,  although  the  trade  with  the  Nt)rwegian  c(»lonies 
was  a  crown  monoj)oly.  In  Norway  the  ill-will  against  the  Han- 
seatic  merchants  had  been  increase<l  by  the  outrages  in  Bergen,  and  the 
murder  of  ()la\  Nii^soii  in  11.")."),  to  such  a  (iei:ree  that  in  the  charter 
issued  by  King  Hans  in  1483  most  imi)ortant  trade  regulations  were 
VOL.  n  —  o 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  11 

made,  which,  if  carried  out,  would  have  destroyed  the  commercial 
monopoly  of  the  Hanseatic  League.  Merchants  from  all  countries 
should  be  allowed  to  trade  in  Norway  without  hindrance,  and  the 
Hollanders,  especially',  should  enjoy  the  same  freedom  as  of  old,  but 
the  Hanseatic  merchants  should  not  be  allowed  to  carry  on  trade 
with  Iceland,  nor  should  the  king  grant  any  privileges  to  foreign 
merchants,  except  with  the  advice  of  the  Council.^  Liibeck  and  the 
other  Hansa  towns  understood  what  the  ultimate  result  would  be  if 
this  provision  was  carried  into  effect,  and  a  struggle  began  between 
Denmark-Norway  and  the  Hanseatic  cities,  which  resulted  in  the 
discomfiture  of  the  Hanseatic  League  in  the  first  part  of  the  next 
century.  The  contest,  which  began  as  diplomatic  negotiations,  soon 
turned  into  a  struggle  between  buccaneers,  supported  secretly  or 
openly  by  both  sides,  and  finally  it  developed  into  an  open  war  in 
which  large  fleets  fought  great  naval  battles.  During  the  buccaneer- 
ing activity  in  the  early  part  of  the  conflict,  the  Baltic  and  the  North 
Sea  were  swept  by  professional  corsairs  like  Pining  and  Pothorst, 
and  great  damage  was  done  to  commerce.  Loud  complaints  were 
made,  especially  by  the  Hanseatic  merchants  of  London,  of  these 
freebooters,  who  preyed  extensively  on  English  commerce ;  but  peace- 
ful conditions  gradually  returned  only  after  Denmark  and  Norway 
in  1489  modified  the  charter  regarding  trade  in  the  interest  of  the 
Hanseatic  merchants.  On  January  20,  1490,  King  Hans  and  Henry 
Vn.  of  England  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendly  intercourse 
between  their  realms.  The  trade  with  Iceland  was  made  free,  not 
only  for  the  English,  but  also  for  the  Hollanders  and  the  Hanseatic 
cities.^ 

King  Hans  had  been  willing  enough  to  subscribe  to  charters,  but 
in  the  keeping  of  them  he  emulated  his  father  King  Christian  I.  He 
had  agreed  not  to  grant  castles  or  fiefs  to  foreigners,  but  in  his  reign 
Danish  nobles  held  Akershus,  Bohus,  and  Bergen ;  the  Dane  Anders 
Muus  became  Bishop  of  Oslo,^  and  another,  Erick  Valkendorf,  was 

^  B.  E.  Bendixen,  Tyske  Haandverkere  paa  norsk  Grund  i  Middelalderen, 
Skrifler  udgivet  af  Videnskabs-Selskabet  i  Christiania,  1911.  King  Hans' 
charter,  Samlinger  til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Hislorie,  IV.,  p.  347  ff.  Arild 
Hixitfeldt,  Kong  Hans,  p.  9. 

*  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  VI.,  no.  609. 

®  R.  Keyser,  Den  norske  Kirkes  Hislorie  under  Katholicismen,  II.,  p.  594. 


II  TIIL    KKIGN    OF    KING    HANS    (JOHN)  83 

made  Arclihisliop  of  Troruilijein.  Xow  as  before  the  eliarters  re- 
mained a  dead  letter,  tliou^di  the  kin^  liad  pleilj^ed  liini.self  in  the 
strongest  terms  to  rule  aeeordinj^  to  them.  No  sueh  overt  harm  was 
done  the  kingdom  in  Hans'  reign  as  in  that  of  his  predetessor,  but 
the  disappointment  was,  nevertheless,  great  and  the  dissatisfaction 
general.  Danish  Iffhsniwnd  and /ovrr/.v  still  remained  in  charge  of  the 
local  administration,  though  the  charter  stated  that  the  kingdom 
should  be  ruled  by  native-born  men,  and  as  these  foreign  officials 
used  their  office  to  enrich  themselves,  they  often  treated  the  i)eople 
with  intolerable  injustice.  The  bfinder  knew  how  to  resist.  When 
their  patience  was  exhausted,  they  seized  the  fogeds  and  put  them  to 
death.'  They  lacked  lu'ither  the  will  nor  the  ability  to  defend  their 
rights,  but  there  were  no  leaders  like  Sten  Sture  in  Sweden  to(jrganize 
a  general  uprising,  and  give  it  a  national  consecration.  The  leading 
men  of  the  kingdom  were  divided  into  two  parties,  one  favoring  Den- 
mark, and  the  otlier  Sweden,  but  there  was  no  national  Norwegian 
party  to  maintain  the  autonomy  of  the  realm  and  the  chartered 
rights  of  the  people.  The  leader  of  the  Danish  party  at  this  time 
was  Ilartvig  Krumedike,  commandant  of  Bohus  castle,  and  a  special 
favorite  of  the  king.  The  leader  of  the  Swedish  party  was  Knut 
Alvsson,  commandant  of  Akershus  castle,  who  on  the  mother's  side 
was  of  Swedish  descent.  The  fight  between  the  nobles  and  their 
adherents  has  been  interj)reted  by  some  writers  as  a  national  struggle 
in  whicii  Knut  Alvsson  represented  the  cause  of  Norwegian  national 
independence,  but  this  episode  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  anything 
but  a  feud  between  rival  factions  without  any  deeper  national  sig- 
nificance. Ahsson  lacked  the  qualities  of  a  leader,  and  the  struggle 
with  Krumedike  seems  to  have  been  inspire<l  by  i)ersonal  enmity 
rather  than  by  lofty  ideas  of  an  independent  Norway.-    The  direct 

'  ().  A.  pverland.  Norges  Ilisloric,  V.,  p.  189  ff. 

*  "There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  Knut  Alvsson  was  prominent  in  any 
respoft  oxoopt  through  his  wealth  and  family  connections.  In  a  contem- 
porary Danish  chronicle  he  is  characterized  as  a  simple-minded  man,  a  tool  in 
the  hands  of  Swedish  traitors,  i.e.  the  anti-union  party  in  Sweden  with  the 
regent,  Sten  Sture,  at  its  head,  and  there  is  reason  to  heli(>ve  that  this  ohar- 
acterization  agret's  with  actual  conditions."  J.  E.  Sars,  I'dsigl  over  den 
norskr  Hislorie,  III.,  p.  171.  See  also  U.  Koyser,  Den  norske  Kirket  His- 
toric under  Katholicismen,  II.,  p.  590. 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

cause  of  this  revolt  was  a  local  disturbance  in  Romerike,  where  the 
foged,  Lasse  Skjold,  had  so  exasperated  the  people  by  his  extortions 
that  they  rose  against  him,  and  put  him  to  death.  The  uprising, 
although  not  dangerous,  assumed  such  proportions  that  Knut 
Alvsson,  who  was  commandant  of  Akershus,  feared  that  he  would 
be  unable  to  cope  with  it,  and  he  asked  Henry  Krumedike  of  Bohus 
for  aid.  Krumedike  not  only  failed  to  respond,  but  it  seems  that 
he  had  succeeded  in  arousing  the  king's  suspicion  as  to  Alvsson's 
loyalty,  and  that  he  had  been  secretly  encouraged  by  the  king  to 
watch  his  movements.  Alvsson  lost  the  king's  favor ;  he  was 
relieved  of  his  command  of  Akershus,  and  a  Danish  noble,  Peder 
Griis,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  A  bloody  feud  ensued,  and 
Alvsson  turned  to  Sweden  for  aid.  He  raised  an  armed  force  in 
that  kingdom,  and  made  a  raid  into  Norway,  but  he  was  driven 
back  by  the  king's  adherents.  Those  who  were  dissatisfied  flocked 
to  his  standards,  and  Erick  Gyldenstjerne,  the  Danish  commandant 
of  Elfsborg,  joined  him  ;  likewise,  also,  Nils  Ravaldsson  of  Olavsborg 
in  Viken.  Akershus,  Tunsberg,^  Marstrand,  and  Sarpsborg  were 
taken,  and  Krumedike  was  striving  to  hold  his  own  at  Bohus.  King 
Hans  could  not  come  to  Norway,  but  he  sent  his  son  Christian,  now 
twenty-one  years  old,  to  take  command.^  The  prince  showed  a  most 
resolute  spirit,  and  soon  got  the  situation  under  control.  Bohus 
was  relieved,  and  Gyldenstjerne  surrendered  Elfsborg  after  a  few 
days'  siege,  though  a  Swedish  army  under  x^lvsson  had  arrived  in 
the  neighborhood  to  support  him.  When  he  arrived  in  the  Swedish 
camp,  he  was  killed  by  the  angry  soldiers,  who  looked  upon  him  as  a 
traitor.  After  an  expedition  into  Vermland,  Prince  Christian  re- 
turned to  Denmark,  leaving  Krumedike  in  command.  Tunsberg 
was  soon  captured,  and  Knut  Alvsson  hastened  to  the  support  of 
Akershus,  but  as  he  feared  the  outcome  of  an  armed  conflict,  he 
decided  to  try  negotiations.  Provided  with  a  safe-conduct,  he 
boarded  Krumedike's  ship.  But  a  quarrel  between  the  rivals  ensued, 
and  Alvsson  was  slain,    1502.     For  this  misdeed  Krumedike  was 

^  Ludvig  Daae,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  vol.  I.,  p.  500  ff.  The  castle  of 
Tunsbcrghus  was  destroyed  in  this  feud. 

*  Iver  Hesselberg,  Christian  den  anden  i  Norge,  Samlinger  til  del  norske 
Folks  Sprog  og  Historie,  II.,  p.  3  ff. 


n  THE    REIGN    OF    KING    HANS    (jOIIx)  85 

compelled  to  leave  Norway,  and  the  uprising  was  not  i)ut  down  till 
1504. 

In  loOG  Prince  Christian  returned  to  Norway  with  full  royal  ' 
power.-  He  was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  ability,  influenced  by 
the  new  ideas  of  humanism  and  the  Renaissance.  Disposed  hy  nature 
to  brook  no  restraint,  he  ]>ai(l  little  attention  to  conventionalities. 
In  Bergen  he  became  enamored  with  a  fair  damsel,  Dyveke  (the 
little  dove),  whose  mother,  Sigbrit  Villums,  was  shopkeeper  in  the 
city.  She  was  introduced  to  the  prince  at  a  ball,  and  being  greatly 
impres.sed  with  her  rare  beauty,  "he  danced  with  her,"  says  the  old 
historian,  "and  this  was  the  cause  of  his  dancing  away  from  these 
three  kingdouis,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway."  This  is  un- 
doubtedly an  exaggeration,  but  Dyveke  became  his  mistress,  and 
the  attachment  of  the  prince  for  the  girl  and  her  mother  plays  an 
imj)ortant  part  in  his  reign.  In  ])ublic  as  in  private  life  he  was 
guided  by  his  own  impulses,  which  inclined  him  to  favor  the  common 
people.  He  soon  became  their  favorite,  and  many  a  goblet  of  ale 
was  drunk  to  the  health  of  the  good  Prince  Christian.  He  sought  to 
encourage  Norwegian  trade,  and  granted  the  merchants  of  Amster- 
dam pennission  to  trade  in  Bergen  and  everywhere  in  Norway.' 
In  1508  he  annulled  the  special  privileges  of  the  Rostock  merchants 
in  Oslo  and  Tun.sberg,  and  granted  them  the  same  rights  as  native 
citizens,  when  they  settled  pernuinently  in  the  city,  and  bore  their 
share  of  the  public  burdens.  The  following  year  he  placed  iinj)ortant 
restrictions  upon  the  Hanseatic  nuTchants  of  Bergen  and  increased 
the  privileges  of  the  native  traders.  The  castle  of  the  city  was  also 
rebuilt,  so  that  the  commandant  ultimately  became  able  to  force  the 
Han.seatic  factory  into  submission.  The  jjcople  of  the  cities  might 
have  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  Prince  Christian's  efforts  to  improve 
conditions,  but  in  the  country  districts  the  Danish  Jogah  were  still 
allowe<l  to  continue  their  extortionate  practices  unmolestnl.  In 
1508  a  new  revolt  broke  out  in  southeastern  Norway.  Under  the 
leadership  of  one  of  their  own  innnber.  Ilerlog  Ilofudfat.  the  houdcr 
of  Iledemarken  ro.se  against  the  \^\i\\\<\\  fiigcih,  slew  one  of  them,  and 

»  C.  F.  Allen,  D<'  trv  nordiskc  liigns  llistorir.  T.,  p.  43(5,  071. 

'  YnRvur  XielscMi,  litrgen,  p.  207  fT.     Ariid  Iluitfeldl,  Danmarks  Historic 

'  Diplomalarium  Norwegicum,  VI.,  uo.  047. 


86  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  11 

drove  away  another.  Christian  suppressed  the  revolt  with  the  cruel 
severity  usually  practiced  in  those  days,  when  the  rulers  knew  better 
how  to  punish  offenses  than  to  remove  their  cause.  The  leaders  of 
the  uprising  were  captured  and  brought  to  Akershus,  where  they 
were  put  to  the  torture  and  executed  as  traitors.  The  heads  of  the 
unfortunate  offenders  were  put  on  stakes,  and  exliibited  to  the  gaze 
of  the  multitude ;  that  of  Herlog  H0fudfat  was  placed  in  the  center 
and  crowned  in  mockery  with  an  iron  crown.  Even  Bishop  Karl  of 
Hamar,  who  on  very  slight  evidence  was  held  to  be  implicated  in  the 
uprising,  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  it  is  a  singular  manifestation 
of  the  growing  weakness  of  the  church  that  he  was  suffered  to  remain 
incarcerated  till  his  death  without  being  convicted  of  any  wrong- 
doing, even  without  being  granted  a  trial.  ^  This  unnecessary  harsh- 
ness reveals  in  the  prince  an  innate  cruelty,  an  irresponsible  fierce- 
ness of  temper,  which  proved  his  undoing  after  years  of  struggles 
had  fully  awakened  the  bloodthirstiness  of  his  savage  heart.  In 
his  administration  of  state  affairs  Prince  Christian  was  as  despotic 
as  he  was  hard-hearted  in  dealing  with  opponents  and  offenders. 
The  Council  was  almost  wholly  disregarded,  and  could  exercise  no 
influence ;  Norwegian  nobles  were  deprived  of  their  fiefs,  and  Danes 
were  appointed  in  their  place  in  open  violation  of  the  charters.  The 
kingdom  was  not  ruled  by  native-born  officials  according  to  the 
charters,  but  by  the  king  with  the  aid  of  the  Danish  nobles,  while 
the  power  of  the  Council  was  chiefly  limited  to  judicial  matters.^ 
But  Christian's  impulsive  nature  and  democratic  manners  had  gained 
for  him  a  reputation  as  the  people's  friend,  and  he  became  a  great 
favorite  of  the  common  classes,^  a  distinction  of  which  he  was  not 
wholly  undeserving ;  for  though  a  tyrant  at  heart,  he  possessed  an 
instinctive  appreciation  of  justice,  and  as  his  habits  inclined  him  to 
favor  the  common  people,  he  often  championed  their  rights,  if  for 
no  other  reason  than  out  of  spite  against  the  nobles,  whom  he  hated. 
The  kingdom  of  Sweden  was  tied  to  King  Hans  and  the  union  by 

'  Ludvig  Daae,  Biskop  Karl  af  Hamar,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  f jerde  rsekke, 
III.,  p.  327  ff. 

^  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Del  norske  Rigsraad,  p.  305. 

'  R.  Keyser,  Den  norske  Kirkes  Historic  under  Katholicismen,  II.,  p.  595  ff. 
Danmarks  Riges  Historic,  III.,  p.  116  ff.  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske 
Historic,  III.,  p.  175.     H.  Behrmann,  Kong  Kristiern  den  andens  Historic. 


II  THE    UEION    OF    KINT,    HANS    (jOHN)  87 

very  slender  threads  of  loyalty,  and  these  were  suddenly  rent  hy  the 
king's  unfortunate  expedition  to  DitTuarsken. 

It  Hhs  already  been  statinl  elsewhere  that  Emperor  Frefleriek  III. 
incorporated  this  province  together  with  Stormarn  in  the  duchy  of 
Holstein,  which  he  granted  King  Christian  I.  of  Denmark  in  1474. 
Ditmarsken  was  a  marshy  district  between  the  rivers  Elbe  and 
Eider,  protected  against  inundations  by  great  dikes  along  the  North 
Sea.  The  land  had  to  be  ditched  and  drained,  but  as  the  Ditinarskers 
were  industrious  and  intelligent,  their  land  was  well  tilled,  and  their 
country  was  a  republic,  where  the  people  governed  themselves.  To 
the  rapacious  nobility  and  land-hungry  kings  this  morsel  was  very 
tempting,  but  King  Christian  died  before  he  could  take  possession 
of  it.  King  Hans  was  detennined  to  make  good  his  claim,  and  the 
nobles  joined  liis  standards  in  unusually  large  numbers  in  anticipation 
of  the  rich  booty  which  they  were  sure  to  secure.  In  1500  Hans 
marched  against  Ditnuirsken  with  an  anny  of  15,000  men,  consisting 
of  nobles  and  German  mercenaries.^  The  Ditmarskers  retreated 
before  this  large  force,  l)ut  on  the  road  to  Hemmingstedt,  their 
leader.  Wolf  Isebrand,  fortified  iiimself  with  a  force  of  500  men,  and 
placed  some  guns  in  position.  When  King  Hans  arrived  on  P^eb- 
ruar>'  17th,  rain  was  falling  in  torrents,  and  the  Danish  army  was 
crowded  together  on  the  narrow  road,  on  either  side  of  which  were 
broad  ditches  filled  with  water.  The  Ditmarskers  opened  fire.  The 
Danes  could  neither  advance  nor  retreat,  and  a  fearful  i)anic  ensued. 
All  order  and  discipline  vanished,  and  the  army  was  converted  into 
a  struggling  Tnass  of  horses  and  men  trying  in  vain  to  extricate  them- 
selves. The  horses  sank  to  their  knees  in  the  mud,  or  tumbled  head- 
long with  their  riders  into  the  ditches.  The  si)irited  attack  of  the 
Ditmarskers  sealed  the  doom  of  the  entrapped  ami.w  The  dikes 
were  cut.  and  the  Xorth  Sea  rollecl  its  billows  o\er  the  marshy  plains, 
while  the  peasants  jumped  around  on  their  long  poles,  dealing  death 
and  destruction  on  (>\(Ty  hand.  The  king  escaped,  but  the  army 
Was  destroyed  ;  the  Danebrog  banner  was  lost,  and  enormous  quan- 
tities of  sujiplies  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Ditmarskers.- 

*  The  statiMiu'iit  made  hy  old  writers  that  tho  army  uumbercd  30,000  men 
has  Ions  sinct'  been  discardt-d  as  orroiicous. 

•  CMir.  Molhi'i'k,  Ifistorie  om  Ditmarskerkrigen  t  ISOO,  Copenhagen.  ISH. 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

King  Hans'  defeat  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  whole  North. 
In  Sweden,  where  the  people  had  grown  restive  under  his  rule,  because 
he  had  failed  to  keep  his  promise  to  rule  according  to  the  charters, 
his  discomfiture  caused  great  excitement,  and  soon  a  well-organized 
revolt  was  set  on  foot.  Sten  Sture  was  again  chosen  regent,  and  the 
castles  through  the  country  were  seized  in  rapid  succession  until 
only  Borgholm  and  Kalmar  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  king's 
adherents.  Stockholm  was  ably  defended  by  Queen  Christina. 
The  city  was  treacherously  surrendered  to  Sten  Sture  in  the  fall  of 
1501,  but  not  till  in  the  spring,  when  all  stores  were  exhausted,  did 
the  brave  queen  surrender  the  castle.  King  Hans  himself  arrived 
the  day  after  with  a  fleet  of  thirty  vessels,  too  late  to  be  of  any 
service.  When  Sten  Sture  died  in  1503,  Svante  Sture  was  chosen 
to  succeed  him.  An  armistice  was  concluded,  and  the  Councils  of 
the  three  kingdoms  should  meet  at  Kalmar  to  negotiate  a  settlement 
of  the  diflSculties,  but  Svante  Sture  did  not  appear,  and  in  1506 
hostilities  were  revived. 

As  Denmark  was  again  becoming  a  naval  power,  the  campaigns 
of  the  next  three  years  were  largely  waged  on  the  sea.  King  Hans 
had  hired  ship-builders  in  Holland,  and  many  vessels  were  added  to 
the  fleet  every  year.  In  1502  he  came  to  Stockholm  with  thirty 
ships ;  in  1505  he  arrived  in  Kalmar  with  twice  that  number.  Den- 
mark was  beginning  to  develop  the  roj^al  navy  which  in  future 
years  was  to  be  her  main  strength.  The  islands  of  Oland  and  Goth- 
land, which  were  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Danes,  afforded  them  a 
most  favorable  vantage  ground,  whence  their  able  sea-captains,  Jens 
Holgerss0n,  Otto  Rud,  and  S0ren  Norby  whom  the  king  had  made 
chief  commander  of  the  royal  fleet,  harried  the  Swedish  coasts,  and 
swept  the  Baltic  Sea  clean  of  merchant  vessels  going  to  and  from 
Sweden.  S0ren  Norby  captured  Kastelholm  in  the  Aland  Islands, 
and  Otto  Rud  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Finland  and  sacked  Abo.  The 
plan  was  to  destroy  all  commerce  with  Sweden,  and  starve  the  king- 
dom into  submission.  In  1509  the  leaders  of  the  Swedish  uprising 
had  to  yield.  They  promised  to  pay  the  king  12,000  marks,  and  his 
queen,  Christina,  1000  marks  a  year  until  the  Councils  of  the  three 
realms  could  assemble  in  joint  meeting  to  place  either  King  Hans  or 
his  son  Christian  on  the  throne  of  Sweden ;  but  the  peace  did  not  last 


11  liti:uati;ki:  axij  ixtkllixtual  like  89 

Intij;.  Ill  1510  Liil)eck  (loclarcd  war  a^'aiiist  Kiiif,'  Hans,  and  Swtfien 
v'\/.ed  the  ()j)p(»rtiinity  to  join  tlie  llanscatic  citit'S  on  tlie  lialtic 
(  nastin  a  coalition  against  Di-ninark.  Jens  Ilol^'crssjin,  who  was  made 
(  Miuniandcr  of  the  Danish  fleet,  fought  a  great  naval  hatllc  with  the 
l.iiheckers  oil"  IJornholin,  Angust  9,  1511.  The  comhat  was  in- 
ilr(isi\e.  hotli  sides  claiming,'  thi'  \ictory.  A  second  battle  took  place 
nil  the  iltli  of  tlie  same  month  near  the  coast  of  Mecklenburg  with 
tlic  same  result.  The  next  year  Liiheck  made  peace  on  terms  very 
r,i\()ral)le  to  Denmark;  tlie  Ilanseatic  cities  could  no  longer  claim 
naval  supremacy  in  the  North. 

The  creation  of  a  na\.\-  was  the  one  great  service  which  King  Hans 
irii(U're<l  the  kingdom  of  Denmark.  In  his  efl'orts  to  subdue  Sweden 
111-  was  unsuccessful.  Svante  Sture  died  in  1512,  but  Sten  Sture 
the  Younger  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as  regent,  and  when  peace 
\\;is  (((ncliidcd  in  \')\'2,  ."^wcdcn  renewed  the  promises  of  1509,  but  the 
union  was  not  ret-stablisiied.  In  1513  King  Hans  died,  quite  suddenly, 
litty-eight  years  of  age. 

11.   Literature  and  Intellectual  Life  in  the  Fourteenth 
AND  Fifteenth  Centuries 

In  Norway,  as  elsewhere  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  church  was  the 
custodian  of  the  higher  intellectual  culture,  as  well  as  of  the  religious 
training  of  the  peojjle.  As  the  kingdom  had  no  university,  the  only 
seats  of  learning  were  the  cathednil  or  Latin  schools  connected  with 
the  cathedral  chaj)ters.  According  to  universal  practice,  each 
cathedral  maintained  a  higher  school  (cathedral  school)  under  the 
leadership  of  a  scholasticus,  or  schoolmaster,  where  the  students  were 
instructed  in  the  branches  necessary  for  those  who  were  to  take 
holy  orders.  Most  of  the  j)arisli  priests  had  re<ei\ed  their  training 
in  the  cathedral  schools,  aside  from  the  i)ri\ate  tuition  by  which  they 
were  prcpartMl  to  enter  the  schools,  and  their  own  diligent  stmly  in 
the  libraries  connected  with  the  cathedrals.  Those  who  wished  to 
get  a  uni\ersity  training  had  to  go  abroad.  In  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries  Paris,  Orleans,  Prague,  and  Hologna  were  much 
frequented  by  Norwegian  students;  and  lattT  Oxford,  Cambridge, 
Louvain,  Leyden,  Cologne,  Leipzig,  and  others  were  also  sought. 


90  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE 


=  1 


In  1418  the  University  of  Rostock  was  founded,  and  because  of  the 
Hvely  commercial  intercourse  which  the  Hanseatic  merchants  main- 
tained with  the  North,  the  Norwegian  students  found  it  most  con- 
venient to  go  to  Rostock,  which,  in  a  sense  became  the  University  of 
Norway.^  The  cathedral  chapters  maintained  here  a  separate  resi- 
dence for  the  Norwegian  students,  the  Donius  Sancti  Olavi,  and  the 
university  records  show  that  they  attended  in  considerable  numbers. 
Even  after  the  University  of  Copenhagen  was  founded  in  1479,  the 
Norwegian  students  continued  to  go  to  Rostock,^  until  after  the  Refor- 
mation, when  the  University  of  Wittenberg  became  especially  attrac- 
tive to  Lutherans.  Not  till  in  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the 
kings  by  royal  decrees  made  it  difficult  for  Norwegians  and  Danes  to 
visit  foreign  universities,  did  the  stream  of  Norwegian  students  turn 
to  Copenhagen. 

The  union  with  Denmark  only  served  to  retard  the  development 
of  learning  and  higher  culture  in  Norway,  as  Copenhagen  became  the 
center  of  intellectual  life  of  both  kingdoms.  Norway  did  not  receive 
a  university  like  Denmark  and  Sweden,  and  while  the  art  of  printing 
was  introduced  very  early  in  Denmark,  it  was  not  brought  to  Nor- 
way for  some  time,  since  the  books  used  continued  to  be  printed  in 
Copenhagen  or  other  Danish  or  foreign  cities.  The  historian  Suhm 
says :  "  In  the  time  of  King  Hans  the  art  of  printing  was  brought 
hither.  In  1486  the  first  Latin  book  was  printed  in  the  city  of 
Schleswig,  in  1493  in  Copenhagen,  and  in  1495  the  first  Danish  book 
was  printed  in  the  same  city,  both  by  Godfrid  of  Ghenen.     In  Latin, 

^  Ludvig  Daae,  Matrikler  over  nordiske  Studerende  ved  fremmcde  Univer- 
siteter,  Christiania,  1885.  Chr.  Lange,  Matrikel  over  norske  Studerende  ved 
Roslocks  Universitet,  Norske  Samlinger,  vol.  I.,  p.  72  ff.  A.  Chr.  Bang, 
Udsigt  over  den  norske  Kirkes  Hislorie  under  Katholicismen,  p.  180  ff. 

Poor  students  could  generally  receive  financial  aid.  In  Catholic  times 
the  tithes  were  divided  into  four  parts,  so  that  the  king,  the  church,  the 
priest,  and  the  poor  should  receive  an  equal  portion ;  but  the  binder  re- 
served the  right  to  control  the  portion  falling  to  the  poor,  hence  it  was  called 
bondelodden,  i.e.  the  binder's  portion.  By  the  statute  of  December  20,  1436, 
it  was  ordained  that  half  of  this  portion  should  be  used  for  the  support  of 
poor  students.  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  De  norske  Communers  Retsforfatning  f^r 
1837,  p.  83. 

2  Peder  Friedrioh  Suhm,  Samlede  Skrifter,  VIII.,  p.  23.  Many  students 
from  the  North  also  attended  the  University  of  Greifswald,  founded  in  1456. 
The  University  of  Upsala,  Sweden,  was  founded  in  1477. 


II  LITEUATIUL    AND    INTKLLIXTLAL    LIFE  91 

I  )ani.sh,  aiid  L<)\v-(jennan  we  liave  some  clironicles  from  tlujse  times 
written  in  Denmark  and  Ilolstein.  Ciiristian  Pedersen,  ('anon  in 
I. unci,  was  u  remartcahle  man.  He  was  the  first  to  print  Saxo  Gram- 
iiiatieus  in  Paris.  Of  tiie  New  Testament  we  received  a  few  Danish 
translations,  and  Wonnordius  translated  tlie  P>aiter  into  Danish. 
<  hristian  II.  was  a  lover  of  medicine  and  alciiemy,  and  lie  forbade 
any  of  his  subjects  to  visit  foreign  universities  until  they  had  become 
iiu'calaurei  in  Copenhagen."^  In  Norway  no  such  progress  was 
i:iade.  A  few  books  were,  indeed,  written,  but  they  were  either  printed 
I'lroad  —  especially  in  Coj)enliagen,  Paris,  and  Rostock  —  or  they 

•re  left  unpublished.-  The  first  Norwegian  printing  establishment 
\s  as  set  up  in  Cliristiania  by  Tyge  Nielsen  in  IG-tii,  in  which  year  he 
printed  three  small  books,  "Encke  .suck,"  "En  merkelig  vise,"  and 
'  lOn  ny  almanach." ' 

Xhvv  the  Old  N()r>c  literary  jMTiod  came  to  a  close  about  l.'ioO. 
the  Norwegian  language  inidorwent  a  rapid  change,  which,  in  the 
Middle  Norse  period,  1. '>")()- 152.3,  transfonned  it  in  all  essential  re- 
spects into  modern  Norwegian.  This  change  seems  to  have  been 
(hie  in  part  to  the  almost  total  interruption  of  the  old  literary  activity, 
which  had  hitherto  maintained  a  literary  language  more  or  less 
<li\ergent  from  the  spoken  tongue.  But  in  general  the  change 
parallels  the  development  of  other  Eurojiean  languages,  and  must 
Im-  viewed  as  part  of  a  great  linguistic  movement.  The  new  Nor- 
wegian was  not  ilestined,  however,  like  other  modern  tongues,  to 
liecome  a  literary  language.  This  was  prevented  by  the  union  with 
I  •eianark,  whieh  grew  to  be  intellectual  as  well  as  political.  The 
two  kingdoms  had,  indeed,  l)een  united  on  equal  tenns,  but  the 
king  and  court  resided  in  Denmark,  and  after  1450  Danish  was 
exclusively  used  as  the  ollieial  language  even  in  jnirely  Norwegian 

'  Poder  Frii'dric'h  Subin,  ."^umlcdc  Skriflcr,  \11I.,  p.  3r»7  IT. 

*  Suhm  mentions  two  important  books  which  yet  remained  unpublished 
in  his  day ;  one  a  record  of  the  estates  of  the  churches  of  Oslo,  called  the 
"Red  Book,"  by  Canon  Hans  Olson,  1521;  and  the  other  a  work  vrril- 
ten  about  Norwaj',  Norges  Bcskrirelsc,  by  Absalon  Pederson  Bey«'r  about 
1550,  and  these  were  not  the  onlv  ones.  Suhm,  Samlcdc  Skriflcr,  VII.,  p. 
25  ff. 

*  Suhm,  Samlalc  Skriflcr,  VII.,  p.  25.  Norsk  Konvcrsationa-Leksikon, 
vol.  I.,  ^"Bogtrykkerkunsten." 


92  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

affairs.^  A  Dane,  Erick  Valkendorf,  became  Archbishop  of  Trond- 
hjem,  1510,  Danes  were  appointed  to  other  high  offices  both  in 
church  and  state,  and  Danish  gradually  became  the  written  language 
of  the  upper  classes.  The  University  of  Copenhagen,  the  Danish 
publishing  houses,  and,  finally,  the  Reformation,  in  the  interest  of 
which  Danish  religious  books  were  introduced  in  Norway,  con- 
tributed to  make  Danish  the  church  and  school  language,  as  it  had 
already  become  the  official  language  of  the  kingdom.  In  the  cities, 
and  among  the  clergy  and  upper  classes,  the  Danish  tongue  in  a 
greatly  modified  form  became  in  time  also  the  spoken  language, 
while  Norwegian  became  the  despised  vernacular  of  the  common 
people.  It  continued  to  be  spoken  by  the  great  majority,  especially 
in  the  country  districts,  but  the  officials,  the  learned  classes,  and  the 
burghers  allied  themselves  mth  the  Danish.  To  speak  this  language 
even  imperfectly  was  henceforth  regarded  as  a  sign  of  culture  and 
refinement,  while  the  Norwegian  tongue  became  a  symbol  of  Arcadian 
rusticity. 

But  this  Danish-Norwegian  city  language  experienced  a  slow 
growth.  Professor  Halvdan  Koht  shows  that  it  did  not  become  a 
living  tongue  in  Norway  till  towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.^ Through  the  unfortunate  circumstance  that  higher  culture 
in  Norway  began  to  look  to  Deimaark  as  its  source,  and  thereby 
became  associated  with  a  foreign  language,  a  cleavage  occurred  in 
the  intellectual  life  of  the  nation  which  has  not  yet  been  fully  healed. 
Culturally  the  people  were  divided  into  two  groups :  the  cities,  who 
prided  themselves  in  their  Danish-Norwegian  language  and  higher 
city  culture,  which  was  Danish  in  character,  and  grew  to  be  clannish 
in  spirit ;  and  the  country  people,  who  spoke  their  own  vernacular, 
lived  their  own  intellectual  life,  and  had  no  share  in  the  higher  city 
culture.  In  course  of  time  the  Danish  culture,  as  well  as  the  Danish 
language,  became  nationalized  through   the  constant  influence  of 

^  The  difference  between  Norwegian  and  Danish  can  be  seen  by  comparing 
the  charter  granted  by  Karl  Knutsson  in  Trdndhjem,  1449,  written  in  Nor- 
wegian {Diplomatarium  Norwegiciim,  vol.  VI.,  no.  531),  and  the  charter 
granted  by  Christian  I.  at  Bergen,  14.50,  written  in  Danish  (Diplomatarium 
Norwegicum,  vol.  VIII.,  no.  34.5).  Karl  Knutsson's  charter  was  the  last 
constitutional  charter  Avritten  in  Norwegian. 

*  Syn  og  Segn,  September,  1907,  Halvdan  Koht,  Bokmaal  og  Bymaal. 


U  LlTHICATrUi:    AND    I.N'TKLLIXTi; AL    LIFK  93 

environment,  and  assumed  a  Norwegian  character,  but  this  trans- 
formation was  slowly  consurnmati'd. 

The  more  i)rominent  traits  of  intellectual  life  are  reflected  especially 
clearly  in  the  literature  of  the  period.  The  creative  productiveness 
of  the  hij^her  circles  may  be  said  to  lia\('  ceased,  but  the  ('(lucated 
classes  possessed  a  certain  dilij;ent  erudition,  of  which  we  find  evidence 
in  the  numerous  charters,  letters,  and  j)ublic  documents  which  have 
been  published  in  a  large  series  of  volumes  under  the  title  "  Diplo- 
matarium  Xorwegicum."  Another  large  collection  of  laws  and  other 
legal  documents  has  lately  been  published  under  the  title  "  Xorges 
gamie  I^)\'e,  anden  nekke."  '  In  Iceland,  where  the  interest  in 
the  saga.t  continued  to  li\e,  some  important  siiga  compilations  were 
made  as  the  "  Ilrokkinskinna"  and  the  "  Flateyjarbok."  A  collec- 
tion of  Icelandic  public  documents  h.as  also  been  publishefl  under  the 
title  "  Diplomatarium  Islandicnin."  This  literature,  produced  by 
the  classes  representing  tlie  higher  culture,  shows  an  interest  in  juris- 
prudence, in  political  and  connnercial  alFairs,  and  learned  activity, 
but  none  whatever  in  history,  poetry,  and  story- telling,  in  a  word, 
in  literature  properly  so  callcfl.  Love  for  the  spiritless  scholastic 
learning  hafi  replaced  the  old  interest  for  history  and  literary  art. 
But  poesy  was  not  dead.  It  continued  to  flourish,  where  it  had 
always  flourished  even  before  the  Old  Xorse  literature  was  produced, 
among  the  counnon  people.  The  poesy  which  blossomed  forth  among 
the  unlettered  and  unlearned  classes  was  a  direct  contiiuiation  of 
the  best  features  and  more  popular  elements  of  the  Old  Norse  litera- 
ture. The  old  spirit  of  the  Norwegian  people  reasserted  itself  in 
this  new  poesy,  unguided,  but  also  unhami)cred.  by  the  arbitrary 
niles  of  art,  which  had  finall.\-  enveloped  the  Old  Norse  jxn'try  like 
a  hard  crust,  conipletel>-  arresting  its  development.  In  the  Middle 
Period  the  upper  classes  ceased  to  cultivate  literature.  Thereby 
poesy  emancipated  itself  from  learning,  and  returned  t(^  its  own 
haunts  to  frolic  about  the  fresh  fountain-heads  from  which  it  was 
originally  led  forth.  It  can  scarcely  be  regarde<l  as  a  misfortune 
that  it  deserted  the  halls  and  the  court  circles  where  it  had  been 
reduced  to  bondage,  and   fled   back  to  the  bosom   of  the  common 

*  Norges  gamle  Love,  anden  nekke,  edited  by  Professor  Absalon  Taranger, 
Christiania,  1912. 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

people,  where  it  could  begin  to  live  again,  because  it  found  its  own 
necessary  environment  —  freedom.  The  Middle  Period  of  Nor- 
wegian literature  can  scarcely  be  called  the  Dead  Period,  as  some 
critics  have  ventured  to  suggest.  It  is  in  many  ways  one  of  the 
most  imi)ortant  formative  periods  in  Norwegian  literary  history, 
when  poetry  for  the  first  time  enters  fully  into  its  own;  when  it 
acquires  the  true  universality  of  the  art,  and  begins  to  express  with 
charming  artlessness  the  native  mysticism,  the  national  dreams,  the 
joys  and  sorrows  of  the  people.  Even  when  modern  Norwegian 
literature  began  to  develop,  it  had  to  turn  back  to  this  period,  and 
tune  the  harp  to  its  melodies  to  find  again  the  fundamental  chords 
of  true  poesy  which  the  too  learned  poets  had  forgotten.  The  Middle 
Period  has  not  only  left  us  one  of  the  richest  treasures  among  the 
rich  stores  of  poesy  and  prose  narratives  in  the  North,  which  is  read 
and  admired  even  now  to  an  extent  which  might  make  the  masters 
envious,  but  it  has  done  Northern  literature  an  even  greater  service 
by  rediscovering  and  reopening  the  eternal  fountains  of  poesy, 
without  which  the  great  triumphs  in  modern  literary  art  might 
never  have  been  won.  Had  the  upper  classes  continued  to  control 
the  literary  production,  their  learning  might  have  spoiled  their 
poetry,  and  we  should  not  have  had  a  literature  so  expressive  of 
the  spirit  and  character  of  the  age  as  the  folk-tales,  folk-songs,  and 
ballads  of  the  common  people.  It  would  have  been  a  literature  for 
the  upper  classes,  lacking  the  truly  national  element,  and  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  it  would  have  possessed  the  high  value  of  the  folk  literature 
even  when  measured  by  modern  standards  of  art. 

The  folk  Uterature  may  be  divided  into  three  main  groups :  the 
folk-songs,  the  traditional  and  legendary  tales  (sagn),  and  the  folk- 
and  fairy-tales  (eventyr).  In  all  of  these  we  find  a  new  Hterary  form, 
as  well  as  a  new  literary  spirit.  In  the  folk-songs  the  rhyme  has 
replaced  the  old  alliterative  verse,  and  the  refrain  is  generally,  though 
not  always,  employed.  The  folk-song  has  adapted  itself  to  two  new 
arts  —  music  and  the  dance,  and  it  is  generally  held,  no  doubt  cor- 
rectly, that  this  new  poetic  form  had  been  imported  together  with 
the  latter  from  southern  Europe.  In  the  song-dance,  which  gradually 
became  the  great  diversion  of  the  common  people,  the  trio :  poesy, 
music,  and  dance  were  again  united,  as  they  had  been  even  among 


II  LlTEUATLUi:    AXU    INTELLKCTUAL    LIFE  95 

tlie  Greeks  of  old.  This  fonn  of  the  dance  originated  quite  early 
in  Norway,  and  in  Icehmd  it  is  mentioned  even  in  the  eieventli  cen- 
tury.' It  was  a  home  dance  perfonned  in  tlie  house  in  winter ;  hut 
in  the  summer  generally  out  of  doitrs.  All  could  take  part ;  young  and 
old,  men  and  women  fonned  a  circle  hy  holding  each  others'  hands. 
The  leader  sang  the  song,  and  the  others  joined  in  the  refrain,  while 
all  kept  time  to  the  melody.  "  And  as  the  song  proceeded,  all  entered 
more  and  more  into  the  si)irit  of  it,  and  lived  over  again  the  saga 
which  the  song  narrated;  the  dance  became  dramatic."  The  song 
was  the  chief  thing  in  the  dance,  and  all  who  took  part  were  sup- 
posed to  know  it  so  well  that  they  could  accompany  it  with  motions 
and  facial  expressions.  Ilulda  Garborg  says:  "The  song-dance 
strengthened  and  revived  the  interest  in  history,  since  the  songs  so 
often  dealt  with  stories  from  the  sagas.  This  pastime  was  especially 
entertaining  and  useful  during  the  long  winters  when  the  people 
stayed  mostly  indoors.  For  the  young  ]>coi)Ie  the  dance  also  became 
a  school,  an  introduction  to  the  old  life,  and  a  strengthening  of  the 
love  of  home  and  kindred.  The  young  people  learned  also  through 
the  singing  of  the  songs  the  good  traits  which  the  song  especially 
praised :  courage  and  manhood,  honesty  and  courtesy,  chivalry, 
self-sacrifice  in  love,  and  friendship  unto  death ;  but  shame  and  dis- 
grace befell  the  coward  and  the  one  who  was  dishonest  and  faithless. 
Often  the  songs  stimulated  the  people's  minds  by  wit  and  sarcasm ; 
yes,  the  song-<lance  was  used  even  as  a  judicial  tribunal.  If  a  man 
had  done  something  wrong,  two  strong  men  took  him  between  them 
into  the  dance,  and  let  him  listen  to  verses  full  of  spite  and  mockery, 
sung  about  his  conduct.  But  he  was  allowed  to  rei)ly  as  well  as  he 
could,  and  when  they  thought  that  he  had  heard  enough,  the  case 
was  thereby  regarded  as  settled."  In  the  folk-songs  the  cj)ic  and 
lyric  elements  are  most  intimately  combined.  Tlie  song  is  usually 
epic,  as  it  narrates  a  story  based  on  the  saga,s  or  other  traditions,  or 
even  on  mythology.  The  background  of  the  narrative  is  often  dark 
and  mystic,  but  through  the  softer  undertones  breathes  a  dee])  feel- 
ing of  jtiy  or  sorrow  which  concentrates  itself  in  the  purely  lyrical 
refrain.     The  Faroe  Islands  have  the  greatest  collection  of  purely 

*  Hulda  Garborg,  Norske  Folkevisor,  Norsko  FolkcskrifUr,  no.  8,  Chhstiania, 
1903;   Songdanscn  i  Nordcrlandi,  1904. 


96  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

epic  folk-songs  found  in  the  North.  The  oldest  of  them,  and  in  fact 
the  oldest  folk-songs  known,  are  the  "Sjur'SarkvseSi  "  or  songs  about 
Sigurd  Fafnesbane.  In  Iceland  the  folk-songs  died  out,  because  the 
dance  was  forbidden  by  the  church,  and  only  fragments  are  now  in 
existence.^  From  the  Shetland  Islands  only  one  song  has  been  pre- 
served, the  "Hildinakvad,"  written  down  in  the  eighteenth  century 
in  a  language  half  Norse  and  half  English.  Travelers  who  saw  the 
song-dance  in  these  islands  at  that  time  state  that  here,  as  in  the 
Faroe  Islands,  the  songs  dealt  especially  with  episodes  from  Nor- 
wegian history.  In  Norway  many  large  collections  of  folk-songs 
have  been  published,  and  the  work  of  collecting  them  is  not  yet 
completed.  Hitherto  the  largest  and  most  noted  collection  is  the 
"Norske  Folkeviser,"  by  M.  B.  Landstad.^ 

The  traditional  tales  may  be  divided  into  two  main  groups :  the 
mythological  and  the  legendary-historical.  Those  of  the  first  group 
form  a  continuation  of  the  myths  in  a  disguised  form,  especially 
those  of  the  more  popular  features  of  the  old  faith  which  had  become 
most  intimately  connected  with  the  people's  everyday  life.  Thor, 
the  most  popular  of  the  gods,  the  trolls,  which  are  but  a  variation 
of  the  old  j^tuns,  the  fairy,  the  mountain  spirits,  mermaids,  elves, 
etc.,  are  still  met  with  in  these  tales.  The  old  gods  had  ceased 
to  be  regarded  as  divinities,  but  they  continued  to  live  in  the  popular 
imagination  as  evil  spirits  who  exerted  a  powerful  influence  on  people's 
lives  and  destiny.  The  conception  of  the  powerful  Thor  had  been 
too  deeply  ingrafted  on  the  minds  of  the  Norwegian  people  to  be 
suddenly  eradicated  even  by  a  change  of  faith.     Though  no  longer 

1  Olafur  DavISsson,  Islenzkir  Vikvakar  og  Vikivakakvcc'Si,  1908.  V.  U. 
Hammershaimb,  Sjurdarkvoe'di,  1851.     Fcer^isk  Antologi,  1889. 

'  Of  other  Norwegian  collections  may  be  mentioned :  Sophus  Bugge, 
Gamle  norske  Folkeviser,  1858 ;  and  Viser  fra  0vre  Telemarken,  1859.  J0rgen 
Moe,  Norske  Viser  og  Stev  i  Folkesproget,  1840.  Hans  Ross,  Norske  Viser  og 
Stev.  Thorvald  Lammers,  Norske  Folkeviser  med  Melodier,  1901-1902.  Bernt 
St0ylen,  Norske  Barnerim  og  Leikar,  1899.  Rikard  Berge,  Steu  fraa  Tele- 
marki,  1908. 

The  old  folk-melodies  to  which  the  folk-songs  were  sung  have  been  col- 
lected by  Ludvig  M.  Lindeman,  Catharinus  EUing,  and  others.  Lud\ng 
M.  Lindeman,  SO  norske  Kjampevisemelodier,  Christiania,  1863.  Rikard, 
Berge,  Norsk  Visejugg,  med  Tonar  nedskrivne  af  Arne  Eggen,  Christiania, 
1904.  Catharinus  Elling,  Norske  Folkemelodier,  Christiania  Videnskabs- 
Selskabs  Skrifter,  1909. 


n  LITERATUHK    A.VI)    INTKI.I.KCriAL    LIFE  97 

wiirsliipcd  as  a  ^<m|,  he  coiitimic*!  to  exercise  a  nia^ic  influence  in 
tlieir  lives.  Tliiirsday  evcniii;^  had  yet  its  own  sij;nificance ;  the 
magic  plants  used  in  medicine  had  to  he  picked  on  Thursday  evening 
to  have  healing  {qualities,  and  food  had  to  be  placed  by  the  barn  on 
Thursday  evening  for  the  elves  to  gain  their  good  will.  Character- 
istic was  also  the  belief  in  the  .ia.sganrd.srri,^  a  fearful  caravan  which 
was  thought  to  ride  through  the  air  on  dark,  wild  liorses.  This  i)ro- 
cession  consisted  of  the  sjjirit-.  of  llic  dead  who  in  their  natural  life 
had  not  done  evil  encnigh  to  be  condenine<l  to  hell,  but  who  were 
unhajjpy  and  without  peace  after  death.  Thor,  as  a  spirit  of  evil, 
Sigurd  the  slayer  of  Fafnir,  and  Gudrun,  who  has  been  substituted 
for  IIcl,  are  the  most  conspicuous  figures  of  the  procession  as  it  rides 
through  the  air  to  places  where  fights  and  murders  occur,  to  fetch 
the  souls  of  the  slain.  People  were  afraid  to  stand  outdoors  after 
dark  lest  the  Acu'igaarihrei  should  come  and  snatch  them  aw-ay ; 
but  the  sign  of  the  cross  placed  on  the  house  door  was  a  sure  pro- 
tection. The  legendary-historical  tales  are  especially  connected 
with  the  national  hero  St.  Olav,  and  the  ravages  of  the  Black  Death. 
In  these  stories  the  rcd-bcarded  St.  Olav  has  been  substituted  for 
the  red-bearded  Thor  of  mythology.  It  is  St.  Olav  with  his  battle 
ax  who  wages  war  against  the  trolls  and  other  forces  of  evils,  as  Thor 
swung  his  hammer  Mjolner  against  t\\Q  jdtuns  of  old.  Some  of  the 
tales  are  religious  and  legendary,  while  t)thers  are  so  closely  connected 
with  history  that  it  is  ^•cry  diflicidt,  if  not  imj)ossible,  to  distinguish 
facts  from  fiction.  The  talcs  ri'hiting  to  the  Black  Death  have  al- 
ready been  mentioned.  To  tli('>c  may  l>c  addcnl  the  numerous  bifgde- 
sagn,  or  local  traditions  of  more  or  less  historic  character,  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  country.-     Liidvig  Daae  says  of  these:   "The  stories 

'  Th»»  word  Anxijndnlsrri  sci'iiis  to  bo  ooniKH-tod  with  O.  N.  {hskriuiUf/r, 
meaninjj  ft-urful,  iiiid  ni  a  procession  on  horseback,  henco  tho  fearful  pro- 
cession. But  the  nleani^^J  of  the  first  part  of  tho  word  is  not  dear,  and 
it  has  been  varit)nsly  iiilerprett'd.  The  story  of  the  Ansynanlsrei  is  told 
n  a  folk-sontj  from  Teh'inarken.  See  Sdynd  om  Atisgaiirfisrtieti  by  P.  A. 
Muneh  in  AnitnUr  for  iionli.'<k  Olilki/niliyhid  og  Hislorif,  lS4(i.  O.  A.  pver- 
land,  -Ifi.sj/fKin/.srf  i<«,  "  Anierika,"  Madi.son,  Wis.,  February  127,  1901.  Folke- 
iagn  fra  Soyn,  IluUtn/olktl  og  JuUskrcia,  "  Decorah-Postou,"  Docorah,  la., 
July  10,  1903. 

*  Andreas  Fayo,  Norskc  Folkr.iagn,  l.*sl.'?.  P.  Chr.  Asbj0rnson,  Xorske 
Huldrecrenti/r  og  Folkcsagn,  1845,  184.S.     Ludvig  Daae,  S'orske  Hygdrsngti,  L 

VOL.    H  —  H 


98  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

which  we  still  find  preserved  by  the  inhabitants  of  a  certain  gaard 
(farm)  tlirough  generations  bear  the  closest  resemblance  to  the  sagas 
of  all  popular  traditions.  These  old  traditions  have  often  a  great 
value  for  the  history  of  culture;  even  if  the  individual  features  of 
the  stories  themselves  may  seem  insignificant,  they  are  of  so  much 
the  greater  interest,  because  they  have  been  preserved  through 
centuries."  Many  traditions  of  a  more  poetic  character  are  also 
found,  some  of  which  seem  to  be  of  foreign  origin,  while  others  orig- 
inated at  home  during  the  later  romantic  period  of  the  saga  litera- 
ture. Of  such  may  be  mentioned  the  tales  about  Hagbart  and  Signe, 
Aslaug  Kraaka,  King  Bele  and  Torstein  Vikingsson,  and  others.^ 
The  resemblance  which  these  tales  bear  to  the  sagas  is  especially 
conspicuous  in  the  interest  manifested  for  family  relationship,  and 
the  love  of  historic  narrative,  which  soon  convinces  us  that  they  are 
pieces  cut  from  the  same  cloth.  But  the  old  Norse  art  of  story-tell- 
ing, which  had  been  developed  in  the  saga  period,  is  found  also  in 
the  folk-  and  fairy-tales  {eventyr).  As  to  contents  these  tales  are 
pure  invention.  If  traced  to  their  obscure  origin,  many  of  the  tradi- 
tions on  which  the  stories  are  based  may  even  be  found  to  have  been 
brought  from  foreign  lands,^  but  this  is  of  secondary  importance. 
The  scenery,  the  character,  temperament,  and  language  of  the 
persons  depicted  in  the  narrative  are  not  only  Norwegian,  but  typi- 
cally so.  The  very  texture  of  the  story  is  characteristic  Norwe- 
gian art.  In  southern  lands  the  adventure  was  the  chief  feature  of 
the  story.  In  the  Norwegian  tales  the  interest  centers  about  the 
character  of  the  persons  depicted.  Character-painting,  psychological 
analysis,  is  as  much  the  art  secret  in  the  folk-  and  fairy-tales  as 
it  was  in  the  sagas,  and  so  it  continues  to  be  in  Norwegian  prose 
narrative  even  to  the  present.  The  story-teller  unveils  to  us 
a  character,  and  starts  him  on  his  career.  Everything,  even  his 
boldest  adventures,  bear  the  impress  of  his  personality  and  follows 

and  II.,  1870,  1872.  Halvard  Bergh,  Segnir  fraa  Valdris.  M.  B.  Landstad, 
Gamle  Sagn  om  Hjartd^lerne,  1880.  Sir  George  Webbe  Dasent,  Popular 
Tales  from  the  Norse;  Tales  from  the  Fjeld;  and,  Norse  Fairy  Tales  Selected 
and  Adapted  from  the  Translation  by  Sir  George  Webbe  Dasent,  by  Knowles, 
Lippincott  Co.,  1910. 

1  Svend  Grundtjvig,  Gamle  danske  Folkeviser,  vol.  I. 

'  J0rgen  Moe,  Samlede  Skrifter,  vol.  II.,  p.  16  ff. ;  Fortale  og  Indledning  til 
Norske  Folkeeventyr,  2d  edition,  1852. 


rr  LITERATURE    AND    INTELLECTrAL   LIFE  99 

as  a  matter  of  course.  ^Vhateve^  he  does,  he  must  do,  in  a  sense. 
He  will  do  good,  had.  gr^'at,  mean,  or  fctolish  things,  not  because  of 
circumstances,  but  because  he  is  good,  bad,  great,  mean,  or  foolish. 
His  career  is  not  a  chain  of  romantic  accidents,  but  the  gradual 
unfolding  of  an  inner  law. 

The  most  typical  characters  created  by  the  Norwegian  folk-  and 
fairy-tales  are  the  three  i)rothers  Peter,  Paul,  and  Esben  Askelad. 
Esben,  the  youngest  of  the  three  brothers,  seems  to  be  the  idealized 
Viking  chieftain  lifted  into  the  realm  of  poetry.  Like  the  Viking  he 
is  the  younger  brother  who  finds  his  fortune  only  by  leaving  home. 
He  is  young  and  inexperienced  and  has  never  done  anything  but 
dig  in  the  ashes  of  the  firei)lace.  His  older  brothers  ridicule  him. 
He  encounters  the  greatest  difficulties,  but  he  finally  triumjjhs  be- 
cause of  su|KTior  talents,  patience,  and  perseverance,  just  as  many  a 
Viking  chieftain  had  done,  and  wins  the  princess  and  half  the  king- 
dom. We  can  scarcely  doubt  that  the  Norwegian  people  were  re- 
viving the  memories  of  the  Viking  period  in  these  stories  about 
Esben  Askehul.  After  they  had  quit  seeking  adventures  with  the 
sword,  they  began  to  live  over  again  in  literature  the  experiences  of 
the  nation.  In  the  sagas  these  experiences  had  been  narrated  as 
history,  in  these  tales  they  reappear  as  poetry.  Esben  becomes  as 
typical  a  representative  of  the  Middle  Period  as  the  Viking  chieftains 
and  warrior  kings  were  of  the  Viking  Age.  He  is  no  blood-staineil 
warrior  who  goes  forth  to  kill  and  plunder.  He  is  not  only  brave, 
but  also  kind  and  synii)athetie,  and  his  very  kindness  is  a  secret 
source  of  power  which  helps  liiin  in  the  greatest  trials.  In  this 
respect  he  forms  a  contrast  to  his  older  brothers,  who  have  caught 
nothing  of  the  new  spirit.  Esben's  victories  were  moral  and  intel- 
lectual victories,  giving  promise  of  a  new  era  when  moral  and  intel- 
lectual forces  should  begin  to  estjd)lish  their  superiority  over 
brute  strength.  This  new  .spirit  touehe<l  the  heart-strings,  and  gave 
exj)ressit)n  to  the  finer  feelings  which  the  scaldie  poetry  had  refu.scd 
to  recognize.  The  rusty  portals  thereby  swung  open  to  new  possi- 
bilities. For  the  first  time  the  poet  could  sing  about  what  lie  had 
never  seen,  about  what  might  and  ought  to  be.  Poesy  was  no  longer 
chained  by  rules  of  art  to  past  events,  for  imagination  and  feeling 
had  been  set  free.     Povert}'  and  labor,  sorrow  and  hardships  might 


100  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

continue  to  build  their  prison  walls;  the  human  spirit  could 
rise  on  the  wings  of  poesy  to  an  ideal  world  where  no  limitations 
existed,  to  that  beautiful  castle  of  its  own  creation,  "  The  Castle 
East  of  the  Sun  and  West  of  the  Moon."  ^  This  enthroning  of  crea- 
tive imagination  is  the  beginning  of  poetry  in  a  modern  sense,  when 
it  becomes  a  vehicle  for  bringing  the  ideal  world  into  the  realm  of 
human  experience  as  a  new  force  of  life. 

15.   Local  and  General  Administration 

When  the  lendermoBnd  office  was  abolished  in  1308,  the  adminis- 
tration of  internal  affairs  was  left  wholly  with  the  sysselmcend,  who 
were  royal  officials.  In  the  fourteenth  century,  as  already  stated, 
the  sysselmcBnd  were  called  the  king's  fogeds  (vogt,  from  advocatus, 
i.e.  royal  agent)  and  it  became  customary  to  fama  out  to  them  the 
royal  revenues  of  the  syssel,  or  district,  in  lieu  of  which  they  were  to 
pay  a  certain  sum  to  the  royal  purse.  ^  The  syssel  might  also  be 
granted  them  "kvit  og  frit,"  i.e.  without  returns.  As  the  syssel- 
mcend were  regarded  as  royal  agents  to  whom  the  districts  were  in 
a  way  granted  for  administrative  purposes,  the  syssels  came  to  be 
called  lens,  and  the  sysselmcend  lensmcend,  or  lensherrer,  while  the  older 
term  foged  was  applied  to  a  class  of  inferior  officials.  The  lens  were 
divided  into  smaller  administrative  districts  called  fogderier,  in  each 
of  which  the  lensherre  appointed  fogeds  as  the  local  administrative 
officers.  But  the  fogeds  had  to  swear  obedience  to  the  king,  and  were 
not  the  personal  representatives  of  the  lensherre.  Under  the  fogeds 
stood  the  hdnder-lensmcend,  two  in  each  fylke,  who  served  as  tax 
collectors  and  police  officials.  It  had  been  ordained  by  the  law  of 
1293  ^  that  the  sysselmcend  should  appoint  these  lensmcend  from 
among  the  most  intelligent  and  upright  hinder  of  the  district,  hence 
they  were  called  b^nder-lensmoend,  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
lensmcend  proper,  or  lensherrer.  The  lens  were  of  two  kinds,  prin- 
cipal and  inferior.     The  principal  le?is  were  ten  in  number :   Bohus, 

^'''Slottet  0stenfor  Sol  og  vestenfor  Maane,"  P.  Chr.  Asbj0rnsen,  Norske 
Folke-  og  Huldreeventyr.  See  also  P.  Chr.  Asbj0rnsen  and  J0rgen  Moe, 
Norske  Folkeeventyr,  1842. 

^  T.  H.  Asehehoug,  De  norske  Communers  Rctsforfatning  f^r  1837,  p.  13. 
Ebbe  Hertzberg,  Len  og  Veitzla,  p.  308  f. 

'  T.  H.  Asehehoug,  De  norske  Communers  RetsJ or  joining  J^r  1837,  p.  10. 


II  LOCAL   AND    fJE.VF.RAL   ADMINISTRATION  101 

Akershus,  Bniiil;i,  BnitsluT^,  A^'dosiden,  Stavanjjor,  Ber^'Milius, 
Trondlijc'in,  Xonllaiid,  aiul  N'anlolius.  The  lensherre  exercised 
both  civil  and  mihtary  autliority  in  liis  leu,  hut  his  office  was  appoin- 
tive, not  hcrcchtan .  He  was  appointed  for  lilV,  for  a  fixed  number 
of  years,  or  for  an  indefinite  period,  l)ut  he  mij^dit  Ije  removed  })y  the 
king  at  any  time.  Tiie  royal  IrnsiiKriid  could  only  collect  the  fixed 
and  customar\  dues.  Accordin;^  to  the  laws  of  ]L'i*7,  \W)i'),^  1539 
they  were  forbidden  to  levy  new  taxes,  or  to  change  the  tax  rates 
except  with  the  consent  of  the  j)eoi)le.  But  this  very  important 
provision  was  often  violated,  esi)ecially  !>>•  the  greedy  fitgrds,  who 
forcc<l  the  peoj)le  to  j)a>-  more  than  their  just  dues,  and  if  anyone 
resisted  forcibly,  he  was  in  danger  of  being  treated  as  a  rebel.  But 
when  the  jjcojile  assembled  at  the  thing,  they  might  refuse  to  pay  a 
tax  even  if  the  king  had  levied  it.  When  Stig  Bagge  at  the  Jylkes- 
thing,  in  Sogndal,  in  bj32,  read  a  letter  from  the  king  announcing 
that  a  new  tax  had  been  imposed,  the  people  took  the  matter  under 
advisement,  whereupon  they  declared  with  uj)lifted  swords  that,  as 
they  had  paid  heavy  taxes  the  last  year,  they  would  pay  nothing 
this  year  until  midsummer,  and  this  resolve  they  maintained  in  spite 
of  the  threats  of  the  royal  IcnsnwBndr  A  similar  action  had  been 
taken  at  the  fi/l/a'st hi ng  at  Ilalsaa  in  148-1.^  As  both  personal  and 
property  rights  were  often  infringed  uj)on  by  the  fogech,  the  ro\al 
lenftiiicmd,  and  even  by  the  king  himself,'  the  people  demanded  that 
these  rights  should  be  safeguarded  by  the  royal  charters.  By  a 
royal  decree  of  June  25,  1455,  the  king's  lensmaend  and  other  officials 
were  forbidden  to  oppress  the  people,  to  impose  unlawful  taxes,  or 
to  seize  or  imprison  any  one  without  due  process  of  law.  Similar 
provisions  are  found  in  the  Swedish  charter  of  King  Christian  I., 
and  in  the  charters  issued  by  King  Hans  and  his  .successors.^ 

*  T.  H.  Asfhohoup,  Statsfnrfdhiingcn  i  Norgc  og  Dantnark  indlil  IS14, 
p.  227;  De  norske  CornmunerH  Rclsforfatning  ffir  18S7,  p.  84. 

*  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  De  norske  Cornmuners  lietuforfalning  for  1SS7,  p.  Si. 
Diplomatnrium  Norwcgicum,  II..  no.  IIOS. 

'  Diplotnalarium  Morwigirutii,  IV.,  no.  007. 

*  At  times  tho  kinfr  did  iinpo.so  ta.xes  without  th«<  a«hico  or  ronsont  of  the 
Council,  but  this  docs  not  .seem  to  have  luipj)cn(>d  vitv  oft«'ii.  Soe  T.  II. 
AsehehouR,  Slatsfor/ntningin  i  Norgc  og  Dnntnnrk  iuJtH  ISI  ',.  p.  2.')3. 

'  T.  II.  AsdichouK,  Sta(sforfatinngcn  i  Xorgr  og  Danmark  indtil  1814, 
p.  226  ff. ;   Df  norske  Communcrs  Rclsforfatniiig  J^r  1SS7. 


102  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

The  thing-system  still  existed,  but  the  power  of  lawmaking  had 
been  gradually  assumed  by  the  king,  who  in  such  matters  was  suf- 
fered to  act  in  conformity  with  the  advice  of  the  Council.  The 
people's  consent  expressed  through  the  thing  was  generally,  though 
not  always,  asked  for,  but  it  had  ceased  to  be  anything  but  a  mere 
matter  of  form.  Perhaps  the  chief  reason  why  the  things  ceased  to 
take  an  active  part  in  legislation  was  that  the  laws  were  considered 
permanent,  and  the  king's  lawmaking  power  was  very  limited.  He 
could  issue  ordinances  in  regard  to  special  matters,  but  he  had  to 
take  an  oath  to  obey  and  uphold  the  "Code  of  Magnus  Lagab0ter," 
which  was  considered  to  be  the  essential  and  permanent  laws  of  the 
land. 

The  Council  of  the  realm  shared  the  sovereign  power  with  the 
king,  and  in  some  respects  it  was  even  placed  above  him.  It  acted, 
not  only  as  an  advisory  body,  but  the  king  had  to  obtain  its  consent 
in  all  important  matters.  The  charter  granted  by  Christian  I. 
states  that  "no  important  errand  shall  be  undertaken  or  fulfilled 
unless  a  majority  of  the  Council  consents  thereto."  When  the  king 
died,  the  Council  assumed  full  sovereign  authority,  and  acted  as  a 
regency,  or  it  chose  a  regent  to  act  in  the  interim  until  a  new  king 
was  placed  on  the  throne.  But  although  the  king's  sovereign  author- 
ity was  thus  divided  and  limited,  the  Council  was  no  ministry  repre- 
senting the  will  of  the  people,  as  in  modern  constitutional  monarchies, 
and  when  we  except  the  chancellor,  who  was  the  king's  private 
secretary,  the  councilors  did  not  assist  the  king  as  cabinet  members 
in  the  routine  work  of  his  administrative  duties.  The  members 
of  the  Council  did  not  stay  in  the  same  place,  but  lived  scattered 
through  the  kingdom,  and  because  of  the  expenses  and  difficulties 
connected  with  travel  in  those  days,  they  could  meet  only  on  special 
occasions  when  they  were  summoned  by  the  king.  How  often  these 
meetings  were  held  cannot  be  determined  with  certainty.  Accord- 
ing to  King  Hans'  charter,  the  Council  should  be  assembled  once 
every  two  years  in  Oslo  and  Bergen  alternately.  Because  of  the 
slow  and  difficult  process  of  assembling  the  Council,  it  was  stated 
in  Karl  Knutsson's  charter  that  the  king  should  obtain  its  advice 
except  in  cases  of  emergency,  when  he  might  act  without  consulting 
it.    This  was  a  dangerous  concession,  as  it  became  possible  for  the 


n  crraisTUN  ii.    the  dawn  of  a  new  era  103 

kin^  to  wholly  i^Tiore  the  Council  on  the  plea  of  enicrKcncv,  and  we 
have  already  ohserNcd  a  ^rowin};  tendency  on  tiie  jiart  of  the  uniciu 
kings  to  wholly  disregard  the  Norwegian  Council. 

10.    Christian-  TT.    Tin:  Daw\  of-  a  New  Era 

Christian,  the  son  of  King  Hans,  was  born  July  1,  1481,  and  was 
at  the  tune  of  his  father's  death  tiiirt\-two  years  of  age.  As  a  child 
he  was  so  wild  and  untractahle  that  his  father  placed  him  in  the 
family  of  a  well-to-do  merchant,  Hans  Meissenheim,  but  after  a 
month  had  pa.ssed,  the  merchant's  wife,  a  very  good  and  conscientious 
woman,  refused  to  ha\e  the  responsibility  of  keeping  him.  He  was 
then  placed  in  the  home  of  his  tutor,  but  after  a  short  time  he  was 
brought  back  to  the  palace,  where  he  received  a  new  tutor,  the  hu- 
manist Konrad  of  Branden])urg.  Under  his  guidance  the  young 
prince  was  made  acquainted  with  the  new  ideas  of  the  Uenaissance, 
which  seem  to  have  greatly  interested  the  wide-awake  pupil.  Chris- 
tian was  a  gifted  boy ;  and  when  he  grew  to  manhood  he  was  espe- 
cially well  devel()|)ed  both  intellectually  and  physically.  He  had 
lofty  plans  and  a  resolute  will  to  accomplish  great  things.  He  was 
energetic  and  courageous,  but  suspicion  and  a  tendency  to  faith- 
lessness and  melancholy  were  serious  defects  in  his  character  which 
early  manifested  themselves.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  army  sent  to  Norway  to  quell  the  u|)ris- 
ing  led  by  Knut  Alvs.son,  and  a  few  years  later  he  again  returned  as 
tlie  ruler  of  the  kingdom,  clothed  with  full  sovereign  power.  That 
he  would  become  his  father's  successor  was  no  longer  doubtful.  In 
1487,  while  he  was  only  six  years  old,  the  Danish  Estates  had  haileti 
him  as  liis  father's  successor  on  the  throne  of  Denmark,  two  years 
later  the  Norwegian  Council  decided  that  he  should  succeed  his 
father  on  the  throne  of  Norway,  and  in  Sweden  he  had  been  haile<l 
as  heir  to  the  tlirone  in  1499.  But  Sten  Stare's  revolt  had  created 
new  difiiculties.  Upon  the  death  of  King  Hans  in  l.")l.>  the  Councils 
of  the  tiiree  kingdoms  were  summoned  to  meet  in  Copenhagen,  but 
only  nine  Swedish  councilors  met,  and  they  had  received  such  limiteii 
power  that  they  could  not  settle  the  one  great  question,  the  attitude 
of  Sweden  to  the  union.     The  Danish  and  Norwegian  councilors 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

then  undertook  to  formulate  their  demands  in  charters  which  the 
king  would  be  asked  to  sign.  The  Norwegian  councilors  prefaced 
their  demands  with  a  complaint  that  the  king  had  called  himself 
the  rightful  heir  to  the  Norwegian  kingdom,  although  Norway  was 
now  an  elective  monarchy,  and,  furthermore,  that  King  Hans,  con- 
trary to  the  oath  which  he  had  taken,  had  not  redeemed  the  Orkney 
and  Shetland  Islands,  or  the  annuities  to  be  paid  for  the  Hebrides 
and  Man  according  to  the  treaty  of  Perth.  Then  follow^s  a  series 
of  demands  by  which  the  councilors  sought  to  safeguard  the  autonomy 
of  Norway,  and  to  maintain  its  equality  with  Denmark  in  the  union. 
Towards  the  Danish  Council  the  king  was  very  condescending,  but 
the  demands  of  the  Norwegian  councilors  he  treated  with  haughty 
disfavor.  Some  he  refused  to  grant,  some  he  passed  over  in  silence, 
and  others  he  referred  to  the  Danish  Council.  To  the  very  reason- 
able request  that  the  castles  and  lens  of  Norway  should  be  granted 
to  native  lords  he  returned  the  answer  through  his  chancellor  that, 
since  the  nobility  of  Norway  was  almost  extinct,  he  would  grant  the 
lens  and  castles  of  the  kingdom  to  Danes  and  native-born  lords. 
The  ecclesiastical  offices  over  which  the  crown  exercised  the  right 
of  patronage  would  be  given  to  native-born  Danes  and  Norwegians, 
and  none  but  Danes  and  Norwegians  should  be  appointed  members 
of  the  Norwegian  Council.  This  was  tantamount  to  saying  that 
Norway  should  be  ruled  by  Danes,  not  by  native-born  officials.  No 
special  charter  was  granted  Norway,  but  the  Danish  charter  was  to 
be  considered  as  applying  to  both  realms,  a  step  which  destroyed 
the  equality  of  the  two  kingdoms  in  the  union.  This  rather  brutal 
disregard  for  the  acknowledged  rights  of  Norway  he  could  show, 
because  he  knew  that  the  kingdom  lacked  an  efficient  military  organi- 
zation, and  that  the  Norwegian  Council  had  no  means  of  enforcing 
its  demands.  "  But  it  is  a  question,"  says  Sars,  "if  it  was  politically 
correct  for  Christian  H.  to  take  the  greatest  possible  advantage  of 
this  weakness  in  the  way  he  did,  or  if  it  must  not  rather  be  said  that 
by  his  conduct  in  this  instance  he  showed  the  same  violent  greed  for 
power,  the  political  short-sightedness,  and  lack  of  true  statesmanship 
which  always  characterized  his  conduct."  ^    The  charter  was  finally 

1  J.   E.   Sars,    Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historie,   III.,   p.   178.     R.   Keyser, 
Den   norske  Kirkes  Historie  under  Kalholicismen,  II.,  p.    616  f.     Samlinger 


II  CHRISTIAN   II.      THE   DAWN   OF  A   NEW   ERA  105 

acre{)te(l,  and  the  Couruils  adjouriu'd  to  meet  aKJiin  in  June,  1515, 
for  the  i)iirj)(>se  of  settling  tlie  (lilliciilt  question  rej^ardiiij;  Swe<leii, 
On  June  11,  1514,  Kiii^  Christian  was  crowned  at  Copenhagen,  and 
a  little  later  he  was  also  crowned  at  Oslo  as  king  of  Norway. 

On  the  day  of  his  coronation  as  king  of  Denmark,  Christian  II. 
was  married  to  Isahella.  or  Mli/caheth,  the  sister  of  Emperor  Charles 
V.  of  S|)ain  and  (icrinaiiy.  At  the  marriage  ceremony  he  was  repre- 
sentiMl  l)y  Mogens  (ij0,  wiio  acted  as  his  proxy,  as  the  young  bride, 
who  was  only  thirteen  years  old,  did  not  arrive  in  Denmark  till  the 
following  year,  when  the  we<lding  was  celel)rated  at  Copeidiagen. 
The  young  (pieen  soon  found  that  her  inishand  was  cold  and  indiflcr- 
ent.  His  heart  still  clung  to  I)y\ckc,  whom  he  refused  to  gi\c  u\). 
To  tiie  apj)eals  wliicii  foreign  ambassadors  and  others  made  to  him 
on  tiiis  point  he  answered  with  characteristic  haughtiness  that  this 
was  a  matter  with  which  they  should  not  meddle.  Queen  Elizal)eth 
bore  her  lot  patiently,  and  prove<l  herself  a  lady  of  such  excellent 
qualities  that  she  won  the  sympathy  even  of  Dyveke's  motiier, 
Sigbrit,  who,  ujjon  her  daughter's  death,  transferred  her  motlierly 
affections  to  the  young  (lueen ;  but  many  years  passed  before  the 
king  learned  to  properly  esteem  his  legally  wedded  wife.  In  June, 
1517,  Dyveke  died  very  suddenly,  and  the  story  was  told  that  she 
had  been  poisoned  by  some  cherries  which  the  nobleman  Torbern 
Oxe  had  sent  her.  For  a  time  the  king  was  overwhelmed  with  grief 
and  mental  gloom.  Susj)icion  j)ointcd  to  Torbern,  who  indiscreetly 
said  things  which  further  aroused  the  king's  anger,  and  his  hatred 
once  kindletl  was  always  deadly.  lie  did  not  rest  until  Torbern 
was  .sentence<l  to  death,  and  in  spite  of  intercessions  in  behalf  of 
the  condemned  man  he  caused  the  death  sentence  to  be  carried  out. 
From  this  time  forth  Dyveke's  mother,  Sigbrit,  enjoyed  the  king's 
confidence  to  the  fullest  extent,  and  exercised  unlimited  power  and 
influence  at  court.  She  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the  plain  towns- 
people of  her  native  city  of  Amsterdam,  but  she  possessed  a  degree 

til  (ill  norske  Folks  Spmgog  Historic.  I.,  Ivor  Ilcssclherp.  Christian  den  ariden  i 
Norgc.  Karl  F.  Allon.  Di  trv  uorJiskc  liigers  Historie  under  Kongrrne  Hans, 
Kristian  II.  og  dustar  Vasa.  Snrntiiigcr  til  dct  norskr  Folks  Sprog  ng  Ifislorie, 
IV.,  p.  303  11.,  Kong  Christicrn  den  andens  norske  og  danske  Ilnandfastning  af 
1513. 


106  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

of  learning  quite  unusual  among  those  classes  at  that  time.  She 
was  especially  well  versed  both  in  alchemy  and  medicine,  but  the 
real  secret  of  her  power  lay  in  the  ability  to  control  all  who  came 
under  the  spell  of  her  influence.  If  the  courtiers  and  nobles  had 
hoped  to  destroy  her  power  by  removing  Dyveke,  they  were  now 
compelled  instead  to  wait  in  corridors  and  ante-chambers  until  it 
pleased  Madam  Sigbrit  to  admit  them  into  the  royal  presence,  and 
she  did  not  hesitate  to  treat  them  as  truant  school-boys,  or,  upon 
occasion,  even  to  chide  the  king  himself.  But  she  used  her  power 
with  discretion.  She  was  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  best 
relations  between  the  king  and  his  young  queen  whom  she  had  learned 
to  love  as  her  own  daughter.  In  the  affairs  of  government  her 
influence  was  everj^where  visible,  and  gives  evidence  of  the  practical 
ability  and  shrewd  intrigue  which  enabled  her  to  play  her  part  so 
successfully.  Archbishop  Valkendorf  of  Trondhjem,  who  had  sought 
to  remove  Dyveke,  had  to  leave  his  archdiocese.  He  repaired  to 
Rome  to  lay  his  case  before  the  Pope,  but  died  there  in  1522,^  and 
the  following  year  Olav  Engelbrektsson,  dean  of  the  cathedral 
chapter  in  Trondhjem,  was  chosen  his  successor.  Sigbrit  gained 
full  control  of  the  customs  and  duties  of  the  realm,  and  gradually 
assumed  direction  of  all  financial  affairs,  and  she  also  acted  in  other 
matters  as  the  king's  chief  councilor  and  assistant.  The  king  did 
not  fail  to  devote  some  attention  to  the  Norwegian  colonial  posses- 
sions, but  his  efforts  seem  to  have  been  the  result  of  sudden  and  easily 
abandoned  impulses  rather  than  of  a  systematically  pursued|plan. 
For  over  a  hundred  years  the  colonies  in  Greenland  had  remained 
wholly  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  Norway,  and  they  were 
at  this  time  well-nigh  forgotten.  Archbishop  Valkendorf  made  the 
first  attempt  to  reestablish  communications  with  Greenland.  He 
gathered  what  information  he  could  find,  and  wrote  very  detailed 
directions  for  the  captains  who  were  to  make  the  voyage  to  the  colo- 
nies. The  king  aided  him  enthusiastically,  inspired,  no  doubt,  by 
the  accounts  of  the  great  vo^-ages  which  were  being  made  to  the  new 

'  Ludvig  Daae,  En  Kr^nike  om  Erkebiskopperne  i  Nidaros,  Feslskrift, 
udgivet  i  Anledning  af  Trondhjems  900  Anrs  Jubilceum,  1897.  H.  G.  Hegg- 
tveit,  Trondhjem  i  Forlid  og  Nulid,  p.  128  £f.  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum, 
vol.  IV.,  no.  1080. 


II  Cimi8TIAi\    II.       TUE    DAWN    OF    A    NEW    ERA  107 

world,  hut  Sij^ltrit's  opposition  to  the  archljislioj),  and  his  flight  from 
his  diocese,  put  u  sudden  stop  to  the  undertaking. 

Tlie  trade  with  Icehind  continued  to  create  corai)hcations  requir- 
ing diplomatic  negotiations.  Commerce  had  not  yet  been  reduced 
to  the  system  of  [)eaceful  and  well  regulated  intercourse  between 
nations  as  in  modern  times,  for  although  treaties  were  made  for  the 
regulation  of  trade,  the  merchants  still  retained  too  much  of  the 
spirit  of  belligerent  navigators,  or  roving  adventurers,  to  be  bound 
by  conventions  either  written  or  oral.  The  sixteenth  century  was, 
throughout,  a  pericni  of  hazardous  enterprise,  of  sharp  competition, 
and  the  use  of  the  club-law  in  the  harbors  and  upon  the  high  seas.  If 
Englishmen  came  in  too  close  a  touch  with  Germans,  Si)aniards, 
or  other  rivals,  the  treaty  provisions  were  none  too  closely  scrutinized, 
and  many  a  violent  encounter  followed.  Such  brawls  between  Nor- 
wegian and  English  traders  had  not  been  unknown  in  the  past,  and 
they  were  reenacted  in  Iceland,  where  competition  for  the  trade  led 
to  frequent  outrages  and  serious  troubles  even  after  commerce  was 
made  free  in  1490.  From  1507  the  complaints  of  the  Danish  and 
Norwegian  merchants  of  their  English  competitors  were  constantly 
growing  louder,  until  armed  conflict  broke  out,  and  in  1510  or  1511 
the  English  who  had  established  themselves  in  Iceland  were  driven 
away.  The  following  year  they  returned  with  increased  forces, 
captured  one  of  the  royal  shii)s,  and  killed  one  of  the  king's  secre- 
taries and  several  of  the  crew.  When  Christian  II.  ascended  the 
throne,  he  complained  of  these  outrages  to  King  Henry  VIII.  of 
England,  who  was  at  that  time  engaged  in  a  war  with  Scotland.  So 
long  as  the  war  lasted,  Henry  was  very  polite  and  regretted  tleeply 
the  acts  of  lawlessness  committed  by  his  subjects,  but  when  peace 
was  conclude<l,  he  suddenly  changed.  With  a  haughty  air  lie  told 
the  ambassadors  that  the  Icelanders  had  been  treated  as  they  de- 
served. He  refused  to  pay  any  damages,  and  affected  to  be  granting 
a  special  favor  when  he  consented,  in  1515,  to  a  renewal  of  the  treaty 
of  1490  by  which  further  depredations  were  to  be  prevented. 

The  fifteenth  century  had  been  a  time  of  intellectual  awakening 
in  Europe.  Humanism  and  the  Renaissance  had  gradually  moveii 
northward  across  the  Alps  like  the  coming  summer,  and  the  effect 
produced  by  the  ferment  of  the  new  learning  began  to  make  itself 


lOS  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

felt,  not  only  in  art  and  literature,  but  also  in  the  growth  of  new 
social  ideas.  In  Germany  the  reform  movement  inaugurated  by 
John  Huss,  and  the  subsequent  wars  of  the  Hussites,  had  created 
a  religious  revival  tinged  with  a  patriotic  spirit.  With  this  move- 
ment humanism  allied  itself  on  its  northward  march.  In  Germany 
the  new  learning  was  partly  turned  into  religious  channels,  and  as 
many  of  the  humanists  sprang  from  the  common  classes  the  new 
movement  became  both  intellectually  and  socially  antagonistic  to 
the  Roman  hierarchy  with  its  old  scholastic  learning  and  its  aristo- 
cratic feudalistic  ideas.  This  intellectual  awakening  prepared  the 
way  for  the  Reformation,  which  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  new 
learning.  The  reformers  appealed  to  the  common  people  in  their 
own  mother  tongue,  and  proclaimed  their  right  to  govern  themselves 
in  religious  affairs.  The  Protestant  churches  became  national  and 
democratic  in  conformity  with  the  intellectual  tendencies  of  the  age. 
This  important  change,  accompanied  by  greater  freedom  of  the 
individual  in  matters  of  religious  doctrine,  finally  broke  the  spell  of 
the  Roman  incubus,  and  ushered  in  a  new  era  of  intellectual  and 
social  development.  The  new  ideas  of  the  Renaissance  came  also 
to  the  North.  In  Denmark,  especially,  very  appreciable  traces  of 
humanistic  activity  are  to  be  found ;  but  as  the  movement  was  late 
in  appearing,  it  received  no  distinct  development,  but  was  soon  fused 
with  the  Lutheran  Reformation  which  followed  in  its  wake.  In  the 
time  of  Christian  II.  Luther  began  his  great  church  reformation  in 
Germany.  On  October  31, 1517,  he  nailed  his  "Ninety-five  Theses" 
on  the  church  door  in  Wittenberg,  in  which  he  attacked  especially 
the  sale  of  indulgences,  and  urged  the  necessity  of  true  repentance. 
The  attention  attracted  by  these  theses  astonished  even  Luther 
himself.  "In  fourteen  days  they  ran  through  all  Germany,"  he 
says,  "for  all  the  world  complained  of  the  sale  of  indulgences."  In 
1520  Luther  was  excommunicated,  a  step  which  completed  the  rup- 
ture between  him  and  the  Roman  Pontiff.  Accompanied  by  the 
students  of  the  university,  he  marched  to  the  Elstergate  of  the  city, 
where  he  publicly  burned  the  papal  bull,  as  a  sign  that  he  renounced 
all  allegiance  to  the  Pope.  Luther's  teachings  soon  became  known 
in  Denmark,  and  Christian  II.  was  favorably  impressed  with  his 
doctrines.^  He  had  been  influenced  from  childhood  by  the  liberal 
*  R.  Keyser,  Den  norske  Kirkes  Historie  under  Katholicismen,  II.,  p.  647. 


II  CIIinsiIAN     II.       TIIK    DAWN    f)F    A    NKW    EHA  109 

ideas  of  the  Henaissaiice,  and  he  hated  the  arrogant  clerpy,  as  well 
as  the  powerful  iiol)ihty.  He  held  quite  advanciHl  views  with  rejjard 
to  the  education  of  the  connnon  classes  and  the  limitation  of  the  i)ower 
of  the  bishojjs  and  the  monastic  orders,  hut  in  his  inclination  towards 
the  doctrines  of  Luther  it  is  imj)ossil)le  to  discover  any  motive  hut 
love  of  power  and  desire  for  )^ain.  The  new  teachings  would  give 
him  the  longeil-for  oi)j)ortunity  to  extend  his  power  at  the  expense 
of  the  clergy.  This  would  he  scarcely  less  welcome  than  the  oppor- 
tunity to  increase  his  revenues  hy  suppressing  the  monasteries, 
even  as  his  eontemj^orary  Henry  VHl.  did  in  England.  His  attitude 
to  the  papal  agents  who  were  selling  indulgences  in  the  Xorth  also 
points  to  this  desire  as  the  prime  motive  for  his  interest  in  church 
reform.  In  lolS  John  Angellus  Archemholdus  came  to  the  Xorth 
as  pajjal  legate,  ostensihly  for  the  purpose  of  settling  a  quarrel 
between  the  Swedish  bishop,  Gustav  Troilc;,  and  Sten  Sture  the 
Younger,  but  it  soon  became  e\ident  that  his  real  aim  was  to  sell 
indulgences.'  Christian  H.  granted  him  j)ermi.ssion  to  carry  on  this 
trade  throughout  his  realms  in  consideration  of  the  payment  of  the 
small  sum  of  1120  Rhenish  gulden,  the  legate  promising  to  u.se  his 
influence  in  the  king's  behalf  in  Sweden.  Agents  were  dispatched 
to  Bergen  and  even  to  Iceland.  His  chief  assistant,  Didrik  Slagheck 
of  Westphalia,  was  sent  to  Sweden,  whither  Archemholdus  himself 
soon  followed.  But  Sten  Sture,  who  knew  the  legate's  mercenary 
motives,  soon  won  him  to  his  side  by  bribes,  and  the  j)relate's  per- 
fidious conduct  so  angered  King  Christian  that  he  ordercnl  him  and 
his  assistants  to  be  arrested.  By  timely  flight  they  saved  themselves, 
but  the  money  and  goods  which  they  had  collected  and  stored  in 
various  places  were  seized  by  the  king's  officers.  Even  a  sum  of 
3000-401)0  marks  which  had  been  dejwsited  with  the  Bishop  of  Bergen 
was  swept  into  the  royal  coffers.  This  episode  very  naturally 
strengthened  the  king's  synij)athy  for  Luther  and  his  teachings. 
He  was  persuaded  to  send  for  a  Lutheran  minister  to  introduce 
Lutheranisin  in  Deiun.irk,  and  l-'lector  I-'rederick  of  Saxony  sent 
Martin  Ueinhard  to  Coi)enhagen  in  1520.  But  Heinhard  could  not 
speak  Danish,  and  had  to  em])loy  as  interpreter  Taulus  Elia'  (Paul 

'  Diplnmatariiim  A'orwigicum,   vol.   \I.,   no.  titK),  (3()2,  G63,  664,  also  no. 
672-077. 


110  HISTORY   OF  THE    NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  U 

Ellisen),  a  monk  from  Elsinore  (Helsing0r),  who  soon  became  dis- 
couraged, and  again  accepted  the  CathoUc  faith.  Reinhard  could 
accomphsh  nothing,  and  had  to  return  to  Germany.  Christian 
seems  to  have  continued  to  be  well  disposed  towards  the  Reforma- 
tion, but  grave  political  disturbances,  and  especially  the  war  with 
Sweden,  prevented  him  from  introducing  it  in  his  realm.  Norway 
had  hitherto  remained  wholly  untouched  by  the  great  reform  move- 
ment, but  the  tyrannical  king,  who  thought  more  of  property  than 
of  faith,  nevertheless  secularized  the  two  Norwegian  monasteries 
of  Dragsmark  and  Gims0. 

In  Sweden  the  old  feud  between  the  rival  families  of  Sture  and 
Trolle  was  continued  by  Archbishop  Trolle  and  Sten  Sture  the 
Younger.  Hostilities  broke  out  between  the  two  factions,  but  Trolle 
defended  himself  successfully  in  his  strong  castle  of  Stake  in  Malaren. 
Meanwhile  a  greater  danger  threatened  Sture  from  without.  At  a 
council  in  Arboga  in  January,  1517,  he  had  declared  that  he  would 
never  recognize  Christian  II.  as  king  of  Sweden,  and  the  people 
supported  him  with  enthusiasm,  but  under  the  circumstances  a 
war  with  Denmark  was  unavoidable.  Christian  II.,  who  lacked 
funds,  found  difficulty  in  equipping  an  army  for  the  campaign  in 
Sweden.  When  at  length  he  sent  4000  men  and  twenty  ships  to 
relieve  Stake  castle,  where  Gustav  Trolle  was  closely  besieged,  the 
army  was  defeated,  the  castle  was  destroyed,  and  Archbishop  Trolle 
was  deposed  and  imprisoned  as  a  traitor  to  his  country.  But  Chris- 
tian II.  would  not  give  up  the  idea  of  conquering  Sweden.  On 
January  29,  1518,  he  landed  an  army  at  Stockholm,  and  laid  siege 
to  the  city,^  but  when  Sture  arrived  with  a  large  force,  he  had  to 
resort  to  peace  negotiations,  as  he  lacked  provisions  and  ammuni- 
tion, and  his  German  mercenaries  were  deserting  in  large  numbers. 
A  year's  truce  was  arranged,  but  the  king  planned  to  capture  Sten 
Sture  by  treachery.  He  invited  him  to  a  conference  and  promised 
to  give  hostages,  but  Sture  refused,  and  in  turn  invited  King  Chris- 
tian on  the  same  conditions.  Christian  accepted,  but  as  soon  as  he 
had  the  hostages  in  his  power  he  annulled  the  truce  and  set  sail  for 
Denmark.  One  of  the  hostages  thus  abducted  was  the  young  noble- 
man Gustav  Eriksson  Vasa,  the  later  liberator  of  Sweden. 
1  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  vol.  XIV.,  no.  271. 


II         CUKISTIAN    II.    THK   TMtAN'T,      THE   STOCKHOLM    MASSACUi:        111 

The  increase  of  tuxes  due  to  Christian's  warlike  expeditions  wei^lied 
heavily  on  the  people,  and  caused  much  sulleririK  and  discontent. 
But  such  matters  did  not  for  a  moment  cause  the  tyrannous  king 
to  pause  in  the  pursuit  of  his  selfish  aims.  The  toll  paid  by  the  Ger- 
man merchants  in  |)assin^  the  Sound  was  increased  in  flagrant  vio- 
lation of  stipulated  agreements  with  the  German  cities;  soldiers 
were  hired  in  Germany,  France,  and  Scotland,  and  the  Norwegian 
magnates  had  to  furnish  a  certain  number  of  armed  men ;  the  king 
would  not  halt  until  Sweden  was  subdued.  The  Pope  was  per- 
suaded to  sanction  the  excommunication  which  Arclibishop  Birger 
had  already  fulminated  against  Sten  Sture;  Sweden  was  placed 
under  interdict,  and  Christian  was  commissioned  to  inflict  the 
requisite  punishment  upon  the  kingdom.  This  gave  Christian's  war 
of  conquest  even  a  religious  tinge,  as  he  could  now  earn  the  blessing 
and  gratitude  of  the  Pope  by  winning  the  throne  of  Swe<leii.  In 
1520  he  entered  Sm&land  with  a  large  army.  In  Vcstergjitlaiid  the 
invaders  encountered  the  Swedes  under  Sten  Sture,  who  had  sta- 
tioned himself  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bogesund.  In  the  battle 
which  ensued,  Sture  was  wounded,  his  army  was  thrown  into  confu- 
sion and  fled  from  the  field.  At  Tiveden  a  second  engagement  was 
fought,  and  the  Danes  were  again  victorious.  The  wounded  Sten 
Sture  was  brought  in  a  sleigh  across  Lake  Miilaren  towards  Stock- 
holm, but  died  from  his  wounds  before  reaching  the  city,  only  twenty- 
seven  or  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  Though  young  in  years,  he  was 
as  able  as  he  was  heroic,  and  he  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  noblest 
characters  in  Swedish  history. 

lender  these  circumstances  many  of  the  leaders  lost  courage  and 
would  have  given  up  the  stniggle,  but  Sten  Sture's  widow,  Christina 
Gyllenstjerna,  who  conducted  the  defense  of  Stockholm,  refused 
to  surrender  the  city.  The  struggle  continued,  and  the  invaders 
sufferetl  heavy  losses,  but  when  Christian  II.  arriveil  with  a  fleet, 
and  blockade<l  Stockholm,  Cliristina  was  finally  forced  to  surrender, 
September  7.  \!')'20. 

17.   Christian  11.  tiik  Tyuaxt.    The  Stockholm  Massacre 

From  the  moment  that  Sweden  submitted.  Christian  II.  treated 
the  kingdom  with  the  arrogance  of  a  conqueror.    The  councilors  were 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

summoned  to  meet  in  the  Gray  Friars  monastery,  where  Bishop  Jens 
Beldenak  explained  to  them  that  the  king  was  the  rightful  heir  to 
the  Swedish  throne  according  to  the  law  of  St.  Erik.  A  trace  of 
relationship  between  Christian  II.  and  St.  Erik  might  indeed  be 
figured  out,  but  the  claim  that  for  this  reason  he  was  heir  to  the  throne 
of  an  elective  monarchy  was  a  self-evident  prevarication,  which  only 
illustrates  how  the  king  would  respect  the  laws  and  institutions 
of  the  realm  which  he  was  henceforth  to  govern.  On  November  1, 
1520,  he  was  proclaimed  king  according  to  the  principle  of  hereditary 
kingship  which  he  had  proclaimed.  The  coronation  occurred  Novem- 
ber 4 ;  elaborate  festivities  were  arranged  for  the  succeeding  days,  and 
most  of  the  Swedish  nobility  had  assembled  in  the  capital  for  the 
occasion.  Now  that  the  king  had  reached  the  goal  of  his  ambition, 
and  the  crowns  of  the  three  realms  had  been  united  on  his  brow, 
nothing  could  seem  more  natural  than  to  seek  to  win  the  support  of 
all  for  the  new  order  of  things  by  a  conciliatory  policy.  The  more 
hideous  is  the  thought  that  in  the  midst  of  the  coronation  festivities 
he  was  conceiving  the  plot  for  one  of  the  darkest  crimes  which  history 
has  recorded.  The  despicable  creature,  Didrik  Slagheck,  and  the 
revengeful  Gustav  Trolle,  the  archbishop,  were  constantly  about  the 
king,  and  filled  his  dark  mind  with  most  pernicious  counsel.  On  the 
7th  of  November  a  large  number  of  nobles,  men  and  women,  and  a 
number  of  leading  citizens  were  summoned  to  the  royal  palace.  The 
doors  were  locked  behind  them,  and  Gustav  Trolle  stepped  forward 
to  accuse  them  of  various  crimes.  They  had  driven  him  from  his 
archdiocese,  they  had  razed  his  castle,  and  had  used  violence  against 
the  servants  of  the  church,  he  claimed.  He  demanded  an  indemnity 
of  500,000  marks  for  the  losses  sustained  by  himself  and  other  bishops, 
a  sum  so  enormous  that  it  would  have  ruined  all  against  whom  he 
directed  his  charges.  He  further  demanded  that  the  assembled 
lords  and  ladies  should  be  imprisoned  until  they  could  be  sentenced 
by  the  king,  who  would  receive  God's  reward  and  the  praise  of  all 
Christendom  for  meting  out  punislnnent  to  these  heretics.  The 
assembled  nobles  were  struck  with  consternation,  as  they  realized 
but  too  well  that  a  plot  had  been  laid  for  their  destruction.  The 
only  one  who  for  the  moment  retained  full  composure  was  Sten 
Sture's  young  widow  Christina  Gyllenstjerna.    She  showed  that 


II  ClIRISTIAX    II.    THE   TYltANT.       TlIK    STmCKIK  »LM    MVSSArHK         W'.i 

the  pn »(•('('( line's  against  (iiista\'  Trolle  had  heeri  decided  hy  a  ^ciicral 
dit't,  and  that  it"  iMinishineiit  should  be  inctt'd  out,  tlie  whole  nation 
would  have  to  be  punished,  and  not  only  a  few  indivijiual  l<jrds. 
Hut  this  jjave  the  king  a  new  <)pj)ortunity.  The  action  of  the  diet 
was  interpreted  as  rebellion  against  the  Pope,  i.e.  it  was  heresy, 
for  whieh  the  kinj;  could  punish  them  in  the  name  of  the  church. 
All  were  hurried  oil"  to  prison,  and  the  next  day,  after  a  mock  trial 
had  been  conducted,  tlie  kin^  sentenced  them  to  death  as  heretics. 
Now  began  the  carnival  of  blood  known  as  the  Stockholm  massacre, 
the  direction  of  which  was  left  to  Didrik  Slaghec-k.  On  the  8th  of 
November  eighty-two  persons  were  beheaded  on  the  public  square 
of  the  city  ;  among  others,  the  bishops  of  Strangnas  and  Skara,  numy 
aldermen  of  the  city,  and  a  large  number  of  the  leading  men  of  Sweden. 
Sten  Stare's  l)ody,  as  well  as  that  of  his  dead  child,  was  exJiumed 
and  burned  with  the  bodies  of  the  executed.  The  massacre  spread 
also  to  the  provinces,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  the  king's  mad 
purpo.se  to  destroy  the  whole  nobility  of  Sweden  with  one  fell  stroke. 
Sten  Sture  and  his  adherents  had  been  excommunicated,  and  it  was, 
therefore,  possible  for  the  king  and  his  evil  counselors  to  carry  on 
their  fiendish  work  of  destruction  without  incurring  the  execration 
of  all  Christendom.  When  the  king  left  Stockliolm  to  return  to 
Deinnark,  he  left  a  trail  of  l)lood.  In  Jonkoping  several  persons 
were  executed  ;  at  Xydala  monastery  the  abbot  and  several  monks 
were  drowne(l,  and  Christina  (iyllenstjerna,  together  with  many  other 
ladies,  was  carricci  into  caijtixitx'  in  Denmark.  Christian  II.  had 
well  earned  the  title  of  Christian  the  Tyrant.  Even  among  the  Danes 
themselves  the  king's  vile  deed  caused  general  consternation.  The 
great  sea-captain  Soren  Norby  did  not  conceal  his  ill-will  even  in 
the  king's  ])resenee.  and  Otto  Krumpen  resigned  as  general  of  the 
army.  The  shock  of  abhorrence,  which  at  first  stuniuHl  all,  was 
soon  followed  in  all  the  rt-alnis  by  a  storm  of  indignation  so  violent 
that  it  hurled  Christian  the  Tyrant  from  the  thrt)ne  which  he  had 
so  wantonly  disgraced. 

The  yonng  Gustav  Eriksson  Vasa,  one  of  the  Swolish  nobles 
whom  Christian  II.  had  kidna|)ped  and  brought  to  Di'iimark,  es- 
caped from  his  captivity  and  fled  to  Liibeek.  whence  he  returne<I  to 
Sweden.     His  father  was  one  of  the  victims  of  the  Stockholm  mas- 

VOL.    II  —  I 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

sacre,  and  the  king  engaged  spies  to  seize  the  young  nobleman,  who 
henceforward  bent  his  great  energy  and  remarkable  talents  to  the 
one  great  task  of  freeing  his  country  from  the  tyrant's  grasp.  The 
accounts  of  his  wanderings  and  hairbreadth  escapes  from  his  pur- 
suers read  like  a  romance.  In  vain  he  tried  to  rouse  his  country- 
men. At  Kalmar  and  in  Sm§,land  he  attempted  it  and  failed, 
and  even  in  Dalarne  the  peasants  would  give  him  no  support, 
though  they  listened  with  reverence  to  his  eloquent  appeals.  Hunted 
from  place  to  place,  wandering  in  disguise  through  remote  settle- 
ments, despairing  of  success,  he  finally  resolved  to  seek  refuge  in 
Norway.  But  when  the  Dalkarleans  received  proof  of  King  Chris- 
tian's cruelties,  they  repented  and  sent  messengers  to  bring  Gustav 
Vasa  back  to  Sweden.  On  his  return  they  chose  him  "Lord  and 
chief  of  Dalarne  and  of  the  kingdom  of  Sweden"  in  January,  1521. 
At  the  head  of  a  few  poorly  equipped  peasants  Gustav  Vasa  resolutely 
raised  the  standard  of  revolt  against  the  hated  tyrant,  and  thanks 
to  the  incompetency  of  Didrik  Slagheck,  whom  King  Christian  II. 
had  intrusted  with  the  administration  of  Sweden,  he  was  rapidly 
increasing  his  forces.  Not  till  April  did  Slagheck  and  Gustav 
Trolle  take  the  field  against  him,  and  they  were  defeated  at  Bruns- 
bak,  on  the  Dal  River.  Gustav  Vasa's  forces  soon  numbered  15,000 
men,  and  at  Vesteras  the  government  forces  under  Slagheck  suffered 
a  second  defeat.  At  this  critical  juncture  King  Christian  was  in 
the  Netherlands  visiting  his  brother-in-law.  Emperor  Charles  V., 
and  his  henchmen  in  Sweden  were  unable  to  cope  with  the  rapidly 
spreading  uprising.  Gustav  Vasa  was  unable  to  take  Stockholm, 
but  in  the  country  districts  the  revolution  had  great  success.  Did- 
rik Slagheck  was  recalled  to  Copenhagen,^  and  Gustav  Trolle  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  management  of  affairs  in  Sweden,  but  he  was  as 
unable  to  accomplish  anything  as  his  predecessor.  Before  the  end 
of  the  year  (1521)  Stockholm,  Kalmar,  and  Abo  in  Finland  were 

^  Through  Christian  II. 's  influence  Didrik  Slagheck  was  elected  Arch- 
bishop of  Lund,  but  when  the  king  finally  learned  how  he  had  been  deceived 
by  him,  he  caused  him  to  be  arrested.  The  hated  royal  favorite  was  tried, 
condemned  to  death  and  executed.  C.  T.  Allen,  De  tre  nordiske  Rigers 
Historie  under  Konqerne  Hans,  Christian  II.,  og  Gustav  Vasa,  vol.  III.,  part 
III.,  p.  225  f.  Anders  Fryxell,  Gustav  Vasa's  Historie,  oversat  fra  det  Svenske 
af  M.  Birkeland,  Christiania,  1856. 


II  CIIKISIIAN    II.    THE   TYRANT.  115 

tiie  only  larpjer  cities  which  liad  not  been  surrendered  to  Gustav. 
As  Stockhohn  could  not  l)c  taken  without  the  assistance  of  a  fleet, 
since  the  rc(loul)tai)le  S0ren  N'orhy,  who  coinniaiided  the  Danish 
licet,  carried  supplies  to  the  city,  Gustav  turned  to  Liibeck  for  aid, 
and  the  merchants  of  that  city  responded  by  scndiiiK  a  fleet  of  ten 
ships  to  blockade  the  city.  The  king,  who  was  hard  i)rcssed  by  the 
Hanseatic  fleets,  as  well  as  by  a  revolt  at  home,  could  pay  but  slight 
attention  to  Sweden.  Gustav  Vasa  was  proclaimed  king  at  a  diet 
in  Striingniis  June  0.  lo23,  and  shortly  afterward  the  surrender  of 
StockJioliu  eiulcd  the  struggle  which  terminated  for  all  times  the 
unfortunate  union  with  Denmark.  The  sufferings  caused  by  Chris- 
tian's tyranny  and  the  subsequent  war  of  liberation  had  awakened 
a  strong  national  spirit,  which  launched  the  Swedish  people  upon  a 
new  period  of  development  —  the  era  of  national  greatness,  when 
Sweden  under  the  guidance  of  a  dynasty  of  great  national  kings  rose 
to  become  one  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe. 

King  Christian's  tyranny  and  shortsightedness  had  not  only  cost 
him  the  throne  of  Sweden,  but  he  had  alienated  the  hearts  of  his  own 
people,  and  had  created  an  opposition  which  must  have  made  liim 
feel  uncomfortable  even  on  the  throne  of  Denmark.  The  Hollanders 
had  been  olfended  by  the  arbitrary  increase  of  the  Sound-toll,  and 
the  Liibeckers,  who  had  supported  Gustav  \'asa,  fought  resolutely 
for  their  naval  sujircmacy  in  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  in  defense  of  their 
trade,  which  Christian  sought  to  check  by  creating  a  strong  Scan- 
dinavian trade  company  which  could  compete  successfully  with  the 
Hanseatic  merchants.  Against  his  foreign  enemies  he  could  get 
little  su[)port  at  home,  siuce  he  had  always  been  an  enemy  both  of 
the  clergy  and  the  nobility.  He  sununoned  the  Council  to  meet 
at  Copenhagen  in  November,  but  instead  of  obeying  this  summons, 
the  a^uncilors  from  Jutland  met  at  Viborg,  and  formed  a  conspiracy 
to  drive  Christian  II.  from  the  throne.  On  January  20.  152.S,  the 
councilors  renounced  their  allegiance  to  him,  stating  as  their  rea.son 
for  this  act  that  the  king  had  violated  the  charter  to  which  he  had 
sworn  at  his  coronation;  that  he  had  disrcgardi^l  the  Council  ami 
the  nobility,  and  had  given  preferment  to  ignoble  knaves,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  wicked  woman  Sigbrit ;  that  pursuant  to  the  counsel 
of  these  he  had  beheaded  many  Swedish  nobles,  also,  Kiiut  Knutssou 


116  HISTORY   OF   THE    NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Baat  in  Norway,  and  had  driven  away  the  Archbishop  of  Trondhjem, 
and  had  ill-treated  many  other  bishops.^  The  disaffected  councilors 
raised  an  army  of  20,000  or  30,000  men,  while  Frederick,  Duke  of  Hol- 
stein,  an  uncle  of  Christian  II.,  who  was  their  candidate  for  the  throne, 
took  the  field  with  a  force  of  6000  men.  Yet  the  situation  was  far 
from  hopeless.  Christian  could  count  on  the  support  of  the  com- 
mon people,  and  he  might  also  have  raised  forces  in  Norway,  but  he 
was  as  irresolute  now  that  danger  threatened  him  as  he  had  been  over- 
bearing and  tyrannical  while  his  subjects  remained  submissive. 
Duke  Frederick  was  proclaimed  king  of  Denmark  at  Viborg,  March 
26,  1523;  Jutland  and  Fyen  joined  him,  Halland,  Blekinge,  and  the 
Norwegian  province  of  Viken  were  in  the  hands  of  Gustav  Vasa, 
and  the  fleet,  which  the  king  had  neglected,  was  unable  to  cope  with 
the  Liibeckers.  Meanwhile  Christian  sat  inactive  in  Copenhagen, 
nursing  his  own  gloomy  thoughts.  On  April  13th  he  sailed  from 
the  city  with  a  fleet  of  twenty  ships,  accompanied  by  his  family, 
Madam  Sigbrit,  and  a  few  friends,  to  seek  assistance  in  foreign  lands. 
The  occasion  was  a  solemn  one,  and  the  people  watched  with  tear- 
ful eyes  the  departure  of  their  king.  The  reign  of  Christian  II.  was 
ended.  His  remaining  years  proved  but  a  doleful  sequel  to  a  mis- 
spent life.  Some  features  of  his  rule  are,  however,  worthy  of  com- 
mendation.^ As  he  w^as  especially  interested  in  education,  he  made 
the  provision  that  better  qualified  teachers  should  be  employed, 
that  they  should  receive  better  salaries,  and  that  cruel  flogging  of  the 
children  in  the  schools  should  be  restricted.  In  the  country  districts 
where  no  schools  were  established,  the  people  might  send  their  chil 
dren  to  be  instructed  by  the  parish  priest,  or  some  man  of  learning 
in  the  town.  As  lawmaker  he  sought  to  protect  the  common  people 
against  oppression.  He  prohibited  the  imposition  of  excessive 
fines,  a  punishment  so  often  inflicted  by  the  clergy  for  the  smallest 
violation  of  the  rules  of  the  church,  and  the  landlords  were  forbidden 
to  oppress  their  tenants  by  increasing  the  rents.  He  encouraged 
trade,  and  attempted  to  limit  the  power  of  the  Hanseatic  merchants. 

1  Diplomalarium  Norwegicum,  vol.  XIV.,  no.  287.  Arild  Huitfeldt, 
Danmnrks  Rigcs  Kr^nike,  II.,  p.  1196  f. 

'  C.  F.  Allen,  De  tre  nordiske  Rigers  Historic.  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den 

norske  Historie,  III.,  p.  178  ff.  , 


M  CIIUISTIA.N    II.    Tin:    TVHANT  117 

A  uniform  system  of  wcij^hts  and  mt'asurrs  was  introduced,  and  tlie 
kin^  also  tried  to  create  a  postal  system  by  hiring  mail  carriers, 
who  siionld  recei\e  three  .'ilcilling.f  for  carryinj^  a  letter  a  distance  of 
seven  miles.  With  his  Renaissance  and  Reformation  ideas  and  his 
solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  the  common  ])eoi)le  his  rei^Mi  mi^^dit  have 
become  a  new  era  of  proj^ress  if  his  gloomy  and  bloodthirsty  mind 
had  not  vitiated  every  nobler  effort. 

The  Norwegians  took  no  part  in  tiie  uprising  against  Christian 
II.,  as  the  kin^  was  generally  well  liked  in  Xorway.  But  though  it 
has  been  suggested  that  they  might  ha\e  retained  Christian  as  their 
king,  and  dissolved  the  union  with  Demnark,  such  a  stej)  would,  un- 
doubtedly, ha\e  been  prevented  by  Sweden  and  Denmark,  where 
he  was  feared  as  well  as  hated.  The  Norwegians  were,  moreover, 
unal)Ie  to  act  indei)endently  at  this  moment.  The  j)rincipal  cities 
were  held  by  Danish  commandants,  Archl)ishoi)  Valkendort",  the 
jiresident  of  the  Council,  was  dead,  his  successor,  Olav  Engelbrekts- 
son,  was  in  Rome  to  receive  the  consecration  of  the  Pope,  and  there 
was,  virtually,  no  government  in  the  country.  When  the  news  of 
Christian's  overthrow  reached  Norway,  Nils  Henriksson  Gyldenl^ve 
of  Ostraat  and  Olav  (Jalle  of  Thom  met  with  a  few  others  to  confer 
regarding  the  aliairs  of  the  kingdom.  It  was  decided  that  Nils 
Henriksson  should  take  possession  of  Bergen  and  assume  control 
of  the  northern  i)art  of  the  kingdom,  while  Olav  Galle  .should  act 
as  governor  of  the  southern  part.'  But  Nils  Henriksson  was  unable 
t»)  take  Bergen,  which  was  defended  by  the  Danish  connnandant 
Hans  Knutssoii,  and  Olav  Calle  was  no  more  successful  in  sonthem 
Xorway.  I'Vederick  1.  s(»on  gaine<l  the  allegiance  of  the  wlu»le  king- 
dom of  Denmark,  and  as  the  three  chief  strategic  points,  the  castles 
Akershus,  Bergenhus,  and  Bohus,  were  held  by  the  Danish  com- 
mandants, wlio  woukl  transfer  their  sujjport  to  tlu*  new  king  if  the 
proper  inducements  were  ollered.  it  was  (piite  certain  that  the  union 
of  the  two  kingdoms  would  be  continuetl.  King  hVederick  1.  sent 
Henrik  Krunicdike  to  Norwa\'  to  takecharge  of  affairs  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  kingdom.  The  commandant  of  Bohus  had  already  sub- 
mitted to  the  new  king,  and  Krmneilike  succeeded  in  winning  the 
magnates  and  the  cities  separately  by  making  promi.ses  which  he 
*  Diplomatarium  Norwcgicum,  I.,  lU).  lOCiT. 


118  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

never  intended  to  keep.  The  commander  of  Akershus  submitted  to 
King  Frederick  I.,  and  before  the  end  of  1523  nearly  all  of  southern 
Norway  had  pledged  its  allegiance  to  him.  Another  prominent 
Danish  noble,  Vincence  Lunge,  was  sent  to  the  northern  districts. 
He  came  to  Bergen,  where  he  met  Nils  Henriksson  Gyldenl0ve,  his 
noted  wife,  Lady  Inger  Ottesdatter  of  0straat,  and  their  daughters. 
Nils  Henriksson,  who  was  at  this  time  an  aged  man,  was  anxious 
to  shift  the  burdens  to  younger  shoulders,  as  he  had  failed  to  take  the 
castle  of  the  city.  A  peaceful  agreement  could  the  more  easily  be 
arranged,  since  Vincence  Lunge  married  Gyldenl0ve's  oldest  daughter, 
Margaret,  who  had  been  lady-in-waiting  to  Christian  H.'s  queen, 
Elizabeth,  and  had  become  acquainted  with  Lunge  in  Denmark. 
Nils  Henriksson  was  the  wealthiest  and  most  powerful  magnate  in 
the  kingdom  at  this  time.  In  1515  he  became  drotsete,  and  he  was 
also  appointed  one  of  the  special  envoys  sent  to  the  Netherlands  to 
bring  Christian  H.'s  bride  to  Denmark.^  His  wife.  Lady  Inger  of 
0straat,  was  a  talented,  but  ambitious  and  covetous  lady.  Through 
the  marriage  of  her  daughters  to  immigrated  Danish  nobles  who  had 
high  positions  in  the  kingdom,  she  exercised  a  unique  influence,  and 
became  a  leading  figure  in  one  of  the  most  tragic  chapters  in  Norwe- 
gian history. 2 

King  Frederick's  representatives  came  to  Bergen  in  1523,  and 
Nils  Henriksson  died  the  same  year.  Vincence  Lunge  planned  to 
take  the  castle  still  held  by  Christian  II. 's  adherents,  and  the  king 
encouraged  the  Hanseatic  merchants  of  the  city  to  aid  him  in  this 
undertaking.  At  a  given  signal  in  the  still  of  the  night  the  merchants 
sallied  forth,  not  against  the  castle,  but  to  attack  their  rivals,  the 
Scotch  and  Norwegian  merchants  of  the  city.  These  were  ill-treated 
and  driven  with  their  families  into  the  streets ;  their  homes  were 
looted,  and  their  charters  destroyed.  The  attack  was  especially 
directed  against  the  Scotch  merchants,  who  suffered  losses  to  the 
amount  of  40,000  marks.  Never  since  the  time  of  the  Victual  Broth- 
ers, or  the  massacre  of  Olav  Nilsson,  had  the  citizens  of  Bergen  been 

^  0steraat  Herrescede  fra  del  lite  Aarhundrede  til  vore  Tider,  published  by 
Axel  Johannessen,  Trondhjem,  1904. 

*  Her  second  daughter,  Eline,  was  married  to  Nils  Lykke  in  1528,  and  a 
younger  daughter,  Anna,  had  married  Erik  Ugerup  in  1524. 


I'LATK    II 


KUINS    OK    THK     UaMAU    (    AT  llKUItAL. 


II  CniUSTIAN    II.    TIIK   TYRANT  119 

siil)jet'tefl  to  such  indignities.  But  Vincence  Lunp:c  did  nothing, 
and,  probably,  could  do  nothing  to  restrain  his  hiwless  allies.'  The 
ca.stle,  which  was  held  by  the  incomi)etent  Hans  Kiuitsson,  surren- 
dered, and  the  Norwegian  Council  granted  Lunge  the  castle  and  royal 
leii  of  Bcr^<'n.  The  new  commander  was  a  learned  and  able  man. 
He  had  studied  at  several  universities ;  he  was  a  doctor  of  juris- 
prudence, and  had  been  professor  at  the  university  of  Copenhagen. 
As  a  member  of  the  Norwegian  Council,  he  naturally  exercised 
great  influence.  After  his  marriage  to  Margaret  Gyldenl0ve  he 
accounted  liiinself  a  Norwegian,  and  became  for  a  period  the  most 
influentiii'  man  in  the  kingdom,  and  the  originator  of  an  ultra  Nor- 
wegian })olitical  i)olicy  which  saved  Norway  from  being  wholly  in- 
corporated in  Denmark.  "But  his  ability,"  says  Allen,  "consisted 
chiefly  in  craft  and  cutming,  in  discovering  the  weakness  of  others, 
and  when  they  had  been  indiscreet,  he  used  the  opportunity  cither 
to  crush  his  ()pj><)neiits,  or  to  use  them  for  his  own  ends.  He  was 
flattering  and  ingratiating,  and  no  one  knew  better  than  he  how  to 
act  towards  those  whom  he  wanted  to  win,  or  to  make  it  appear 
that  he  served  those  whom  he  wished  to  use  as  tools  for  his  own 
purposes.  As  an  enemy  he  was  feared  for  liis  falsity  and  artiflce." 
"To  this  must  .still  be  added,"  says  0verland,  "that  he  was  about 
the  most  covetous  and  greedy  man  of  his  age,  and  that  he  was  proud 
and  boastful  when  fortune  favored  him."  ^ 

In  the  month  of  August,  1524,  the  Council  renouncetl  their  alle- 
giance to  Christian  H.,  and  chose  Frederick  I.  king  of  Norway.  A 
charter,  to  which  the  king  ^'ould  be  required  to  subscribe,'  specified 
that  the  king  should  protect  the  Catholic  Church,  its  teachings* rights, 
and  privileges;  tiiat  he  sliould  maintain  the  laws  of  the  kingdom, 
renounce  the  title  of  "Heir  to  the  throne  of  Norway,"  acknotvleiige 
that  he  received  the  Norwegian  letwi  from  the  Council,  and  agree 
not  to  grant  them  to  any  but  native-l)orn  lords,  or  to  lords  niarried 

'  Ynpvar  Niolson.  liirgm  fra  de  aldntv  Tidcr  indtil  Xutiden,  270  flf.  C.  F. 
Alien.  Dr  tre  Rigcrs  Ilislone  l/,97-i53n,  vol.  IV..  2.  222.  N.  Nicolayson, 
Norskc  Mafffisiri,  I..  .>4S.  Xarskf  Sanilirigrr,  vol.  IT..  4S1  fT.  Diplomntarium 
Norwegirum,  vol.  V.,  no.  lO;?'.!;  vol.  IX..  no.  .")!.').  f)!?:    vol.  VI..  no.  091. 

*  Diplomntdriitm  Nnrwrgiciirn,  vol.  VIII.,  no.  .'")2<') ;  IX.,  no.  532,  534. 
O.  A.  Overland,  S^yrgeK  Ilixtorir,  vol.  V..  p.  2".1H. 

*Samlingcr  til  del  norske  folks  Sprog  og  IlUlorie,  vol.  I.,  p.  1  (T. 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

to  native-born  ladies.  The  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands  were  to  be 
redeemed,  and  the  rights  and  privileges  granted  by  former  charters 
were  reaffirmed.  A  letter  was  also  addressed  to  the  king  complaining 
of  Henrik  Knimedike,  and  giving  notice  that  he  had  been  deposed 
from  his  len  and  banished  from  the  kingdom.^  With  these  documents 
Vincence  Lunge  went  to  Denmark  to  King  Frederick  I.  The  king 
signed  the  charter,  but  Krumedike  was  declared  innocent  on  the 
oath  of  twenty-four  knights,  and  in  1529  he  received  again  his  posses- 
sions in  Norway. 

18.   The  Struggle  for  Norway.    Christian  II, 

Frederick  I.  had  been  placed  on  the  throne  of  Norway,  but  the 
kingdom  was  controlled  by  the  Council,  in  which  Vincence  Lunge 
exercised  the  greatest  authority.  Olav  Galle,  governor  of  southern 
Norway,  and  Archbishop  Olav  Engelbrektsson,  who  was  president 
of  the  Council,  were  also  influential  members.  The  relations  with 
Sweden  were  not  cordial.  Gustav  Vasa  had  not  evacuated  Viken, 
though  he  had  been  requested  to  do  so,  and  Swedish  refugees,  the  op- 
ponents of  King  Gustav,  had  been  well  received  in  Norway.  The 
hostile  feeling  grew  still  more  intense  when  Vincence  Lunge  and  Lady 
Inger  of  f3straat  harbored  and  supported  a  Swedish  pretender  who 
claimed  to  be  the  son  of  Sten  Sture,  and  sought  to  stir  up  a  rebellion 
against  King  Gustav.  The  pretender,  generally  known  as  the  "  Dale- 
junker,"  was  a  worthless  criminal  by  the  name  of  Jons  Hansson,  who 
after  having  operated  for  a  time  in  Dalarne  fled  to  Norway  to  escape 
capture.  He  came  to  0straat,  and  succeeded  in  winning  the  confi- 
dence of  Lady  Inger  and  Vincence  Lunge.  The  story  was  circulated 
that  Gustav  Vasa  was  dead ;  the  pretender  became  engaged  to  one 
of  Inger's  daughters,  probably  Eline,^  and  the  ambitious  mother 
was  dreaming  lofty  dreams  of  finally  seeing  her  daughter  as  queen  on 
the  throne  of  Sweden.     Lunge's  reasons  for  supporting  the  pretender 

^  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  vol.  IX.,  no.  537,  538,  539. 

2  R.  Keyser  thinks  that  the  youngest  daughter,  Lucie,  was  betrothed 
to  the  "Dalejunker."  Den  norske  Kirkes  Historic,  II.,  679.  A  document 
later  discovered  states  that  it  was  Eline,  but  Ludvig  Daae  considers  this 
to  be  an  error,  as  Eline  was  at  that  time  betrothed  to  the  Danish  knight, 
Nils  Lykke,  whom  she  married  in  1528.  Lud^ig  Daae,  Fru  Inger  OUesdatter 
og  hendes  D^tre,  Historisk  Tidsskrifl,  vol.  III.,  p.  224  £f. 


II  THE   STRUGGLE    FOIi   NORWAY.      (  IIKISTIA.N    II  121 

even  after  the  fniiul  liad  been  exposefl  must  have  been  of  the  nutst 
st)r(li(l  nature.  Ludvi^  Daac  tliiuks  that  lie  wished  the  VDun^  hidy 
to  marry  abroad,  in  order  that  the  estates  which  she  would  otlierwise 
inherit  ini^lit  come  into  tiie  jjos.session  of  the  remaining  lieirs.  In  the 
fall  of  1527  the  pretender  proceeded  to  Daiarne  to  rally  the  people 
to  his  cause.  But  they  had  been  warne<l  by  Gustav  Vasa.  He 
could  accomplish  nothing,  and  had  to  return  with  Lunge  to  Norway. 
Gustav  Vasa  demanded  his  surrender,  but  Lunge  still  claime<l  that  he 
was  Sten  Sture's  son,  though  Sture's  widow,  Christina  Gyllenstjerna, 
had  declared  that  he  was  an  impostor.'  Lunge  was  finally  obliged 
to  send  him  away  from  Norway,  but  he  did  it  in  such  a  way  that  he 
escaped.  It  was  the  pretender's  plan  to  join  Christian  II.  in  the 
Netherlands,  but  in  Rostock  he  was  arreste<^l  and  put  to  death.  \'in- 
cence  Lunge's  conduct  had  offended,  not  only  the  king  of  Sweden, 
but  also  his  own  sovereign,  Frederick  I.,  who  in  1528  entered  into 
an  alliance  with  Gustav  against  Christian  II.  King  Gustav  de- 
manded that  Lunge  should  be  punished,  and  Frederick  complied 
by  removing  him  as  commandant  of  Bergen.  He  did  not  venture, 
however,  to  risk  an  open  rupture  with  the  j)()werful  noble,  but  granted 
him  other  possessions  as  a  compensation,  among  others  the  Noimese- 
ter  monastery,  where  Lunge  erected  a  residence  called  "  Lungegaar- 
den."  Lunge's  power  was  still  unbroken,  but  a  Dane,  p]ske  Bilde, 
who  was  married  to  Kruniedike's  daughter,  Sophia,  became  his  suc- 
cessor in  Bergen ;  Clans  Bilde  was  made  commandant  of  Bolnis,  and 
Olav  Galle  was  deprived  of  Akershus,  which  was  given  to  Mogens 
Gyldenstjerne.  Contrary  to  the  charter,  the  three  princijial  castles 
of  the  kingdom  were  granted  to  Danish  nobles.  As  the  king  diil  not 
seem  to  take  the  charter  seriously,  he  was  no  more  conscientious  as 
to  its  other  provisions.  He  had  agreed  that  he  should  not  ask  of  the 
Council,  or  of  tlie  inhabitants  of  Norway,  that  any  one.  either  his  son 
or  any  one  else,  should  be  elected  as  his  successor  in  his  lifetime,  but 
in  1529  he,  nevertheless,  sent  his  son,  Duke  Christian,  to  Norway  to 
be  hailed  as  heir  to  the  throne.  It  was  clearly  the  king's  purpose  to 
incorporate  Norway  in  the  kingdom  of  Denmark,  or  to  treat  it  as  a 

>  Diplnvwtarium  Xonvnjicum,  XIV.,  no.  .W.').  TkS?,  r^SS,  TkSO,  G02.  Bidrag 
til  Oplysnitii)  om  Prdr  Kantder  og  Mcxter  Ktiut  stttnt  den  saakaldlc  Dale- 
junker,  Samlingcr  til  del  norskc  Folks  Sprog  og  flislorii ,  T.,  p.  47S  ff. 


122  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

dependency.  But  this  plan  was  frustrated  by  the  Norwegian  polit- 
ical policy  of  Vincence  Lunge  and  Archbishop  Olav  Engelbrektsson, 
who  had  revived  to  some  extent  the  power  of  the  Norwegian  Council. 
Though  their  motives  were  often  sordid,  and  their  methods  repre- 
hensible, tliey  were  fighting  for  Norwegian  autonomy,  and  the  out- 
come depended  on  their  willingness  to  cooperate.  But  a  disinterested 
plan  of  united  effort  could  not  long  be  pursued  by  the  two  leaders, 
as  other  circumstances  would  have  made  this  impossible,  even  if  they 
had  been  men  of  more  lofty  and  unselfish  purposes.  Archbishop 
Olav  was  undoubtedly  a  patriot,  who  sought  to  defend  his  country's 
freedom  and  honor,  but  he  was  unable  to  give  the  struggle  even  a 
tinge  of  the  patriot's  tragic  idealism,  and  history  has  unjustly  veiled 
his  name  in  obloquy.  J.  E.  Sars  says  of  him :  "  The  name  of  Arch- 
bishop Olav  Engelbrektsson  grates  unpleasantly  on  our  ears.  It  is 
connected  with  the  memory  of  Norway's  deepest  national  humilia- 
tion in  such  a  way  that  about  the  deepest  shadow  of  this  wholly 
dark  picture  falls  upon  him  personally.  Henrik  Krumedike  de- 
scribed him  to  King  Frederick  I.  as  a  'false  man,'  according  to  the 
statement  of  Vincence  Lunge,^  and  in  later  history  he  has  received 
a  similar  testimonial.  His  political  policy  has  been  described  as 
unwise  and  dishonest.  It  has  been  described  as  showing  that  he 
had  slack  moral  principles,  a  weak  character,  and  that  he  lacked  the 
proper  reverence  for  his  calling,  and  the  conviction  of  the  truth  and 
justice  of  his  cause.^  It  has  even  been  said  that  such  a  motive  as 
patriotism  and  a  feeling  for  Norway's  liberty  and  honor  must  have 
been  wholly  foreign  to  him,  that  he  sought  purely  personal  ends,  or 
that,  at  best,  he  was  only  guided  by  a  Catholic  prelate's  hierarchical 
zeal.  This  is  evidently  erroneous.  Vincence  Lunge  would  scarcely 
have  appealed  so  strongly  in  his  letters  to  the  archbishop's  patriotism 
if  he  knew  that  such  an  appeal  would  find  no  response;  and  the 
archbishop's  own  writings  prove  that  his  country's  honor  lay  close 
to  his  heart,  and  that  he  deplored  the  state  of  dependency  to  which 
Norway  had  been  brought.  He  did  not  possess  the  qualities  of  a 
hero  or  a  martyr,  but  he  was  evidently  not  an  insignificant  personality. 

^  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  VII.,  no.  600. 

*  R.   Keyser,    Den  norske   Kirkes   Historic  under  Katholicismen,   vol.   II., 
p.  692. 


II  TUE   STRUGGLE    FOR    NORWAY.      CHRISTIAN    II  123 

We  see  that  he  did  not  full  to  understand  what  was  necessary  in 
order  to  defend  the  Norwe^niin  kinj,'d<)ni  and  the  CathoHc  ('hurch 
against  the  flanj^ors  and  enemies  which  threatened  Ixith,  and  that, 
in  a  way,  lie  was  always  active,  thouj^h  he  received  little  support 
from  his  own  people.  In  contemplating  his  ambiguous,  equivocal 
conduct  we  must  not  forget  the  difficult  situation  in  which  he  was 
place<l.  A  man  of  his  learning  and  ability  —  and  he  was,  according 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  times,  a  learned  man  and  love<l  learning 
—  ought  to  have  accomplished  something  good  and  lasting,  l)ut  tlie 
circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  were  such  that  even  an  extraor- 
dinary personality  would  have  failed.  It  became  his  duty  to  repre- 
sent the  Norwegian  Catholic  Chnrcii  and  Norway's  political  inde- 
pendence at  a  time  when  both  were  tottering  to  their  fall.  His 
[)osition  presented  problems  wliich  individually.  i)erhaps,  would  have 
transcended  the  greatest  power  given  a  single  individual,  and  which 
in  many  instances  clashed  with  one  another." 

Vincence  Lunge  inclined  strongly  to  the  Reformation  movement, 
not  only  as  a  humanist,  but  also  because  he  found  an  opportunity 
to  gratify  his  covetousness  through  the  secularization  of  monasteries 
anrl  the  confiscation  of  cluirch  ])roperty.  King  Frederick  I.,  who 
favored  the  Reformation,  prepared  the  secularization  of  the  monaster- 
ies by  appointing  non-ecclesiastic  managers,  who  should  pay  the 
king  a  yearly  sum  for  this  privilege,  and  at  the  same  time  provide 
the  monks  and  lums  with  the  necessaries  of  life  from  the  income  of 
the  estates  of  the  monastery.  Vincence  Lunge  had  received  from 
the  king  the  monastery  of  Noiuieseter,  and  he  stretche<l  forth  his 
greedy  hands  for  more.  He  conspired  with  the  prior  of  the  monastery 
of  the  Dominican  Friars  in  Bergen,  and  the  two  plundered  that  insti- 
tution of  all  its  valuables,  and  burned  the  buildings  to  hide  the  crime.' 
Vincence  Lunge  and  Archbishop  Olav  now  became  the  bitterest 
enemies.  The  angry  archi)ishop  threatened  to  take  Lunge's  life, 
and  seized  all  the  estates  belonging  to  Linige  and  Lady  Inger  of 
0straat  in  northern  Norway.  The  king's  coronation  was  to  have 
taken  place  at  Oslo.  l)ut  Archbishop  Olav  struggknl  hard  to  prevent 
it.     No  less  deterinint'<l  was  his  opposition  to  Prince  Christian  when 

>  Christian  C  A.  L:vnKi\  Dr  norske  Kloglrcs  Ilislorie  i  .\fiddelalderen,  p.  337. 
Yngvar  Xiolson,   Inrgcn,  p.  274. 


124  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

he  came  to  Norway  to  be  hailed  as  successor  to  the  throne,  as  the 
prince  was  even  more  outspoken  in  his  adherence  to  the  Lutheran 
Reformation  than  his  father.  In  this  matter  the  archbishop  seems 
to  have  received  the  support  of  Lunge,  who  was  also  striving  to 
maintain  the  political  autonomy  of  Norway.  The  struggle  became 
at  once  political  and  religious,  but  the  quarrel  between  Vincence  Lunge 
and  the  archbishop  seems  to  have  overshadowed  all  national  issues. 
Lunge  continued  his  seizure  of  church  property,  and  w^as  well  assisted 
in  this  traffic  by  his  greedy  mother-in-law.  Lady  Inger.  He  failed 
in  an  attempt  to  take  the  monastery  of  Ulstein,  but  Lady  Inger 
secured  the  cloister  of  Rein,  and  her  son-in-law.  Nils  Lykke,  gained 
possession  of  the  monastery  of  Tautra.  In  Bergen  the  church  was 
also  suffering  heavy  losses.  The  new  commandant,  Eske  Bilde, 
destroyed  some  of  the  finest  edifices  of  the  city :  the  Apostle  church, 
the  Christ  church,  the  bishop's  residence,  and  the  chapter  house, 
all  built  in  the  Gothic  style  of  arcliitecture.  This  wanton  destruc- 
tion was  done  for  mihtary  purposes,  to  give  freer  range  to  the  artillery 
of  the  fortress,  but  the  archbishop  took  no  step,  and  probably  could 
take  none,  to  punish  this  grave  offense. 

The  Lutheran  doctrine  was  spreading.  The  first  Lutheran  preacher, 
the  monk  Antonius,  who  came  to  Norway  in  1526,  seems  to  have 
received  permission  from  King  Frederick  I.  to  preach  in  Bergen. 
Three  years  later  two  other  Lutheran  ministers  arrived,^  and  Vincence 
Lunge,  Lady  Inger,  and  their  influential  relatives  gave  the  reformers 
active  support.  Bergen  became  the  center  of  the  Reformation  in 
Norway,  but  the  Lutheran  preachers  were  active  also  in  other  dis- 
tricts. Bishop  Hoskold  of  Stavanger  wrote  to  Eske  Bilde  that  he 
should  not  tolerate  or  protect  the  damnable  Lutheran  heresy  which 
had  led  so  many  astray,  but  he  should  try  with  all  might  to  stamp 
out  the  false  doctrine.  One  of  the  archbishop's  men  complained 
that  Lutheranism  was  spreading  also  in  Finmarken.  Even  the 
Council  of  Liibeck  became  alarmed,  and  wrote  to  the  archbishop 
and  the  Council  of  Norway  to  act  with  energy  against  the  dangerous 
doctrines,  destructive  of  all  social  order.^  The  Reformation  could 
make  progress  because  the  Catholic  Church  in  Norway  as  elsewhere 
had  lost  its  spiritual  vigor.     The  monasteries  had  become  hotbeds 

1  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  VIII.,  no.  603.  *  Ibid.,  XI.,  no.  522,  523. 


II  THE   STRUGGLE    FOR    NOKWAV.      (  nHI>TIAN    II  125 

of  vice  and  corruption,'  and  tlic  Latin  chnrcii  service,  which  consisted 
chiefly  of  empty  ceremonies,  could  no  longer  ai)i)eal  to  those  wiio  liad 
caught  the  spirit  of  tiie  new  age.  The  fine  schohir  (lel)le  Pe<ierss0n 
became  a  convert  to  tiie  Lutheran  doctrine,  prol)al)iy  in  l.jiiG.^ 
He  founded  the  Latin  school  at  Bergen,  and  became  the  first  Protes- 
tant bishop  of  that  diocese. 

In  the  midst  of  this  process  of  disorganization  Archbisliop  Olav's 
sole  remaining  hope  was  that  Christian  II.  might  return  and  .seize 
the  throne  of  Norway.  The  dethroned  king  had  longed  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  return,  and  he  had  done  everything  possible  to  gain  the 
sympathy  and  support  of  the  Emperor  and  other  princes.  At 
Wittenberg  he  had  heard  Luther  preach,  and  had  become  converted 
to  his  doctrine,  but  for  political  reasons  he  renounce<l  his  Lutheran 
faith  and  returned  to  the  bosom  of  the  Catliolic  Church,  which  he 
probably  did  without  much  compunction,  as  he  seems  to  have  been 
incapable  of  a  deeper  religious  conviction.  But  his  whole  conduct 
was  not  ver>'  reassuring,  and  Emperor  Charles  V.  would  do  nothing 
to  help  him.  As  Christian  could  accomplish  nothing  l)y  diplomacy, 
he  boldly  entered  the  Netherlands,  collected  sliii)s,  war  supplies, 
and  a  sum  of  50,000  gulden,  and  hired  an  army  of  7(10(1  iiuTcenaries 
for  an  expedition  to  Norway.  The  archbishoj)  would  not  innnedi- 
ately  declare  himself  for  King  Christian,  though  he  had  l)een  secretly 
negotiating  with  him,  but  waited  until  he  should  land  with  his  forces 
in  the  kingdom.  In  November,  1531,  King  Christian  arrived  on  the 
southern  coast  of  Norway  after  a  stormy  voyage,  on  which  he  had 
suffereti  great  losses.  Mogens  Gyldenstjerne  was  asked  to  surrender 
Akershus,  which  he  agreed  to  do  if  King  Frederick  I.  did  not  send 
him  reenforcements  before  the  month  of  March,  and  Christian,  who 
failed  to  see  that  the  commandant  was  trying  to  gain  time,  agreed 
to  a  fatal  armistice.'  On  November  29th  he  was  proclainunl  king 
of  Norway  at  Oslo,  and  on  the  same  date  Archbishop  Olav  declared 
his  allegiance  to  him.  King  Christian  marched  from  Oslo  with  a 
part  of  his  forces  to  Bohus,  while  -Lirgen  Ilansson  le<l  another  part 

*  A.  Chr.  Banc,  I'dsiqt  over  den  nnrKkc  Kirkcs  Ilislnrie  utuirr  Kntholieifmen. 

*  A.  Chr.   Bang,   Kirkrhi.ilnri.'^k-c  Smnaslykk-rr,   Bidrag  til  Gcblc   Pederss^ns 
Levncfshib,  2(M  ff.      Norxke  Samlingrr,  I.,  p.  S.  11. 

'  Diplomalarium  Noricctjicum,  IX.,  no.  685,  688. 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

of  the  army  against  Bergen ;  but  both  were  unsuccessful,  and  Chris- 
tian hastened  back  to  Oslo  when  he  learned  that  Gyldenstjerne  had 
received  reenforcements.  A  small  Danish  fleet,  which  had  been 
sent  to  Oslo,  could  not  reach  the  inner  harbor,  which  was  ice-bound, 
but  a  small  force  was  landed,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  castle 
of  Akershus.  The  following  day  Gyldenstjerne  attacked  King  Chris- 
tian's forces,  set  fire  to  his  camp,  and  burned  the  Cistercian  monas- 
tery at  Hoved0.  Soon  an  army  of  6000  men,  Danes  and  Liibeckers, 
arrived  from  Denmark,  Christian's  fleet  was  destroyed,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  resort  to  negotiations.  It  was  agreed  that  he  should  go  to 
Denmark  to  treat  with  Frederick  I.  in  person,  and  if  no  agreement 
could  be  reached,  he  should  be  allowed  to  return  to  Norway,  or  to 
Holland.  King  Christian  was  brought  to  Denmark,  but  only  to 
be  imprisoned  in  S0nderborg  castle  as  a  rebel.  He  was  finally  re- 
leased from  his  close  confinement  in  a  lonely  dungeon  and  brought 
to  the  castle  of  Kalundborg,  where  he  was  better  treated.  Vincence 
Lunge  and  Nils  Lykke,  who  were  instructed  to  quell  the  uprising  in 
northern  Norway,  came  to  Trondhjem,  and  requested  Archbishop 
Olav  to  submit.  As  he  had  no  alternative,  he  renewed  his  oath  of 
allegiance  to  King  Frederick  I.,  and  became  in  a  way  reconciled  to 
his  enemies  and  opponents.  He  was  allowed  to  retain  his  oflBce, 
but  had  to  pay  a  heavy  fine.  At  a  meeting  in  the  city  the  members 
of  the  Council,  who  were  present,  renounced  their  allegiance  to 
King  Christian  H.,  and  aflfirmed  again  the  union  with  Denmark  on 
the  condition  that  Norw^ay  should  retain  its  rights  and  liberties  as 
before.^  In  theory  the  principle  of  equality  of  the  two  kingdoms  was 
still  maintained,  but  it  could  be  nothing  but  empty  phrases,  as  Nor- 
way was  in  reality  a  conquered  country.  The  people  had  not  even 
made  an  effort  to  defend  their  independence,  and  the  leaders,  who 
were  animated  by  the  destructive  hatred  engendered  by  party  strife, 
had  struggled  more  zealously  to  ruin  one  another  than  to  save  their 
country. 

In  Denmark  King  Frederick  I.  had  been  placed  on  the  throne  by 

the  nobles,  and  he  had  been  obliged  to  sign  a  charter  which  made  him 

wholly  dependent  on  the  magnates,  who  had  stipulated,  among  other 

things,  that  the  king  should  not  interfere  in  the  relations  between  the 

^  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  XIV.,  no.  714. 


II  THE   count's    war.      CHltlSTIA.V    III  127 

nohle  landowners  and  their  renters.  Therel)y  the  nobility  secured 
full  jurisdiction  over  the  i)easants,  wiio  were  gradually  re<iuced  to 
serfdom.  The  Rcfonnation  ^vas  rapidly  ^aininj;  ground  in  the 
kingdom,  and  Frederick  I.  had  secretly  encouraged  it,  as  he  was  him- 
self a  convert  to  Luther's  teachings.  Hans  Tausen,  a  learned 
man  and  eloquent  si)eaker,  who  had  studied  at  Rostock  and  Witten- 
berg, became  the  leader  of  the  movement  in  Deimiark,  and  set  on 
foot  a  great  religious  revival,  which  sjjread  irresistibly  through  the 
kingdom.  In  Copenhagen  he  preached  with  such  power  and  per- 
sujuiion  that  the  people  flocked  in  large  numbers  to  hear  him,  and 
when  the  clerg\'  refused  to  pennit  them  to  assemble  in  the  churches, 
they  gaine<l  admittance  by  forcing  the  doors.  Against  such  a  move- 
ment the  Catholic  clergy  soon  felt  themselves  powerless,  and  their 
attempts  at  forcible  resistance  only  aggravated  the  situatif)n.  Bishop 
J0rgen  Friis  sent  an  armed  force  to  arrest  Tausen,  but  the  people 
drove  them  away.  Monks  were  expelled,  and  priests  who  would  not 
accept  the  Lutheran  faith  were  discharged.  King  Frederick,  who 
openly  sympathized  with  the  reformers,  made  Tausen  his  chaplain  and 
placed  him  under  his  royal  protection,  but  the  movement  was  es- 
peciall\  encouraged  by  his  son,  Duke  Christian,  who  was  an  enthusias- 
tic suj)porter  of  the  Lutheran  church  reform.  Many  nobles  also 
joined  the  movement,  as  they  hoped  to  profit  by  the  secularization 
of  the  monasteries,  and  the  confiscation  of  church  propert>-.  In 
the  country  districts  they  had  already  begun  to  take  possession  of 
estiites  belonging  to  the  church,  as  the  religious  enthusiasm  grew 
ever  more  fervid.  In  1530  the  citizens  of  Copenhagen  submitted 
their  Lutheran  confession  to  a  diet  assembled  in  the  city  ;  the  Lady's 
church  was  broken  open,  and  its  altiirs  and  paintings  were  destroyed. 
Even  before  King  Frederick  I.  i)assed  away  in  I'VS.l,  the  Catholic 
Church  in  Deiunark  was  crumbling  into  ruins  before  the  victorious 
assault  of  this  new  intellectual  and  spiritual  force. 

19.   Tin:  Count's  War.     Chri.stian  III. 

Frederick  1.  had  been  placed  on  the  throne  by  the  nobles,  whose 
support  he  had  won  by  liberal  concessions,  but  religimis  strife  and 
social  discontent  had  piled  high  the  easily  ignited  fuel  of  discord, 


128  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

which  at  any  moment  might  blaze  forth  into  a  general  conflagra- 
tion. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  election  of  a  new  king  was  a  matter 
causing  great  concern.  The  majority  of  the  nobility  supported  Duke 
Christian,  the  oldest  son  of  Frederick  I.,  but  as  he  was  a  Lutheran, 
he  was  opposed  by  a  strong  Catholic  party  led  by  the  clergy,  who 
favored  King  Frederick's  younger  son  Hans,  while  the  merchants 
and  the  peasants,  who  were  sorely  oppressed  by  the  nobility,  wished 
to  place  the  imprisoned  Christian  II.  on  the  throne.  Ambrosius 
Bogbinder,  Mayor  of  Copenhagen,  and  Jiirgen  Kock,  Mayor  of  Malmo, 
the  leaders  of  this  party,  allied  themselves  with  Liibeck,  where  the 
leader  of  the  common  people,  Jiirgen  Wullenwever,  had  been 
elected  mayor.  When  the  Council  assembled  in  Copenhagen,  1533, 
to  elect  a  king,  little  hope  could  be  entertained  of  an  agreement,  and 
many  important  questions  awaited  settlement.  Whether  Lutheran- 
ism  or  Calvinism  should  be  the  future  religion  in  Denmark,  whether 
the  union  with  Norway  should  be  maintained,  whether  Denmark 
should  take  the  side  of  Liibeck  or  of  Holland  in  the  struggle  for 
supremacy  in  the  Baltic,  were  among  questions  to  be  considered. 
As  none  of  the  candidates  for  the  throne  could  be  chosen,  the  election 
of  king  was  postponed  until  the  following  year,  but  the  disputes  were 
violent,  especially  regarding  the  question  of  religion.  Hans  Tausen 
was  summoned  before  the  Council  and  sentenced  to  death,  but  the 
sentence  could  not  be  executed,  because  the  angry  populace  threatened 
to  mob  the  Catholic  prelates,  and  the  persecution  of  the  Lutherans, 
which  was  set  on  foot,  stranded  on  the  people's  determined  resistance. 
As  to  the  question  of  supporting  Liibeck  or  Holland,  the  Council 
decided  in  favor  of  Holland.  Wullenwever,  who  hoped  to  save 
Liibeck's  commercial  prestige  by  gaining  power  and  influence  in 
Denmark,  was  keeping  his  fleet  ready,  awaiting  the  decision,  and  he 
immediately  sent  an  army  of  mercenaries  into  Holstein  in  command 
of  Count  Christopher  of  Oldenburg.  Owing  to  this  circumstance,  this 
war  for  naval  and  commercial  supremacy,  of  succession,  and  re- 
ligious party  strife  is  generally  known  as  the  "Count's  War."  Count 
Christopher  quickly  seized  Seeland,  Sk§,ne,  and  the  Danish  islands. 
The  people  of  Jutland  rose  against  their  lords,  burned  their  residences, 
and  proclaimed  Christian  II.  king.     Under  these  circumstances  the 


II  TlIK    count's    war.       CIIIUSTIAN    III  129 

Council  again  us.senil)le(l  and  cliose  Diikc  ( "liristijin  kiiij;,  hut  it 
might  now  be  ii  {jiiestiou  if  tlioy  had  a  throne  to  oiler  him.  If  he 
wished  to  ride,  he  had  to  win  his  l<ing(h)m  from  his  ojjponciits.  Chris- 
tian 111.  rf>nhit(I.\-  took  uj)  thefij^ht.  As  Duke  of  (lottorji  he  could 
rely  on  the  support  of  tlie  nohles  of  llolstein,  who  wished  to  heconie 
masters  of  Dennuirk.  His  general,  Joim  Uantzan,  defeated  the 
peasants  in  Jutland,  and  crushed  the  forces  of  the  Lul)eekers  in  Fyen, 
while  I*eder  Skram,  tlie  Danish  naval  connnaiidcr,  <lestroyed  the 
Liiheck  fleet.' 

King  (iusta\-  \'asa  of  Sweden,  who  was  a  hrother-iii-law  and  ally  of 
Chri-stian  111.,  aided  hiin  in  hriiiuing  Sk3,ne  to  suhmi.ssion.  Copen- 
hagen was  invested  from  all  sides,  and  after  a  long  siege,  the  city  was 
forced  to  surrender  in  the  sunnner  of  I'viii.-  The  Lul)eckers  had  lost 
their  control  of  the  Baltic,  the  Lutheran  party  had  triumi)hed,  and 
the  nohles  had  cru^licd  the  ui)rising  of  the  peasants,  who  were  now 
wholly  subjected  to  the  tender  mercies  of  their  angry  lords. 

The  situation  in  Dennnirk  might  have  been  an  ojiportunity  for 
Norway  to  establish  her  independence,  but  the  people  lacketl  organiza- 
tion and  leaders.  Archbishop  Olav  summoned  a  general  council  of 
the  noi)Ies  and  common  people  at  Bud  in  Romsdal,  153:^,'  but  his 
political  i)restige  was  gone,  the  religious  situation  nnide  it  imi)ossil)le 
for  him  to  unite  the  people  politically,  and  the  castles  of  the  kingdom 
were  in  the  hands  of  Duke  Christian's  adherents.  Vincence  Lunge 
and  Archbishoj)  Olav,  who  were  divided  both  by  religious  and  political 
views,  could  not  agree  to  cast  their  country's  lot  with  either  i)arty, 
or  to  disregard  both  and  set  nj)  a  national  governnieiit.     Tlie  areh- 

'  An  iiocoimt  of  tlu>  naval  war  written  hy  ^^arx  von  Selileytz.  founii  in 
[He  crsten  dtutsclun  Zcititm/rn,  p.  IKi  (Munchen  lil)r!iry),  has  been  pub- 
lished hy  Profos.sor  Ludvit,'  D;uie  in  IIistori.sk  Tiilsskrifl,  forste  ni>kke,  vol. 
III.,  p.  447  ff.  C.  PahKhui-Miiller,  anvcns  Friilr,  I.,  ISO  fT.  ;  II..  1S4  IT. 
O.  Waitz,  Liibcck  untcr  Jiirycn  Wullcnwcvcr.  Joh.  Gruniitviir.  .Vv«  Iii<lr<uj 
til  Sdmnytem  Hislorie  i  Grcvens  Fcide,  Danskc  Magasin,  fjerch-  nekke.  III., 
Bidrng  lil  Oplynniiig  om  Crcvcfeiditis  Tid. 

*Tho  sioRo  of  Copenhagen  lasted  over  a  yi'ar.  and  is  one  of  the  most 
noted  siepes  in  history.  See  Ludvijj  Daae.  (hn  Kjofuuhavn.i  OrcrgiveUe, 
Hislorisk  Tidsskrifl,  fi<rstt>  nekke.  vol.  III.,  p.  UV-i  tT. 

»  Ynjrvar  XielstMi,    Ihl   iiorskr    Ix'igsradd.   p.  :iSO  fT.      Diplotnntariutn   \nr- 
wcgicum,  IV..  101.     (\  Paludan-MuUcr.  Gnnus  Fridr.  II..  p.  47  f.       T.  H. 
Aschehoug,  Slatsforfatningcn  i  Norgc  og  Daumnrk  iiidtil  IS14,  P-  319,  349. 
VOL.  II  —  K 


130  HI8T0RY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

bishop  passively  watched  developments.  He  was  in  favor  of  Count 
Frederick  of  the  Palatinate,  who  had  married  Dorothea,  a  daughter 
of  Christian  II.,  but  he  did  not  venture  to  espouse  his  cause  openly. 
Vincence  Lunge  would  recognize  Duke  Christian  in  the  hope  that  a 
charter  might  be  secured  which  would  guarantee  Norwegian  autonomy. 
He  assembled  a  few  councilors  from  southern  Norway  in  Oslo,  and 
these  formally  elected  Duke  Christian  king  of  Norway.  To  the 
document  declaring  his  election  they  attached  the  condition  that "  his 
royal  majesty  shall  preserve  to  us  and  to  the  kingdom  all  Christian 
blessings,  liberties,  privileges,  laws,  and  lawful  customs,  according 
to  the  charter  granted  by  Frederick  I."  This  charter  should  remain 
in  force  until  King  Christian  III.  should  come  to  Norway  to  negotiate 
with  the  Council  and  grant  a  new  charter,  whereupon  he  should  be 
crowned  king  of  Norway.^  This  proceeding  was  irregular  and  un- 
lawful, but  it  was,  no  doubt,  the  wisest  policy,  as  subsequent  events 
proved.  But  the  unfortunate  quarrel  between  Lunge  and  the 
archbishop  had  flared  up  with  new  violence  which  made  all  coop- 
eration impossible.  Nils  Lykke,  Vincence  Lunge's  brother-in-law, 
was  married  to  Lady  Inger's  daughter  Eline.  She  died  in  1532,  and 
her  youngest  sister,  Lucie,  undertook  to  manage  the  household  for 
her  brother-in-law.  He  became  enamored  of  the  young  lady,  and 
wanted  to  marry  her,  but  the  Catholic  Church  regarded  such  a  mar- 
riage incestuous,  and  Vincence  Lunge,  Lady  Inger,  and  other  relatives 
opposed  the  match.  Archbishop  Olav  was  for  a  time  disposed  to  view 
it  favorably,  but  when  Lucie  in  1535  gave  birth  to  a  son,  he  could  no 
longer  shield  the  unfortunate  lovers.  He  caused  Nils  Lykke  to  be 
imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Steinviksholm,  where  the  ill-fated 
noble  was  smoked  to  death.  Lucie  was  later  married  to  the  Swedish 
nobleman  Jens  Tillufson  Bjelke,  who  became  owner  of  0straat,  and 
the  forbear  of  a  large  and  distinguished  family.^ 

At  Christmas  time,  1535,  the  election  of  king  was  again  to  be  con- 

1  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  XV.,  no.  506  ff.  Archbishop  Olav  sanc- 
tioned the  election  in  a  letter  to  Bishop  Hans  Reff  and  Vincence  Lunge. 
Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  XIT.,  no.  555.  C.  Paludan-Miiller,  Aktsiykker  til 
Grevens  Feide,  II.,  no.  30,  32,  37,  40-42,  40.     Norske  Rigsregistranter,  I.,  p.  43  f. 

^  Axel  .Johannessen,  0steraat  Herrescede.  Fru  Inger  til  Austraat  og  hendes 
Dfilre,  ved  Henrik  Mathiesen.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  IV., 
I.,  p.  6  s.     T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Stalsforfatningen  i  Norge  og  Danmark,  p.  349  f. 


I'LATK    111 


OolUAAl. 


Ri  INS  OK  Stkinviksmoi.m   ('\-T1.K 


II  THE  COUNT  8   WAR.      CHRISTIAN   III  l.'U 

sidered  at  a  council  in  Trondlijem,  where  soiiie  of  the  councilors 
from  southern  Nonvay  were  present.  Cliristian  III.  liad  also  asked 
for  a  tax  which  was  to  he  votecl,  and  tlie  peoj^le  of  the  nei;;hl)orinK 
(hstricts  hud  been  as.senihled,  for  the  purjjose,  undoiihtedl.\',  of  givinj; 
their  consent  to  whatever  the  Council  miglit  do.  But  they  became 
anjjry  and  refiisi'<l  to  a^rce.  Wild  tumults  foilitwed.  Vincence  Lun^e 
was  killed,  and  the  bishops  of  Oslo  and  llaniar  were  imprisoned  in 
Tautra  monastery.'  Thereby  the  Norwegian  Council  was  practi- 
cally destroyed.  Archbishop  Olav  had  now  no  choice  but  to  act. 
Since  Vincence  Lunge's  policy  had  been  siiattercd,  no  alternative 
remained  l)ut  the  abrogation  of  the  act  of  the  union  with  Denmark,  a 
resolute  attempt  to  gain  possession  of  the  fortresses  of  the  country, 
and  the  election  of  Count  PVederick  as  king  of  Norway.  Tliis  plan 
was  not  a  makesliift,  but  an  ideal,  for  which  the  greatest  sacrifices 
might  well  be  made.  But  Archbishop  Olav  was  wholly  unfit  to  be  a 
leader  in  a  struggle  of  that  nature,  and  he  failed  to  take  into  account 
his  al)solute  lack  of  preijaration,  organization,  or  resources.  He  di.s- 
])atchetl  Einar  Tjeld  with  a  small  force  to  take  Akershus,  and  Christo- 
pher Trondss0n  was  to  seize  Bergen,  but  both  attempts  failed,  and 
the  national  uprising  collapsed  utterly.  Archbishop  Olav  lost 
courage,  lil)eratc(l  those  who  had  been  iniprisoncHl,  offered  to  recog- 
nize Christian  III.  as  king  of  Norway,  and  to  assemble  a  general 
council  to  elect  him,  if  pardon  would  be  granted  for  the  uprising. 

After  the  fall  of  Copenhagen  King  Christian  was  undisputed  lord 
of  Denmark.  By  a  coup  d'etat  the  old  constitution  of  the  kingdom 
was  destroyed,  many  councilors  were  turned  out  of  the  Council, 
and  all  political  power  was  taken  away  from  the  bishops.-  A  diet 
was  asseinl)led  at  Copenhagen,  where  a  new  constitution  was  formu- 
lated, according  to  which  the  kingdom  was  to  be  go\erned  by  the 
king,  the  Council,  and  the  nobility,  and  the  Lutheran  faith  was  formally 
accepted  as  the  religion  of  the  realm.  These  measures  could  iuive  no 
force  in  Norway,  which  was  still  an  independent  kingdom,  unittnl 
with  Deinnark  on  stipulated  terms,  but  a  paragraph  was,  none  the 
less,  iiisertcd  in  the  charterwhich  the  kinggranted  the  Danish  nobility. 

'  Ynpjvjir  Xiolson,  Del  norske  Rigsraad,  3.S2  (T.  T.  II.  Aschrboug,  ^IntS' 
forfntniiif/t »  i  Xori/c  otj  Duuintirk  indlil  ISL',,  p.  370. 

*  Arilil  Iluitfoldt,  Danmarks  Rigcs  Krpuikc,  II.,  p.  1480  IT. 


132  HISTORY   OF  THE    NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

in  which  he  boldly  asserts  his  intention  of  making  Norway  a  province 
of  the  Danish  kingdom.  Norway  was  to  be  treated  as  a  conquered 
country,  and  no  attention  would  be  paid  to  the  documents  guarantee- 
ing its  autonomy.  He  says  :  "  Since  the  kingdom  of  Norway  is  now 
so  far  reduced  in  might  and  power  that  the  inhabitants  are  not  able 
to  support  a  king  and  lord  alone,  and  this  same  kingdom  is  united 
with  Denmark  forever,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Norwegian  Coun- 
cil, and  especially  Archbishop  Olav  Engelbrektsson,  now  the  leading 
man  in  that  kingdom,  has  within  a  short  time,  with  the  greater  part 
of  the  Norwegian  Council,  risen  against  the  kingdom  of  Denmark, 
contrary  to  their  own  pledges,  therefore  we  have  promised  the  Danish 
kingdom.  Council,  and  nobility,  that  if  God  Almighty  has  so  ordained 
that  we  gain  the  power  over  Norway,  or  any  of  its  provinces,  castles, 
or  syssels,  which  belong  to  it,  that  it  shall  henceforth  be  and  remain 
under  the  crown  of  Denmark,  the  same  as  any  of  the  other  provinces, 
Jutland,  Fyen,  Seeland,  or  Skane,  and  it  shall  henceforth  not  be 
called  a  kingdom,  but  a  province  of  the  kingdom  of  Denmark,  and 
subject  to  the  Danish  crown  forever."  ^  This  was  language  which 
could  not  be  misunderstood.  Norway  would  have  to  accept  the  con- 
ditions dictated  by  Denmark.  In  a  letter  of  March  5,  1536,  the 
king  threatens  that  if  the  Norwegians  venture  any  uprising,  they 
may  be  sure  that  he  will  send  large  numbers  of  warriors,  both  mounted 
and  foot  soldiers,  and  cause  them  to  be  punished  as  disobedient  sub- 
jects, who  resist  their  rightful  king  and  lord,  and  that  they  must  con- 
sider what  injury  and  ruin  will  befall  all  the  inhabitants  if  a  number 

'  T.  H.  Aschehoug,   Statsforfatningen  i  Norge  og   Danmark,   p.  351  f. 

R.  Nyerup  says  of  this  article  of  the  charter :  *>'  By  this  article  in  the 
charter,  the  signal  was  given  from  above  for  that  system  of  oppression 
which  lensmcend,  fogeds,  clergymen,  and  other  subaltern  despots  continued 
to  practice  in  this  and  the  succeeding  reign,  and  which  became  so  well  rooted 
that  it  helped  little  or  nothing  that  the  people  continually  complained  of 
extortion  and  wTongs,  and  that  the  kings  from  time  to  time  by  charters, 
laws,  and  regulations  sought  to  limit  the  numerous  abuses  and  vexations." 
Hislorisk-statislisk  Skildring  af  Tilslanden  i  Danmark  og  Norge  i  oeldre  og 
nyere  Tider,  vol.  I.,  p.  319. 

How  the  union  with  Denmark  was  regarded  by  some  people  in  Norway 
in  later  years  can  be  seen  from  a  letter  to  P.  F.  Suhm,  where  the  writer  says : 
"About  the  Kalmar  union  no  Norwegian  cares  to  read  anything.  It  is  the 
source  of  all  later  misfortunes."  P.  F.  Suhm,  Samlede  Skrifter,  part  XV.. 
p.  358.     Arild  Huitfeldt,  Danmarks  Riges  Kr^nike,  II.,  p.  1316  f. 


II  THE   count's    \VAI{.      CHRISTIAN    III  133 

of  soldiers  enter  tlu-  kiii;,'(|()iu  to  rol).  munlcr,  and  nsc  all  stjrts  of 
tyranny,  and  liow  good  it  is  to  live  in  peace  and  (luict.  That  Chris- 
tian III.  iiiej^aily  nsnri)ed  tiie  j)<)\ver  in  Norway  must  ha\e  heen  mani- 
fest to  all.  He  was  not  lawfully  elected  kinj;.  for  as  Norway  was  an 
elective  sovereij^n  kin^^iom,  neither  \w.  nor  tlie  Danes  had  a  right  to 
determine  who  should  he  placed  on  the  Norwegian  throne.  Arch- 
bishcjp  Olav  watched  developments  closely,  but  as  he  could  see  no 
ray  of  hope,  nothing  remained  for  him  hut  to  seek  safety  in  flight. 
He  gathered  what  money  he  could  find,  seized  the  treasures  of  the 
churches,  and  brought  them  on  board  his  ships,  and  on  Ai)ril  1,  1537, 
the  little  fleet,  carrying  the  archljishop  and  his  goods  and  archives, 
left  Nidaros  for  the  Netherlands,  where  Olav  spent  his  remain- 
ing years.'  The  garrisons  of  Steinviksholm  ca.stle  and  Xidarholm 
monastery  surrendered  without  mucli  resistance  to  Truid  I'lfstand 
whom  King  Christian  had  tlispatched  to  Trondhjeni.  After  the 
archbishop's  flight,  Ulfstand  marched  to  Ilamar,  where  he  seized 
Bishop  Mogens,  and  carried  him  as  prisoner  to  Denmark,  where  he 
died  in  1542.- 

Christian  III.  was  never  elected  king  of  Norwa.\'  in  a  regular  way. 
No  charter  was  issued  defining  the  relation  of  the  two  kingdoms, 
and  he  never  came  to  Norway  to  receive  tiie  homage  of  the  Norwegian 
peoj)Ie.  He  regarded  the  two  kingdoms  as  so  intimately  and  per- 
manently unitetl  that  the  election  to  the  throne  of  Denmark  maile 
him  legitimate  ruler  of  both  realms.  Norvv'ay  had  lost  her  autonomy, 
but  the  Norwegian  peo|)le  knew  notliing  of  the  paragraph  inserte<l 
in  the  Danish  charter,  and  scarcely  realized  that  any  change  had 
taken  place,  save  that  a  new  king  had  ascended  the  throne.^     The 

'  Tlie  arcliivcs  iind  valuahles  which  -Vrchbishop  Olav  carriivl  with  liiin 
from  Xorway  occasionecl  protracted  disputos.  In  1.'>4.S  tliese  articles  came 
into  th(<  possession  of  Count  Fre(l(>rick  of  the  Pahitinato.  Tho  arohives 
wort'  transferred  to  Ileidelbere.  and  have  at  lonj^th  been  returned  to  the 
Norwj'jjian  f^ovornment.  Dipluiiuitarium  A'orwigiruin,  V..  no.  1()90  ff. 
Ludvig  Daae,  Norsk  Manncdsskrift,  I.,  p.  270.  Hcnr.  Mathio.sen,  Strin- 
viksholm  Slot  og  dels  Byghcrre. 

*  Hatnars  licskrivdse  af  looSeller  165S.  Soo  articles  ftbout  this  ehronicle  by 
Ludvip:  Daae  and  Oustav  Storm,  Ifislonxk  Tidsskrift.  tredie  nokko.  vol.  I. 

'  T.  IT.  AschehouK.  Slnlsforfatningin  i  Norgc  og  Danmork,  p.  343.  Arild 
Huitfeldt.  DunmarkH  liigcs  Kr^nikc,  p.  ItOl.  L.  M.  B.  Aubert.  \orges 
folkcrctsligc  Slilling. 


134  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

Norwegian  Council  disappeared,  though  it  was  not  formally  aboHshed, 
and  the  Danish  Council  assumed  the  power  of  acting  for  both  realms. 
But  since  Norway  had  submitted  to  Christian  III.  almost  without 
resistance,  he  did  not  carry  out  the  threat  contained  in  the  mentioned 
article  inserted  in  the  charter.  Norway  continued  to  be  styled  a 
kingdom  equal  with  Denmark.  It  retained  its  old  laws  and  its 
chancellor,  and  its  administration,  which  was  kept  separate  from 
that  of  Denmark,  was  carried  on  in  the  old  way  with  as  little  direct 
interference  from  the  Danish  authorities  as  possible.  Christian  III. 
might  easily  have  established  the  hereditary  principle  in  Norway, 
and  thereby  have  strengthened  his  throne,  but  he  lacked  the  states- 
manlike foresight  to  do  so.^ 

20.    The  Reformation  in  Norway 

The  overthrow  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Denmark  was,  quite 
naturally,  followed  by  a  like  change  in  Norway,  where  its  power  was, 
if  possible,  even  more  hopelessly  shattered.  Some  of  the  bishoprics 
were  vacant,  and  others  had  been  vacated  through  the  flight  or  im- 
prisonment of  the  bishops.  The  Lutheran  Church  was  established 
in  Norway  as  a  state  church,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  the  Lutheran 
king.  The  Danish  church  ordinance  of  1537,  which  was  written  with 
the  assistance  of  Luther's  friend  and  fellow-reformer,  John  Bugen- 
hagen,  became  the  temporary  constitution  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  Norway,  though  the  king  had  promised  to  give  the  Norwegian 
church  a  separate  ordinance,  in  which  due  consideration  would  be 
paid  to  local  conditions.  The  priests  should  be  allowed  to  remain  in 
their  charges,  but  the  Catholic  bishops  were  removed,  and  superin- 
tendents, or  Lutheran  bishops,  were  appointed  to  supervise  the  ref- 
ormation of  the  doctrines  of  the  church.     Geble  Pederss0n,  a  native 

*  R.  Keyser,  Den  norske  Kirkes  Historie  under  Katholicismen,  p.  830. 

The  Danish  flag  "Danebrog,"  a  white  cross  in  a  red  field,  became  the 
official  flag  of  both  kingdoms.  The  Norwegian  flag,  a  banner  with  a  golden 
lion  in  a  red  field,  seems  to  have  been  used  on  the  castles  and  fortresses  of 
Norway  in  the  sixteenth  century,  possibly  also  on  Norwegian  ships,  but 
the  Danish  flag  was  used  on  the  fleet,  and  became  the  flag  of  Norway  during 
the  period  of  union  with  Denmark.  Yng^var  Nielsen,  Norges  Historie,  vol. 
v.,  p.  21. 


U  THE  REFORMATION   IN   NORWAY  135 

of  Helgeland  (Haalogalandj  in  northern  Norway,  was  app^)intcd 
superintendent  of  the  diocese  of  Bergen,  as  already  stated,  and  the 
Danish  churcli  ordinance  was  accepted  at  the  Oslo  lagthing  for  the 
dioceses  of  Oslo  and  llanuir  in  l.^i'J, '  hut  some  time  passed  before 
superintendents  were  appointed  for  all  the  Norwegian  dioceses.' 
The  estates  which  had  hitherto  belonged  to  the  Catholic  bishops 
were  confiscated,  one-half  of  the  income  from  the  tithes  was  paid  to 
the  crown,  and  the  secularization  of  the  monasteries,  which  had  been 
begun  by  Christian  II.,  was  continued  by  Christian  111.  In  l')o^)  it 
is  mentioned  as  com[)lete<l.  The  property  of  the  monasteries  had 
been  seized  by  the  crown,  and  after  1502  the  last  traces  of  Norwegian 
monks  disappear.'  The  valuables  belonging  to  the  Norwegian 
churches  and  monasteries  were  seize<I  and  carried  to  Denmark. 
The  king  in.structed  Eske  Bilde  to  see  to  it  that  nothing  was  removed 
"of  chalices,  plates,  monstrances,  jewels,  silver,  gilt  tablets,  and 
other  such  things  which  are  and  remain  in  churches  and  monasteries, 
that  it  may  all  be  preservtHJ,  and  thereby  have  due  care  for  our  in- 
terest and  welfare."  *  In  a  second  letter  he  instructs  Eske  to  collect 
"articles  of  gilt  copper  belonging  to  churches  and  monasteries, 
whether  they  be  basreliefs,  candlesticks,  or  the  like,  and  forward 
them  to  Denmark."^  This  kind  of  "preservation"  was  carried  out 
so  thoroughly  that  there  was  scarcely  left  sufficient  of  the  .sacred 
articles  for  the  communion  service.  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis  (born 
1545)  writes :  "  But  it  is  to  be  regretted,  and  it  is  not  praiseworthy, 
that  at  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  the  Evangelical  faith  they  did 
not  only  take  away  from  the  churches  and  monasteries  the  articles 
of  gokl  and  silver,  and  other  treasures  which  were  used  in  the  Catholic 
service,  together  with  vestments  and  other  such  things,  but  they 
wantonly  destroyed  tilings  from  which  they  could  derive  no  benefit; 

'  Diplomatarium  Norwegicxim,  I.,  no.  1091. 

'The  first  Lutheran  bi.shop  of  Trondhjeni,  Th<)rl)j0rii  Ohiv.sson  Bratt, 
was  appointed  in  l.'>40.  Of  the  first  four  Lutheran  sup(>rintendont8  three 
were  Norwejjian.s ;  i.e.  Thorbjrtrn  Olavsson  Bratt,  of  Trondhjem,  Oeble 
Peders.siJn,  of  Bergon,  nnd  Jon  (Juttormsson.  of  Stavangor;  while  Hans  Reff, 
of  Oslo-IIaniar,  wa.s  a  Dane. 

'  R.  Keyser,  Dci\  tinrskc  Kirka  Hinlorie  umhr  Kathnlicitmen,  p.  834  ff. 
Chr.  C.  A.  I.rfinge.  Dc  norskc  Kloslres  Historic  i  MitUidnl'ierrn,  p.  174  fl. 

*  Diplomatarium  Norwegicum,  IIL,  no.  1147.  *  Ibid.,  L,  no.  1057. 


136  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

they  tore  down  buildings,  and  needlessly  burned  valuable  books 
and  letters,  and  destroyed  the  ornaments  and  decorations  of  the 
churches,  making  God's  houses  cheerless  and  barren,  which  they 
might  well  have  left  undone,  nor  did  they  derive  any  benefit  there- 
from." ^  As  a  further  illustration  of  this  kind  of  vandaHsm  may  be 
especially  mentioned  the  spoliation  of  the  great  national  sanctuary 
of  St.  Olav  at  Trondhjem.^  The  remains  of  the  saint  were  incased  in  a 
triple  coffin,  the  inner  of  gilt  silver,  the  others  of  wood  richly  studded 
with  jewels,  the  outer  being  the  ornamented  cover  over  the  real 
coffin.  When  Archbishop  Olav  left  Trondhjem,  he  placed  the 
remains  of  the  saint  in  the  middle  coffin,  and  carried  the  other  two 
with  him  to  Steinviksholm  castle,  w^here  he  left  them  when  he  fled 
from  the  kingdom.  The  Danish  general  Ulf stand,  who  captured 
the  castle,  did  not  return  them  to  Trondhjem,  but  sent  them  to  Den- 
mark for  the  profit  of  the  royal  treasury. 

While  the  king  and  his  assistants  chiefly  devoted  their  attention 
to  the  pecuniary  benefit  which  they  might  derive  from  the  overthrow 
of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Norway,  the  reform  movement  itself  was 
making  slow  progress.  The  few  Lutheran  bishops,  who  had  been 
appointed  to  superintend  the  introduction  of  the  new  doctrine,  could 
not  reach  the  masses  of  the  people,  who  were  as  yet  scarcely  aware 
that  a  change  had  been  made.  The  Reformation,  which  in  other  lands 
came  as  a  great  spiritual  awakening,  was  suddenly  forced  upon  the 
Norwegian  people  by  royal  edict,  hence  it  caused  no  new  intellectual 
awakening,  no  spiritual  regeneration.  It  was  an  affair  of  state  to 
which  the  people  finally  yielded  a  more  or  less  wilhng  consent.  A  few 
Lutheran  priests  and  a  number  of  Danish  Bibles  were  sent  to  Norway, 
but  nothing  was  done  to  provide  instruction  for  the  people,  or  even  to 
maintain  the  schools  which  already  existed.  Previous  to  the  Ref- 
ormation each  cathedral  had  its  school  where  students  were  pre- 
pared to  pursue  their  studies  at  foreign  universities,  and  the  chapters 
supported  a  number  of  students  who  studied  abroad.  But  shortly 
after  the  introduction  of  the  Reformation,  one  of  these  schools,  the 
Hamar  cathedral  school,  was  discontinued,  and  the  prebends  of  the 

1  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  Samlede  Skrifter,  p.  350. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  351  ff.     Ludvig  Daae,  Et  nordtysk  Sagn   om   Olav  den  helliges 
Ligkisie,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  f0rste  raekke,  vol.  I.,  p.  141  flf. 


II  THE    HEF(JUMATION    IN    NORWAY  137 

cathetlral  from  which  thty  (krive<l  their  income  were  seize<i  by  the 
kinj,',  who  used  the  revenues  derixc^l  from  tlicin  to  pay  Danish  cour- 
tiers and  ecck'siastics.'  As  a  result  tlie  chapters  were  no  longer  al^le 
to  keej)  students  at  the  universities,  and  after  tiie  old  priests  die<l  or 
l)eeame  unahle  to  serve,  there  was  a  <iej)lorahle  want  even  of  ministers 
of  the  gosi)el.  Lutheran  ministers  had  to  be  sent  from  Denmark,  but 
the  peo|)U'  chiii^  to  the  old  faith,  and  the  new  ministers  were  j^enerally 
ill-treated,  and  not  a  few  were  killed.-  I'eder  riauss0n  Friis,  clergy- 
man in  riidnl,  in  .Stavanj,'er  .v^;/<  (156G-1614),  writes:  "But  at  the 
time  when  the  old  bishops  in  these  kirif^doms  were  dismis.seil,  and  the 
reli<:ion  was  altered  and  changed,  and  the  pure  word  of  God,  which 
had  long  been  ob.scured  by  falsehood  and  human  invention,  was 
again  restored,  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  were  so  displeased  that 
they  were  filled  with  spite  and  hatrtnl  towards  the  Protestant  clergy- 
men and  the  whole  ministry.^  The  tithes  were  not  fully  or  regularly 
paid,  and  in  some  districts  the  people  offered  the  gov^ernment  large 
sums  of  money  if  they  would  be  left  without  ministers  for  some 
years."  *  The  first  effect  of  the  introduction  of  the  new  teaching  was 
a  general  deterioration  of  public  morals,  while  papistical  super- 
stitions continued  to  live  for  centuries.  Crucifixes  and  j)ictures  of 
saints  were  believed  to  j)ossess  healing  qualities,  and  receive  adora- 
tion which  was  akin  to  worship.  Pilgrimages  were  made  to  them 
from  far  away.  Even  as  late  as  1835  j)ilgrimages  were  made  to  a 
crucifix  in  R0ldal.'' 

The  dioceses  of  Oslo  and  ITamar  were  united  under  the  snperinten- 
dency  of  the  ().~.lo  bishop,  Hans  llefF,  who  had  accepted  the  Lutheran 
faith.  The  ablest  and  in  every  way  the  worthiest  of  the  early  Lu- 
theran superintendents  in  Norway  was  Geble  Pederss0n  in  Bergen. 
He  was  a  devoted  Lutheran,  and  exercised  a  true  reformatory  activity 

'J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigl  over  den  norske  Historie,  III.,  p.  302  fT.  Xorskc  Rigs- 
rcgislrnnfer,  I.,  p.  242  (T. 

*  PodiT  Claus.s0n  Friis,  Snjnlede  Skriftvr,  p.  235.  Liidvip  Diuu<,  Norske 
Bygdvsiujn,  I.,  p.  05.  \'ilh.  Poulscn,  FortaUinger  of  Xorgt.t  llislorie.  III., 
p.  1()2.      Xorskf  Sdwliiujvr,  I.,  p.  10. 

'  Poder  Chiusson  Friis,  Samledc  Skrifler,  p.  221.  Oiistav  Storm,  Om  Peder 
Clauitsdn  Friis  og  funis  Skrifler,  introthiction  to  Samlrdc  Skriftcr  of  Peder 
CIniissdn  Friis.  *  Podor  Clausson  Friis,  Samlede  Skrifler.  p.  235. 

*  Vilh.  Poulson.  Forln-Uinger  af  Norges  Historie,  III.,  p.  102.  L.  Daae, 
Norske  Bygdcsagn,  Rdldals  Kirkc. 


138  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

in  his  diocese.  He  sought  to  secure  Lutheran  clergymen  for  the 
various  parishes,  and  founded  the  Latin  school  at  Bergen,  which  de- 
veloped under  his  supervision  to  become  an  efficient  institution  of 
learning  according  to  the  new  humanistic  ideas.  Efficient  teachers 
were  secured,  and  new  buildings  were  erected  through  Geble's  eflForts. 
He  sent  students  to  Copenhagen,  Rostock,  and  Wittenberg,  among 
others  Absalon  Pederss0n,  whom  he  kept  at  the  University  of  Copen- 
hagen, and  later  at  Wittenberg,  at  his  own  expense.  On  his  return 
Absalon  Pederss0n  became  clergyman  and  teacher  at  the  Latin 
school  in  Bergen,  where  he  labored  with  great  distinction  till  his 
death  in  1574.^ 

The  new  principles  which  had  been  introduced  by  the  Reformation 
even  in  church  administration,  though  not  immediately  beneficial, 
proved  an  important  factor  in  the  future  development.  According 
to  the  church  ordinance  issued  by  Christian  IH.,  the  bishops,  or  super- 
intendents, should  be  elected  by  the  parish  priests  of  the  cities  of  the 
diocese.  When  a  vacancy  occurred,  the  priests  of  the  cities  within  the 
diocese  should  assemble  and  elect  four  of  their  number  to  choose  a 
new  bishop.  The  bishop  elect  should  be  examined  by  the  nearest 
bishop,  and  the  election  should  be  sanctioned  by  the  king.  The 
parish  priests  should  be  chosen  by  the  members  of  the  parish.  The 
parishioners  should  choose  seven  of  their  number,  who  should  elect 
"a  pious  and  learned  man  to  be  a  parish  priest."  He  should  be 
examined  by  the  bishop,  and  the  election  should  be  sanctioned  by 
the  lensherre.  In  each  parish  there  should  also  be  a  deacon,  who 
should  give  the  children  instruction  in  the  Cliristian  doctrine,  help 
the  minister  to  sing,  ring  the  church  bells,  keep  the  church  clean,  and 
render  other  services;  but  no  provision  was  made  for  paying  the 
deacon  for  his  services,  and  the  plan  suggested  was  not  carried  into 
effect.  In  1552  the  king  made  the  provision  that  of  the  lands  be- 
longing to  the  church  a  farm  (gaard)  should  be  set  aside  for  the  deacon, 
and  in  the  church  ordinance  of  Christian  IV.  more  specific  provisions 
were  made  with  regard  to  the  service  and  pay  of  these  officers.  A 
special  tax  (klokkertolden)  was  to  be  paid  to  the  deacon  for  his  support, 
and  he  should  instruct  the  young  people  in  the  catechism  and  the 

1  Norske  Samlinger,  I.,  p.  3  ff.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Af  Norges  Historic, 
De  norske  Humanister,  I.,  p.  115  fif. 


II  THE   REFORMATION   IS  ICELAND  139 

Christian  religion  once  a  week  at  such  a  time  and  place  as  the  parish 
priest  should  desi^Miate.  The  deacon  was  appointed  hy  the  parish 
priest  with  the  advice  of  the  provost,  and  with  the  consent  of  six  of  the 
leading  men  in  the  parish.  This  was  the  first  ^erm  of  the  Nor- 
wegian i)ul)lic  school  system.  The  Uefomiation  had  given  the  people 
privileges  and  ()])|)(irtiniities  of  such  a  kind  that  they  could  only 
gradually  learn  to  understand  their  value  and  importance.^ 

If  the  Reformation  was  introduced  in  Norway  without  an  accom- 
panying change  in  the  people's  religious  views,  it  was  forced  upon  Ice- 
land in  a  manner  which  recalls  the  scenes  enacted  when  Christianity 
was  first  introduci-d  in  the  island.  The  old  spirit  and  customs  still 
lived  among  the  pe(i])l('.  and  the  two  bishops,  J6n  Aresson  of  Ilolar 
and  Agmund  Paalsson  of  Skalholt,  were  not  only  autocratic  prelates, 
but  proud  and  ambitious  chieftains,  who  l^rooked  no  resistance  or 
interference.  \'ilh.  Poulsen  says  of  them:  "Agmund,  strong  and 
ambitious,  proud,  authoritative,  willful,  unable  to  tolerate  resistance, 
munificent  to  extravagance,  resembles  in  character  and  conduct  the 
old  chieftains  rather  than  a  priest  or  bishop.  Jon  Aresson  was  a 
chieftain  to  a  still  higher  degree;  dignified  in  appearance,  charming 
in  manners,  cheerful  and  spirited  in  good  company,  but  a  firebrand 
against  his  opponents.  He  knew  no  Latin,  but  'this  mattered 
not,'  he  said,  'as  it  was  not  the  vernacular  of  the  country.'  But 
he  could  compose  a  song  whenever  he  pleased,  for  he  was  a  scald,  at 
this  time,  i)erchance,  the  best  in  the  land."  ^  The  two  bishops 
had  long  been  rivals  and  enemies.  When  they  first  met  at  the 
Althing,  Bishop  Agmund  appeared^with  a  force  of  lliOO  men,  and 
Bishop  Jon  of  Skalholt  with  901).  '^riieir  (luarrel  was  on  the  point 
of  ])recii)itating  civil  strife,  but  they  tinall\'  agrei'd  to  settle  their 
difHculty  by  a  duel  between  two  of  their  adherents.  The  enmity 
between  the  two  prelates  subsided  somewhat  on  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Reformation.  Lutheran  books  had  been  imported 
by  the  German  merchants,  who  had  carried  on  trade  with  Iceland 
since  IVM).  .]6n  Linarss(»n,  a  priest  of  Skiilholt.  had  become  a 
convert  to  the  new  doctrine  by  reading  some  of  Luther's  books,  and 

'  T.  If.  -Vschohoug,  Dc  norskc  Communcrs  Retsforfatning  fftr  tSS7,  p.  89  ff. 
*  Vilh.  PoulsoM.  Fnrlirllingrr  nf  Nnrgra  Histnrir,  IH.,  p.  \(\^  t.      R.  Kcyser, 
Den  norskc  Kirkcs  Ilislorie  under  Katholicismen,  II.,  p.  S44  ff. 


140  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Gissur  Einarsson,  whom  Bishop  Agmund  had  sent  to  school  in  Ham- 
burg, had  also  become  a  Lutheran  by  hearing  the  great  reformers  in 
Wittenberg.  In  1539  he  was  appointed  Lutheran  superintendent 
at  Skalholt,  but  he  was  successfully  opposed  by  the  blind  old  Bishop 
Agmund,  who  still  had  the  undivided  support  of  the  people.  Gissur 
saw  that  he  could  accomplish  nothing  for  the  Reformation  while 
Bishop  Agmund  lived  and  ruled  in  the  diocese.  He  reported  the  situa- 
tion to  King  Christian  HI.,  as  we  may  believe,  with  all  the  onesided- 
ness  engendered  by  intense  partisan  spirit,  and  the  king  resolved  to 
take  measures  for  the  introduction  of  the  Reformation  in  Iceland, 
which  proved  to  be  far  more  drastic  than  Christian  spirited.  He  sent 
Christopher  Huitfeldt,  the  commandant  of  Steinviksholm,  to  Iceland 
with  a  military  force.  On  his  arrival  Huitfeldt  conferred  with  Gissur 
Einarsson,  and  the  two  seem  to  have  agreed  upon  the  plan  to  be 
pursued.  The  people  were  ordered  to  bring  horses,  ostensibly  for 
the  purpose  of  transporting  goods  to  Skalholt,  but  thirteen  mounted 
men  were  immediately  dispatched  to  Hjalle,  where  Bishop  Agmund 
was  visiting  his  sister,  and  the  aged  bishop  was  seized  and  brought 
to  Huitfeldt  as  a  captive.  Deprived  of  their  leader,  the  clergy  could 
make  no  resistance.  The  Lutheran  church  ordinance  was  accepted 
in  the  diocese  of  Skalholt,  and  after  Gissur  had  paid  a  large  sum  of 
silver  from  the  diocesan  treasury  in  lieu  of  a  tax  demanded  by  the 
king,  Huitfeldt  sailed  to  Denmark,  bringing  with  him  Bishop  Agmund, 
who  died  shortly  after  his  arrival.  As  Lutheran  bishop  of  Skalholt 
Gissur  labored  diligently  to  introduce  the  Lutheran  doctrine  and  the 
new  church  service  in  southern  Iceland.  In  the  diocese  of  Holar  in 
the  northern  part,  Bishop  Jon  Aresson  still  held  sway.  The  eimiity 
between  the  two  bishops  became  very  intense,  but  an  open  clash  was 
averted  by  the  death  of  Gissur,  1548.  The  Lutherans  and  CathoUcs 
each  chose  their  own  candidates  to  succeed  Gissur,  but  the  ambitious 
Jon  Aresson,  encouraged  by  the  victories  gained  by  Emperor  Charles  V. 
over  the  Protestants  in  Germany,  thought  that  he  could  seize  the 
bishopric  and  make  himself  the  lord  of  all  Iceland.  He  marched 
against  Skalholt  with  a  hundred  armed  men,  but  timely  warning  had 
been  received,  a  force  of  three  hundred  men  had  been  gathered,  for- 
tifications had  been  constructed,  guns  were  mounted,  and  when 
Bishop  Jon  arrived,  he  was  unable  to  take  the  bishop's  residence 


II  THE    REFORMATION    IN    ICELAND  141 

by  force,  as  iiitciuU'd.  IJut  .loii  Art-ssoii  was  too  iimcli  of  a  chieftain 
of  the  (»l(l  school  to  yield  because  his  plan  had  been  foiled.  In  1549 
he  t()(jk  the  Lutheran  bishoj),  Martin  of  Skalholt,  prisoner,  forced 
tlie  bisho|)'s  residence  to  surrender,  drove  out  the  Danes  from  the 
monastery  of  Vedey,  which  had  been  secularizc*<l,  and  reinstated  the 
abl)ot.  The  Catholic  church  service  was  reintroduced  in  tlie  district 
of  lior^arfjord.  and  the  monastery  of  Ilelf^afell,  which  had  been  made 
a  ro>al  estate,  was  reorganized.  After  liaving  gained  this  notable 
success,  the  relentless  Bishop  Jon  directed  his  attack  against  his 
[)ersonal  opi)onents,  many  of  whom  were  comi)elle(l  to  flee  from 
Iceland.  R.  Keyser  says  of  him  :  "Jon  Aresson  had  been  un.scrupu- 
lous  in  his  Nounger  days  when  he  sought  to  win  the  episcopal  office, 
unscrupulous  he  showed  himself  now  in  his  old  age  when  the  question 
was  to  hold  fast  with  trembling  hands  the  power  once  gained.  He 
heeded  neither  threats  nor  counsel,  but  proceeded  arrogantly  in  the 
once  chosen  course  until  the  abyss  of  destruction  yawned  at  his  feet, 
and  all  revenues  of  retreat  were  closed."  ^  He  had  still  one  powerful 
o[)ponent,  the  chieftain  Dade  Gudmundsson,  who  was  married  to  a 
sister  of  the  imprisoned  Lutheran  bishop,  Martin.  The  bishop 
collected  an  armed  band  of  120  men,  and  marched  to  attack  Dade, 
but  the  wary  chieftain  met  him  at  Saudafell  with  a  force  of  trusty 
followers.  After  a  determined  fight,  Bishoj)  Jon  and  his  two  sons, 
Are  and  Bj0rn,  were  made  prisoners  in  the  church  where  they  sought 
refuge.  As  the  royal  coniniandant  had  returned  to  Denmark,  Dade 
turned  his  prisoners  over  to  his  assistant.  Christian  Skriver,  but  he 
feared  the  bishop's  arlherents,  and  did  not  know  where  the  prisoners 
could  be  sat'fly  kept.  One  morning  at  thebreakfast  table  the  minister, 
Jon  Bjarnason,  said  to  him  that  although  he  was  not  very  wise,  he 
knew  a  good  way  of  keeping  the  prisoners.  When  asked  what  plan 
he  had  in  mind,  he  answered  that  the  ax  and  the  grave  would  keeji  them 
best.  This  suggestion  was  acted  ui)on,  and  the  oM  bishop  and  his 
sons  were  led  to  execution  and  beheaded.  The  peoj)le  of  Bishop 
J6n's  diocese.  Ilolar,  bitterly  resented  this  \ile  deed.  They  watched 
their  opportunity,  attacked  Chri.stian  Skriver.  and  killiMl  him  and  his 
armed  escort.  Later  fourteen  more  Danes  were  kille<l.  and  a  spirit 
of  bitter  hostility  against  the  Danes  had  been  kindhnl  in  all  Iceland. 
*  R.  Keyser,  Den  norskc  Kirkis  Historic  under  Katholicism<  n.  11..  p.  SG'^. 


142  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

Sigurd  Jonsson,  a  son  of  Bishop  Jon  Aresson,  sent  thirty  men  to 
Skalholt  to  bring  the  bodies  home  for  interment.  Bells  were  fastened 
to  the  coffins,  and  as  they  journeyed  along,  the  church  bells  were 
ringing,  and  the  people  flocked  about  them  to  touch  the  coffins  of 
the  dead  bishop  and  his  sons,  who  were  revered  almost  like  saints. 
They  were  buried  with  great  honors  in  the  cathedral  at  Holar. 

Christian  III.  had  dispatched  a  military  force  to  Iceland  even 
before  he  had  received  notice  of  Bishop  Jon's  death.  Two  hundred 
men  were  sent  to  the  southern  districts,  and  five  hundred  to  the 
diocese  of  Holar.  After  the  bishop's  death  the  people,  who  had 
been  deprived  of  their  leader,  submitted  without  resistance,  and  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king  at  the  Althing,  July  1, 1551,  and  Olav 
Hjaltesson  was  appointed  Lutheran  superintendent  at  Holar.  The 
Lutheran  Reformation  was  thereby  officially  accepted,  but  Jon 
Aresson  was  still  regarded  as  the  national  hero,  and  generations  had 
to  pass  before  Lutheran  Christianity  could  become  a  regenerating 
force  in  the  people's  intellectual  and  spiritual  life. 

Very  little  is  known  about  the  introduction  of  the  Reformation  in 
the  Faroe  Islands.  The  last  CathoHc  bishop  was  Amund  Olavsson, 
who  was  appointed  by  Frederick  I.  in  1533.  Jens  Riber  was  the 
first  Lutheran  bishop  in  the  islands.  In  1557  he  became  Bishop  of 
Stavanger  as  Jon  Guttormsson's  successor.  The  diocese  of  the  Faroe 
Islands  was  discontinued,  and  the  islands  were  incorporated  in  the 
diocese  of  Bergen,  and  later  in  that  of  Seeland  in  Denmark.^ 

21.   The  Reign  of  Christian  III. 

The  disappearance  of  the  Norwegian  Council,  the  gradual  decay 
of  the  aristocracy,  and,  finally,  the  destruction  of  the  Catholic  Church 
and  clergy  left  the  Norwegian  people  without  leaders,  unable  to 
assert  their  independence,  or  even  to  maintain  their  legal  rights 
in  the  affairs  of  internal  administration.  The  principal  lens  of  the 
kingdom  were  given  to  Danes,  with  but  few  exceptions,  bishops 
and  ministers  were  sent  from  Denmark,  the  government  was  wholly 

^  R.  Keyser,  Den  norske  Kirkes  Historic  under  Katholicismen,  II.,  p.  838  f. 
Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  Samlede  Skrifter,  328.  L.  Debes,  Fcer^crnes  Beskrivelse. 
Andreas  Faye,  Christiansands  Slifts  Bispe-  og  Stiftshistorie,  Christiania,  1867, 
p.  120  ff. 


II  THE   REION   OP  CHRISTIA.V   III  143 

in  the  hands  of  the  king  and  his  Danish  Council,  and  even  the  courts 
of  justice  were  often  presidcil  over  by  Danish  judj^es  appointed  hy 
the  king.  The  Norwegian  codes  of  hiw  were  translated  into  Danish, 
and  the  church  laws  were  annulled  through  the  introduction  of  the 
Reformation.  It  became  customary  also  to  apj>eal  from  the  deci- 
sions of  the  lagihinfjs  to  the  king,  who,  together  with  his  council,  acted 
as  a  court  of  higher  jurisdiction.  He  also  sent  members  of  his  Council 
to  Norway  to  hold  court  together  with  the  royal  Icrufherrer  and 
lagiiurnd  in  order  to  examine  complaints  against  lensherrer,  fugeds, 
and  others.  This  tended  to  undermine  the  authority  of  the  old  courts, 
and  exerted  a  deteriorating  influence  on  No^^vegian  jurisprudence.' 
The  lawmaking  activity  was  limited  to  the  issuing  of  charters  and  the 
granting  of  trade  privileges  to  the  Ilanseatic  merchants,  and  the  legal 
practice  degenerated  into  a  dull  and  formal  routine,  as  the  Danish 
judges  were  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  Norwegian  law  as  well  as 
the  detail  of  court  procedure.  During  the  union  period  Norsvegian 
jurisprudence  lost  the  high  position  which  it  had  formerly  held. 
Foreign  rule  prevented  its  further  development,  and  the  people 
themselves  became  indifferent,  and  ceased  to  cultivate  the  knowledge 
of  the  old  laws. 

Chri.stian  III.,  who  was  a  judicious  and  practical  king,  avoided  as 
far  as  possible  all  .steps  which  would  irritate  the  Norwegian  people.- 
The  clause  which  he  had  inserted  in  the  charter,  possibly  in  order  to 
humor  the  Danish  nobles,  he  suffered  to  remain  a  dead  letter.  The 
charter  remained  deposited  in  the  archives  unknown  to  most  people 
in  Denmark  and,  probably,  to  all  in  Norway.  Two  kings  were  laid 
in  the  grave  before  it  became  known.'  The  king's  chief  aim  was  to 
maintain  peace,  to  improve  the  economic  conditions  in  his  kingdoms, 

'  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  dm  norske  Hislorie.  III..  204  IT.  Gustav  Storm, 
HnniidskrifUr  og  Oi'erswtlel'H'r  af  ^fngnus  Lagabdlcrs  Imvc;  Christiania 
Vidcnsknh.f-Sehknhs  Forhnndlingcr,  1879,  p.  22  flf.  T.  II.  Aschehoug.  Stats- 
for/atnirtgcn  i  Nnrgr  og  Dnnmark,  p.  li.S2  fl".,  402  (T. 

*  Christian  III.  hiva  l)t'»«n  pictured  hy  XorweKiaii  historians  as  a  weak 
and  wortliless  king,  hut  Professor  Oscar  Alh.  .Folmson  has  shown  that  thi.s 
view  is  erroneous,  that  ho  was  an  able,  doar-mindorl.  humane,  and  conscien- 
tious rulor.  Oscar  Alb.  Johnson,  Nogle  Uimcrkningtr  om  Kristian  den 
tredie  som  rwrsk  Kongc;  Hisloriske  Skrifler  lilcgnede  og  ovcrlevcrcdo  Professor 
Dr.  Ludi'ig  Dnac,  Cliristiania,  19(>4. 

•  Yng^ar  Nielsen,  Norgcs  Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  40. 


144 


HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 


II 


and  to  increase  the  revenues  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  big  debts 
which  had  been  contracted  in  the  late  war.  As  he  felt  the  crown 
resting  securely  on  his  brow,  he  was  in  a  position  to  carry  out  his  ad- 
ministrative policy  with  firmness.     The  nobility  exercised  far  less 

influence  than  they  had 
expected  to  do,  and  the 
Norwegians  remained 
peaceful  and  loyal  sub- 
jects. 

In  the  Count's  War 
King  Christian  had  seen 
the  importance  of  the  fleet, 
and  he  aimed  to  make  the 
dual  kingdom  of  Denmark- 
Norway  a  naval  power 
strong  enough  to  control 
the  Baltic.  This  would 
also  tend  to  draw  the  two 
peoples  closer  together 
through  a  strengthened 
feeling  of  the  necessity  of 
cooperation  in  furthering 
common  interests.  Able 
sea-captains  were  not  wanting.  Men  like  Kristoffer  von  Truntheim 
(Christopher  Trondss0n),  Otto  Stigss0n,  Stig  Bagge,  and  others 
had  learned  seamanship  as  bold  corsairs  and  lawless  rovers  of 
the  seas,  but  King  Christian,  who  needed  their  services,  was  willing 
to  condone  past  offenses,  if  they  would  enter  the  royal  service  in 
good  faith,  and  this  they  were  anxious  enough  to  do.  Stig  Bagge 
of  Kvinesdal  in  Norway  was  a  very  able  captain,  and  the  king  granted 
him  Lister  len,  but  on  an  ex])edition,  against  the  Netherlands,  1541, 
he  was  captured  and  put  to  death.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  no  less 
valiant  and  able  Christopher  Trondss0n  (Kristoffer  von  Truntheim). 
These  two  are  the  forerunners  of  a  number  of  distinguished  Nor- 
wegian naval  heroes  who  later  served  in  the  fleet  of  the  two  kingdoms. 
The  king  devoted  special  attention  to  the  development  of  mining 
in  Norsvav.     He  seems  to  have  thought,  as  did  Absalon  Pederss0n 


Fig.  3.  —  King  Christian  III. 


II  THK    HEIGN    OF   CHRISTIAN'    III  145 

Beyer,  that  i\\v  inoiintaiiis  nf  Xonvay  were  full  of  silver,  i^^M,  and 
other  precious  tliinj^s.  Ahlu'iny  had  stimulated  the  search  for 
precious  metals,  and  the  j^rowiu^  need  U)r  money  and  iron,  caused  by 
the  wars  and  the  enlarj^ement  of  the  navy,  jjave  a  new  impetus  to  this 
industry.  Hitherto  iron  had  l)een  gathered  in  Ito^s,  where  small 
quantities  of  native  ore  could  he  found.  King  (  hristian  II.  had 
sought  to  introduce  the  more  modern  system  of  extracting  metals 
from  the  rich  mineral-bearing  rock  of  Norway,  but  the  attempt  had 
led  to  no  practical  results.  King  Christian  III.  renewed  this  attempt, 
and  imported  miners  from  Cicrmany,  where  the  mining  industry 
at  this  time  was  most  highly  de\('lopcd.  lie  made  special  regula- 
tions for  the  industry,  based  on  (lernian  laws,  and  in  1537  several 
mines  were  opened  in  Telemarken.'  The  undertaking  wa.s  very  im- 
portant as  a  first  chapter  in  the  development  of  a  new  industry, 
but  no  proper  control  was  exercised  over  the  rude  foreign  miners, 
whose  lawless  behavior  so  exasperated  the  people  that  a  serious  uj)- 
rising  occurred  in  the  mining  districts.  The  general  ill-will  against 
the  Danish /o^t'(/^' adiled  fuel  to  the  flame.  Several  of  these  officials 
were  slain,  and  the  uprising  spread  rapidly.  Christian  III.,  who 
never  visited  Norway  after  he  became  king,  remained  a  stranger  to 
all  local  conditions,  and  without  inquiring  further  into  the  real  cause 
of  the  disturbance,  which  he  regarded  as  a  rebellion,  he  ordered  the 
commandants  of  .Vkershus  and  Hohus  to  suppress  the  uprising.  They 
marched  into  Telemarken,  where  they  met  the  armed  hdnder,  who 
were  i)ersua(led  to  lay  down  their  weapons.  After  they  had  thus 
been  disarmed,  the  hdnder  were  surrounded  and  taken  i)risoners,  and 
a  number  were  sentenced  to  death  and  execute<l.  The  mines  were 
operated  with  profit  for  some  years,  but  a  decline  set  in  during  the 
decade  from  \hVl  till  \^^W1,  and  a  few  years  later  the  work  was  dis- 
continutnl. 

The  introduction  of  mining,  though  attendiMl  at  first  by  little 
success,  was  nevertheless  a  harbinger  of  a  new  era  of  national  de- 
velopment. .\nother  manifestation  of  the  awakening  of  the  sj^irit 
of  progress  was  the  destruction  of  the  llanseatic  trade  monopoly  in 
Bergen,  and  the  coming  into  existence  of  a  body  of  ent(Ti)rising  native 

'  M.  Braun  Tvethe,    Sorgis  Slatistik,    p.  71  (T.      VIl^Jv:l^  Nielsen,   Norges 
Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  44  (T. 

VOL.  II  —  L 


14G  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

merchants,  who  dared  to  enter  into  competition  with  the  Germans. 
Though  the  Hanseatic  League  had  lost  its  former  power  in  the  Count's 
War,  the  German  merchants  in  Bergen  continued  to  act  with  their 
customary  arrogance,  and  sought  to  intimidate  all  whom  they  feared 
might  become  competitors.^  Lawlessness  and  corrupt  practices  had 
hitherto  been  the  means  by  which  they  had  maintained  their  power 
in  Norway,  but  Christian  IIL  would  tolerate  no  violence  or  overt 
disobedience.  In  1556  he  appointed  as  commandant  of  Bergen  the 
resolute,  calm,  and  fearless  nobleman  Christopher  Valkendorf,  who 
could  neither  be  scared  by  threats,  nor  disheartened  by  open  resistance. 
The  Hanseatic  merchants  had  mounted  cannons  on  the  tower  of  the 
St.  Mary's  church,  and  sought  to  frighten  the  new  commandant, 
but  he  paid  no  attention  to  their  meddling  schemes.  With  unbending 
firmness  he  undertook  to  carry  out  the  necessary  reforms.  Hitherto 
the  German  merchants  had  been  a  foreign  nation  maintaining  an 
organized  state  of  their  own  in  Bergen.  In  order  to  prevent  their 
clerks  and  apprentices  from  marrying  and  becoming  domiciled  in 
Norway,  they  encouraged  immorality  to  the  utter  corruption  of  the 
social  and  moral  life  of  the  city.  Valkendorf  began  his  work  of  reform 
by  bringing  the  corrupt  social  practices  under  strict  control,  and  the 
merchants  had  to  submit  to  the  laws,  and  promise  to  live  "  honestly, 
Christian-like,  and  well  in  all  respects."  ^  He  summoned  the  German 
artisans,  and  demanded  of  them  that  they  should  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  king,  or  leave  the  kingdom.  Hitherto  they  had 
been  a  colony  of  foreigners  subject  only  to  their  own  laws ;  henceforth 
they  would  have  to  become  citizens  amenable  to  the  laws  of  Norway 
if  they  wished  to  stay  in  Bergen.  The  demand,  though  a  very  just 
one,  was  not  heeded.  The  powerful  merchant  guild  encouraged 
them  to  resist,  and,  emboldened  by  this  support,  they  threatened 
that  if  the  commandant  attempted  to  enforce  such  a  demand,  there 
would  soon  be  orphans  and  widows  enough  in  Bergen.  In  answer 
to  these  threats  Valkendorf  ordered  the  windows  of  their  shops  to  be 

^  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Bergen  fra  de  aeldste  Tider  indlil  Nuiiden,  p.  29  f.  Krag 
og  Stephanius,  Kristian  III.'s  Historic,  I.,  277  ff.,  286  ff.  Vilh.  Poulsen, 
Fortccllinger  af  Norges  Historie,  III.,  175  f.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norges  His- 
torie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  108  fif.     C.  E.  Secher,  Christoffer  Valkendorf. 

*  Bergens  Fundals,  published  by  N.  Nieolaysen  in  Norske  Magasin,  I., 
p.  555-563,  587-603.     Yngvar  Nielsen,  Bergen,  p.  291  ff. 


II  THE   REIGN   OF  CHRISTUX   III.  147 

closed,  trained  the  cannons  of  the  fortress  upon  them,  and  held  his 
forces  ready  for  action.  The  commandant's  resolute  action  struck 
terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  artisans,  and  they  hejif^ed  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  ne^'otiate.  A  meeting  was  arranged  in  the  St.  Mary's 
church,  where  \  alkendorf  appeared  accompanied  by  two  hoys,  and 
told  the  artisans  of  the  order  given  the  garrison  of  the  fortress  to  fire 
upon  their  shops  if  he  were  harmed.  Xo  one  ventured  to  resist,  and  an 
agreement  was  made  by  which  the  artisans  pledged  themselves  either 
to  take  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  government,  or  to  leave  the  city 
before  the  next  Michaelmas,  unless  the  king  shoulfl  permit  them  to 
remain  on  the  old  conditions.'  But  tiie  king  sujiported  \'alkendorf, 
aiul  when  the  choice  finally  had  to  be  made,  they  decided  to  leave 
Bergen  (1.5.59).  The  German  merchants  still  remained,  but  their 
power  was  broken.  Successful  resistance  could  no  longer  be  made 
to  the  laws  and  authorities  of  the  city,  and  the  time  would  soon  come 
when  they  would  have  to  submit  to  the  government,  and  remain 
satisfied  with  sharing  the  legitimate  privileges  accorded  all  other 
merchants  of  Bergen. 

Christian  III.  and  his  queen,  Dorothea  of  Lauenburg,  were  both 
devoted  Lutherans.  The  king  was  a  diligent  student  of  the  Bible, 
and  was  well  versed  in  theology,  medicine,  history,  and  natural 
science;  but  he  use<l  the  Gcnnan  language  exclusively,  and  never 
learned  to  speak  Danish.  Though  not  gifted  above  the  ordinary, 
he  conducted  the  administration  of  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  with 
great  ability  and  good  judgment,  but  the  affairs  of  Norway  were  much 
neglected,  as  the  king  never  visited  that  kingdom  throughout  his  whole 
reign.  The  great  changes  which  made  his  reign  the  harbinger  of  a  new 
era  are,  nevertheless,  ascribal)le,  in  a  degree,  to  his  active  cooperation. 
if  not  to  his  initiative.  The  Reformation,  the  rebuilding  of  the  navy, 
the  destruction  of  the  Ilanseatic  trade  monopoly,  the  introduction  of 
mining  in  Norway  were  measures  which  not  only  showed  an  increased 

*  licrgens  Fumlals,  Norske  Mngnsin,  I.,  519-5(33.  Diplomatarium  S'or- 
wegicum,  V.,  no.  1133.  Nomkc  liigsrvgislranlcr,  I.,  p.  244.  Yngvar  Nielsen, 
Bergen,  p.  295.  Ludvig  IIolborK,  Bergetm  licskrirclsc,  p.  99  IT.  li.  Nyerup, 
Skildring  af  Tilstanden  i  Dnnmark  og  Norgv,  I.,  p.  357  fT.  Paus,  Samlingcr 
qJ  gamlc  norske  Love  og  Forordninger,  vol.  III.,  p.  323  ff.  B.  E.  Itoudixen, 
Tyske  Ilaandverkere  paa  norsk  Grund  i  Middiialdercn,  SkrifUr  udgivet  aj 
Vidcnskabs-Selskabci  i  ChristianLa,  1911. 


148  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

national  vigor,  but  which  gave  promise  of  a  new  development 
born  of  the  ideas  of  the  Reformation  and  the  Renaissance.  King 
Christian's  greatest  merit  was  that  he  became  an  advocate  of  the 
new  ideas,  and  helped  to  make  them  a  factor  in  the  national  develop- 
ment. He  died  on  New  Year's  day,  1559.  His  old  rival,  King 
Christian  H.,  who  had  been  liberated  from  prison  in  1549,  died  the 
same  month  at  Kalundborg  in  Denmark. 

22.   Frederick  II.    The  Seven  Years'  War  with  Sweden 

When  Christian  III.  died,  his  son,  Prince  Frederick,  who  was 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  ascended  the  throne.  He  had  been  hailed 
as  his  father's  successor  in  Denmark  in  1542,  and  in  Norway  1548,  a 
step  which  shows  a  growing  tendency  to  restrict  the  choice  of  king 
to  the  members  of  the  royal  family.^  The  new  king  had  inherited 
his  mother's  restless  energy  and  imperious  temperament,  but  his 
education  had  been  neglected,  as  he  cared  little  for  books  in  his  boy- 
hood. The  religious  tone  prevalent  at  his  father's  court  did  not 
appeal  to  him.  He  quarreled  frequently  with  his  parents,  loved 
pomp  and  display,  and  exhibited  great  fondness  for  military  pursuits. 
In  the  administration  of  the  afFairs  of  the  kingdom  the  careful  and 
constructive  course  pursued  by  King  Christian  III.  was  abandoned. 
The  public  pohcy  shaped  by  Frederick  II.  became  a  series  of  hasty 
impulses  and  of  ill-considered  adventures,  terminating  in  failure  and 
general  distress. 

The  king  won  his  first  military  glory  in  a  war  with  Ditmarsken. 
It  had  been  constantly  urged  that  the  Danes  should  avenge  the  defeat 
suffered  by  King  Hans  in  1500,  but  Christian  III.  would  not  begin 
war.  His  two  brothers,  the  dukes  Adolph  and  Hans,  who  had  always 
been  in  favor  of  renewing  the  attempt  to  take  Ditmarsken,  found  no 

*  In  the  charter  of  1536,  which  was  to  be  regarded  as  a  constitution  for 
both  kingdoms,  the  provision  was  made  that  if  Prince  Frederick  should 
die  before  his  father,  and  if  King  Christian  should  receive  another  son,  the 
Council  should  elect  that  son  as  his  successor,  and,  as  heir  to  the  throne,  he 
should  have  the  official  title  of  '''Prince  of  Denmark."  It  is  not  clear  for 
what  piu-pose  this  proA^sion  was  made,  as  the  Council  still  maintained  the 
principle  that  Denmark  should  be  an  elective  kingdom  as  before,  but  the 
king's  oldest  son  was  always  chosen  his  successor  till  1660.  See  T.  H.  Asche- 
houg,  Slatsforfalningen  i  Norge  og  Danmark  indtil  1814,  p.  359  ff. 


II  FREDERICK    II.      THE   SEVKN    YEARs'    WAR    WITH    SWEDEN        149 

diffifulty  in  persuadiii^  tlieir  nephew,  Kirij^  Frederick  II.,  to  join 
them  in  the  undertukinK.  An  army  of  2(),(MM)  foot  soldiers  and  .'i(MH) 
cavalry  was  raised,  and  tiie  Ditniarskers,  who  could  only  muster  a 
force  of  7000  men,  were  finally  overpowered  in  loG(J  after  a  most 
heroic  resistance. 

King  Gustav  Vasa  of  Sweden  dic^l  Sept.  29,  1560,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Erik  XIV.  The  new  king  was  of  a  warlike  disjxjsition, 
and,  as  many  old  grudges  still  existed  between  Sweden  and  Denmark, 
a  contest  for  the  supremacy  in  the  Baltic  was  almost  sure  to  come. 
King  Frederick  II.  asserted  the  old  claim  of  Detmiark  to  Esthonia  and 
Osel,  and  sought  to  ward  oil'  Russian  eiuToachments  in  Livonia, 
hut  Sweden  took  i)ossession  of  Reval,  and  entered  into  ojjen  rivalry 
with  Denmark  for  the  control  of  the  Baltic.  The  immediate  cause 
of  the  Seven  Years'  War  which  soon  broke  out  was  the  use  of  three 
crowns  in  the  coat  of  arms  both  of  Sweden  and  Derunark.'  The  three 
crowns  was  the  old  coat  of  arms  in  Sweden,  but  in  Denmark  they 
had  been  adopted  as  a  sign  of  union  of  the  three  Northern  kingdoms. 
As  Sweden  had  left  the  union,  the  continued  use  of  the  three  crowns 
in  the  Danish  coat  of  arms  was  an  indication  that  the  kings  of  Den- 
mark had  not  yet  relinquished  their  claim  to  the  throne  of  Sweden. 
Frederick  I.  had,  indeed.  droi)j)ed  the  three  (Towns  from  the  Danish 
coat  of  arms,  but  they  had  been  reintroduced  by  Christian  III.  and 
Frederick  II.  This  led  to  protracted  negotiations,  but  neither  Erik 
XIV.  nor  Frederick  II.  would  yield.  In  fact,  both  desired  war.  King 
Erik  hoj)ed  to  take  Norway,  and  Frederick  II.  felt  certain  that  the 
war  would  give  him  the  longed-for  opportunity  to  gain  the  throne 
of  Sweden.  In  vain  the  older  and  more  experienced  men  counseled 
him  not  to  risk  a  war.  He  found  support  among  the  young  nobles, 
who  exercised  great  influence  in  court  circles,  and  the  torch  of  war 
was  soon  lightetl.  In  the  first  naval  engagement  olT  Bornhohn, 
the  Swedes  undir  Admiral  Bagge,  a  NorAvegian  by  birth,  took  the 
Danish  admiral  prisoner,  and  captured  three  of  his  ships.  On 
August  9,  150:5,  Frederick  II,,  who  was  the  aggressor,  issued  a  declara- 
tion of  war.  Liibeck,  Poland,  and  Russia  became  his  allies,  and 
Sweden  was  politically  isolated.  The  war  became,  to  a  large  extent, 
a  naval  contest,  as  Frederick   dependwl  on    the  Danish-Norwegian 

*Otto  Vaupell.  Den  nordiske  Syvaarskrig,  1663-1570,  Copenhagen.  1891. 


150  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  11 

fleet,  wliich  his  father  had  created.  The  operations  on  land  con- 
sisted chiefly  in  destructive  border  raids,  in  which  hves  and  property 
were  destroyed,  seemingly  without  any  other  plan  than  to  swell  the 
general  sum  of  misery.  Norway  was  the  trophy  for  which  King 
Erik  XIV.  was  willing  to  do  battle.  In  the  days  of  Karl  Knutsson 
and  Christian  I.  there  had  been  sharp  rivalry  between  Sweden  and 
Denmark  for  the  possession  of  Norway,  and  although  Denmark 
had  succeeded  in  maintaining  the  union  with  the  sister  kingdom, 
the  old  jealousy  was  not  wholly  allayed.  When  the  war  broke  out, 
the  Swedes  still  hoped,  as  in  the  time  of  Engelbrecht  Engelbrechtsson, 
that  Norway  would  revolt  and  attempt  to  shake  off  the  Danish  yoke. 
This  hope  is  expressed  in  the  Latin  poem  "  Querelae  Swedicae ' '  ("  Swed- 
ish complaints"),  written  at  the  court  of  King  Erik  XIV.^  The  poem 
describes  Norway's  sad  fate,  criticizes  the  Danish  kings  and  officials, 
and  enumerates  the  misfortunes  wdiich  Danish  misrule  had  brought 
upon  the  country.  "Oh,  Sister,  to  be  pitied  art  thou.  After  Den- 
mark with  her  sweet  union  bitterly  hast  brought  thee  under  her  feet, 
thou  complainest  too  late ;  too  late  dost  thou  take  the  shield  after 
the  wounds  have  been  inflicted.  Too  late  thou  grievest,  because 
thou  hast  been  brought  under  the  tight  reigns  of  oppression.  Now, 
unfortunate  one,  thou  finally  seest  that  there  has  been  black  gall 
beneath  so  sweet  honey."  There  seemed,  indeed,  to  be  an  oppor- 
tunity for  Norway  to  shake  off  Danish  overlordship,  and  dissolve  the 
union,  but  as  nothing  had  been  done  for  the  creation  of  an  efficient 
army,  the  country  lacked  the  necessary  means  for  the  successful  pur- 
suance of  such  a  course.  The  sailors  and  marines  in  the  Danish- 
Norwegian  navy  had  been,  to  a  large  extent,  recruited  in  Norway, 
the  fortresses  of  the  country  had  Danish  commandants,  and  no 
central  organization  existed  which  could  lead  a  national  uprising. 
There  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  at  this  time  in  Norway  a  sentiment 
in  favor  of  Sweden,  but  such  a  sentiment  could  not  be  strengthened 
by  the  course  pursued  by  the  Swedish  king,  who,  in  spite  of  ex- 
pressed sympathy,  sent  armies  across  the  border  to  raid  and  plunder^ 
in  Norwegian  territory.  In  the  fall  of  1563  a  Swedish  army  occupiec 
Jaemtland,  but  the  province  was  recaptured  by  Evert  Bild,  the  com-j 

1  Professor  Lud\ag  Daae  thinks  that  King  Erik  XIV.  is  the  author  of  the 
poem.     Historisk  Tidsskrijt,  f0rste  rsekke,  vol.  III.,  p.  492  f. 


n  FREDERICK   II.      THE   SEVEN   YEARS     \N\H   WITH   SWEDEN       151 

mandaiit  of  Steinviksliolm  in  Tr0nde]ageri.  The  following  year  a 
Swedish  army  of  3500  men  a^ain  entered  Norway.  The  Xorwej^ian 
commnndor  was  jjiirsued  and  slain,  and  the  Uujinand  was  captrired  and 
placed  in  fetters.  "  How  cruelly  tliey  treated  the  ijeoj)le  God  kncnvs," 
says  an  old  writer.  Both  in  Jtemtland  and  Ilcrjetlalen,  which  were 
held  hy  the  Swedish  troojjs  throughout  the  whole  war,  the  people 
were  so  oppressed  by  the  rude  soldiers  that  they  fle<l  from  their  homes 
to  Norway  in  lar^e  inunbcrs.'  The  commander  of  the  Swedish  army 
was  a  Frenclunan,  Claude  Collart.  who  after  subduing  Jtemtland 
marche<l  across  the  mountains  to  Tr0n(ielaj;en,  and  laid  siege  to  the 
strong  fortress  of  Steinviksliolm,  which  was  surrendered  by  the  com- 
mandant, Evert  Bild,  almost  without  resistance.  The  people 
welcomed  the  Swedes  as  friends;  the  Danes  were  driven  away,  and 
Trpndelagen,  ]\l0re.  and  Romsdal  accei)te<l  the  Swedish  king  as 
their  sovereign.  This  easy  victory  made  Claude  Collart  (Claudius 
Gallus)  very  arrogant.  He  sent  most  of  his  forces  back  to  Sweden, 
and  began  to  rule  in  a  most  arbitrary  and  oppressive  way.  Heavy 
taxes  were  imposed,  and  gallows  were  erected  throughout  the  province, 
as  if  it  were  his  o])ject  to  wreak  martial  vengeance  on  a  conquered 
race.  The  Trondhjem  cathedral  was  desecrated  by  his  soldiers, 
who  even  carried  away  the  body  of  St.  Olav,  evidently  with  the  in- 
tention of  bringing  it  to  Sweden,  but  it  was  finally  reinterred  at 
Floan  church  in  TrOndelagen.^    The  pro-Swedish  sentiment  which 

*  Etlward  Bull,  Bldrag  til  Jcemtlaiids  Historic  fra  Chri.stian  III.  til  Chris- 
tian IV.,  Historiske  Afhandlinger  tilegnet  Professor  Dr.  J.  E.  Sars,  Christiania, 
1005. 

*  Absalon  Pederss0n  Beyer,  Om  Norgis  Rige,  published  by  Gustav  Storm 
in  Ili.itnrisk-topograftskc  Skrifter  om  Norge  og  nor.tkc  Land.<i<!clc,  p.  38. 

About  the  later  history  of  St.  Olav's  remains,  Professor  P.  A.  Munch 
writes:  "Tiie  iniiUlIe  shrine  with  the  body  reinaiiied,  in  the  meanwhile,  in 
the  cathedral,  and  was  even  for  some  de<'ennarit's  suffered  to  stand  in  it.s 
place  on  the  altar  till  the  abov(»-mentioned  war  between  Sweden  and  Den- 
mark from  l.">(i3  till  1570.  The  Swedes  then  occupied  the  city  of  N'idaros 
about  15G4,  and  did  j^eat  damage  in  the  cathedral;  they  took  the  shrine, 
stripped  it  of  every  thing  valuable,  'even  to  the  smallest  silver  nail,'  and 
buried  it  at  last  with  the  body  in  a  small  country  church,  no  longer  used  for 
divine  service  since  the  Reformation.  When  they  were  driven  back  the 
following  year,  the  people  asked  for  and  got  permission  of  the  Danish  gov- 
ernor to  bring  liack  the  body  to  the  cathedral.  This  was  accordingly  done 
on  the  8th  of  July,  with  great  pomp;    the  shrine  was  carried  to  the  church 


152  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  people  had  shown  was  ill  rewarded  by  this  rude  soldier  of  fortune, 
and  his  undisciplined  warriors.  No  course  could  have  been  more 
effective  in  turning  friendship  into  hatred,  and  the  people  would, 
naturally,  welcome  with  joy  any  aid  which  would  rid  them  of  such 
oppression.  Aid  soon  came  from  Bergen,  where  the  able  and  ener- 
getic Erik  Rosenkrans  had  been  made  commandant.  He  dispatched 
troops  under  Erik  Munk  to  Tr0ndelagen  to  assist  the  local  forces. 
Collart  was  obliged  to  evacuate  Trondhjem,  and  retreat  to  the  for- 
tress of  Steinviksholm.  As  the  Swedes  did  not  number  above 
400  men,  he  was  soon  forced  to  surrender,  and  the  angry  binder  of 
Nordland,  Tr0ndelagen,  Nordm0r,  Romsdal,  and  S0ndm0r  were 
summoned  to  Trondhjem,  where  they  renewed  their  oath  of  allegiance 
to  King  Frederick  II. 

The  campaign  on  the  southern  theater  of  action  resulted  in  the 
capture  of  Elfsborg  by  the  Danes,  and  in  1564  the  Danish  admiral, 
Herluf  TroUe,  defeated  the  Swedish  fleet  commanded  by  Jacob  Bagge 
in  a  noted  naval  battle  off  Oland.     Hitherto  the  advantage  in  the 

in  a  procession  of  the  clergy,  the  noblemen,  the  military  officers,  and  the 
citizens,  and  deposited  in  a  bricklaid  grave  or  vault.  In  the  spring  of  1568, 
however,  a  Danish  nobleman,  who  was  in  Trondhjem  on  a  special  errand 
from  the  king,  caused  earth  to  be  thrown  into  the  grave  over  the  body, 
probably  in  order  to  prevent  people  from  worshiping  it,  which  they  still 
were  inclined  to  do  in  spite  of  the  newly  introduced  Protestantism.  Even 
then  the  body  was  tolerably  well  preserved.  Mag.  Absalon  Pederss0n, 
who  saw  it  himself,  says  in  his  "iDescription  of  Norway '  that  ''  it  was  not 
altered  except  the  cartilage  of  the  nose,  and  some  parts  of  the  eyes,  which 
were  gone,  else  the  rest  of  the  members  were  as  they  had  been  for  many 
hundred  years.'  A  judge  in  the  south  of  Norway,  who  in  his  youth  had 
attended  school  in  Trondhjem,  told  the  Rev.  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  the 
first  translator  of  Snorre  Sturlason,  that  'the  body  of  St.  Olav,  which  he 
had  seen  himself,  was  rather  long,  well  preserved,  with  a  red  beard,  but  the 
nose  was  somewhat  sunken ;  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  the  king  in  his  last 
battle  were  still  visible,  for  the  rest  it  was  dry  and  hard  as  wood.'  This 
description,  as  will  be  seen,  is  at  some  variance  with  the  more  prolix  one 
given  above.  The  exact  place  where  the  aforesaid  bricklaid  grave  is  to  be 
looked  for  is  not  known,  but  very  probably  it  will  be  found  when  the  repairs 
now  contemplated  are  begun,  that  is  to  say,  if  there  are  any  signs  by  which 
it  may  be  identified.  But  whether  the  body  be  found  or  not,  it  is  yet  a 
satisfaction  to  know  that  it  still  rests  in  the  same  church  which  owes  its 
origin  to  the  saint,  and  from  which,  during  five  centuries,  he  spread  luster 
over  the  whole  kingdom."  P.  A.  Munch  og  H.  E.  Schirmer,  Trondhjems 
Domkirke,  p.  38  f. 


r 


THE 
SCANDINAVIAN 
NORTH 
Prior  to  1645      ^.c'^'Zif^^^- 


II  FREDERICK    11.      THE   SEVEN'    VEAUs'    WAll    WITH    SWEDEN       153 

struggle  had  im-iiritil  to  tin-  side  of  tiic  Ihiiies,  hut  the  tide  tunu-d  in 
15Go.     In  Uw  ii;i\al   battle  of   j-'ftiicni,    ilcrluf  Trolle    rf<ri\f<i   his 
death-wound,  and  his  successor,  Otlo  Uud,  was  captured  in  a  secornl 
engagement  at  Hondiohn.     The  situation  heeanie  S(j  critical  that  Den- 
mark was  persuaded  to  ojxn  i)eace  negotiations,  but  King  Erik  XIV., 
who  eousiderinl  himself  the  unqualifietl  victor,  made  demands  which 
could  not  he  accepted,  and  tiie  struggle  eontimied.     The  very  ahle 
Danish  general  Daniel  Hantzau  defeated  the  Swe<les  at  Axtoriui,  and 
the  heroic  Jens  IlolgerssOn  had  successfully  defended  liohus  against 
repeated  attacks.     In  1  .')()(>  great  eflports  were  made  to  increase  the 
strengtii  of  the  Danisli  army  and  navy.     Soldiers  were  jjressefi  into 
service,  and  the  iuereaswl  war  contributions  weighe<l  heavily  on  the 
people  both  in  Norway  and  Denmark.     But  of  litth-  a\ail  were  these 
sacrifices.     A  largi'  i)art  of  the  I)anish-\or^\egian  iieet  was  destroy e<l 
on  the  coast  of  (Gothland  in  a  terrific  storm,  July  2.S-29.     Between 
six  and  seven  thousand  men  pcri>hed  in  a  single  night,'  but  as  the 
Swedish  fleet  was  also  damaged  in  the  same  hurricane,  the  relative 
strength  of  the  two  powers  was  not  materially  change<l.     In  spite  of 
repeated  misfortunes  King   Frederick   II.   "did  not  allow  his  royal 
courage  to  be  shaken."     Again  he  undertook  to  build  a  fleet,  which  he 
hope<l  might  retrie\e  the  lo.sses,  and  bring  him  the  coveted  victory. 
In    l')!)?    King    Erik    XI\'.   directed    his  attack  against   Norway. 
This  vain  and  ambitious  king,  who  was  iiH)rdinately  licentious  and 
void  of  an>   solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  his  people,  was    becoming 
mentally  unbalanced.     He  still  thought  that  the  Norwegians  would 
rise  against  the  Danes,  and  he  was  encouraged  in  this  belief  by  an 
adventurer,  Eno  Brandrok,  a  son  of  the  Norwegian  na\al  hero  Chris- 
topher Trt)ndss0n.     Eno   advisetl    Erik   to   attack    Akershus.     The 
Norwegians,  he  said,  would  rise  in  revolt  as  soon  as  the  Swtnles  a{>- 
peared,  and  the  march  from  Akershus  to  Bergenhus  woidd  be  a  tri- 
umphal procession.     .Stories  like  these  would,   naturally,  excite  the 
diseased  iuuigination  of  the  ahnost  insaiu'  king.     An   army   under 
John  Siggesson  was  (lis])atched  across  the  border  intt)  Osterdalen,  and 
a  wicked  raid,  accompanied  by  the  plundering  of  the  churches  and 
the  devastation  of  defenseless  settlements,  was  begun.     Ostenialen 
and  Hedemarken  were  ravaged,  Ilamar  was  taken,  and  Ilamarhus 
'  Otto  Vaupell,  Den  nordiskc  Syi-aarskrig,  p.  1 13  ff. 


154  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

castle  was  plundered.  But  when  the  enemy  reached  Oslo,  the  people 
burned  their  city  rather  than  see  it  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  invaders. 
The  districts  of  southeastern  Norway  submitted,  and  the  people  were 
forced  to  swear  allegiance  to  King  Erik  XIV.,  but  the  ravages  did 
not  cease.  Swedish  detachments  roamed  over  Ringerike,  Romerike, 
Hedemarken,  Gausdal,  and  the  districts  east  and  west  of  the  Chris- 
tiania  fjord;  Sarpsborg  was  burned,  because  the  people  refused  to 
pay  war  tribute;  the  same  fate  befell  Konghelle.  New  forces  ar- 
rived constantly,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  plundering  and  burning  would 
never  stop.  Akershus  was  invested,  and  Erik  Rosenkrans  of  Bergen 
sought  to  aid  the  besieged  fortress,  but  he  experienced  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  raising  forces  and  supplies.  The  war  had  exhausted  the 
resources  both  of  Norway  and  Denmark,  and  loud  complaints  were 
heard  on  every  hand.  Erik  Munk  was,  finally,  sent  to  Akershus  with 
reenforcements,  and  the  Swedes  had  to  retire.  They  marched  north- 
ward from  Oslo,  "  crossed  seven  large  rivers  which  were  in  their  way, 
and  everywhere  they  broke  down  the  bridges  behind  them,  burned 
everji:hing  which  they  found,  and  killed  both  men  and  women, 
sparing  no  one."  On  their  retreat  they  also  destroyed  Hamarhus 
castle,  and  burned  the  Hamar  cathedral.  The  great  church  was  not 
destroyed,  but  suffered  serious  damages,  which  were  never  repaired, 
and  the  cathedral  gradually  fell  to  ruin.^ 

After  the  termination  of  the  Norwegian  campaign,  the  struggle 
was  waged  principally  on  Swedish  soil,  and  Norway  was  not  seriously 
molested.  The  war,  which  had  exhausted  all  three  kingdoms,  was 
gradually  drawing  to  a  close.  King  Erik  XIV.,  who  had  become 
permanently  deranged,  was  finally  deposed,  and  his  brother,  Duke 
John,  was  placed  on  the  throne  as  King  John  III.  in  January,  1569. 
About  the  same  time  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  negotiated  with 
Denmark,  but  as  the  king  and  the  Estates  of  Sweden  would  not 
ratify  it,  hostilities  began  anew.  Frederick  II.,  however,  had  soon 
spent  the  last  strength  of  his  two  kingdoms,  and  peace  negotiations 
were  renewed  at  Stettin,  July  15,  1570,  and  the  final  treaty  of  peace 

^  The  cathedral,  which  was  a  structure  in  Romanesque  style,  was  built 
in  the  second  half  of  the  twelfth  century.  Einar  Orting,  Hamar  Domkirke, 
Sijmra,  vol.  VII.,  p.  95  f .  N.  Nicolaysen,  Slor-Hamars  Ruiner.  L.  Dietrich- 
son,  Vore  Foedres  Verk,  Christiania,  1906.  C.  Ramseth,  Hamar  Bys  Historic, 
Hamar,  1899.     C.  C.  A.  Lange,  De  norske  Klostres  Historie  i  Middelalderen. 


n  NORWAY    IN   THE    REIO.V    OF    FREDERICK    II.  155 

was  signed  December  18  of  the  same  year.  According  to  the  terms 
of  the  treaty,  Doiunark  should  surrender  all  claims  to  Sweden.  The 
question  of  the  tlin-e  cnnvns  in  the  Danish  coat  of  arms  should  he 
settle<i  l)y  a  court  of  arbitration;  but  as  this  court  was  never  as- 
sembled, Denmark  continued  to  use  the  three  crowns  as  before. 
Elfsborg  should  be  given  back  to  Sweden  on  the  payment  of  an  in- 
demnity of  loO.OOO  riksdalcr.  The  Xf)rwcL:ian  provinces  of  Jremt- 
land  and  Hcrjfdaleii,  which  had  hitherto  belonged  to  the  diocese 
of  Upsala,  were  joined  to  the  diocese  of  Troiidhjein.  All  shi[)s  and 
cannons  which  had  been  taken  in  the  war  should  l)e  returned  to  their 
respective  owners,  all  conquered  territory  should  be  surrendered, 
and  Liibeck  should  have  the  right  to  trade  with  Sweden.  In  the 
long  struggle  nothing  had  been  gained  by  either  power,  'llieir  rela- 
tive strength,  both  on  land  and  sea,  remained  what  it  had  been  since 
1537. 

23.   Norwegian  Internal  Ad.ministkation'  in  the  Reign  of 

Frederick  II. 

From  L>U)  till  1572  Norway  had  no  central  government  which 
could  represent  the  whole  people,  and  serve  as  a  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  king  and  the  royal  officials,  as  the  Council  had  ceased  to 
exist,  but  the  need  of  a  central  administrative  authority'  within  the 
kingdom  had  been  keenly  felt  in  the  war  with  Sweden.  As  each 
lenshcrre  was  the  highest  authority  within  his  own  district,  an  efficient 
use  of  the  country's  resources  in  time  of  danger  was  well-nigh  im- 
possible. No  army  was  maintained,  and  the  Norwegians  had  been 
unable  to  defend  themselves  even  against  a  small  inxading  force. 
In  1572  the  king  created  the  office  of  stdiholdrr  (viceroy)  of  Norway, 
to  which  position  he  appointed  i'aul  lluitfeldt,  connnandant  of 
Akershus.  The  statholdcr  should  have  supervision  of  the  church  antJ 
clergy,  the  courts,  and  the  royal  demesne  lands.  He  should  exercise 
authority  over  the  len.ihrrrcr,  so  that  they  should  not  opj^ress  the 
people,  and  by  a  regulation  of  July  5,  15SS,  he  was  also  placed  in  su- 
preme command  of  the   Norwegian   military  forces.'     The  central- 

Om  Ihxmmrr  orh   Ifamtncr  Kiohstndt:  B\igning,  old  mniuisoript  publishod  by 
Gustav  Storm  in  Ilislnrixk-topngrufixki'  Skriflrr  nm  Sorgc  og  rwrskc  Land.ttlilc. 
'  T.    TI.    Aschehoug,    Statsforfalningcn    i    Danmark   og    Norgc   indtil   iSt^ 
p.  389  fT. 


156  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

ization  of  administrative  authority  was  especially  necessary  in  order 
to  bring  better  order  into  the  finances  of  the  kingdom,  which  had  been 
reduced  to  a  wretched  state  during  the  war.  The  lands  belonging 
to  the  bishops  had  been  confiscated  by  the  state  at  the  introduction 
of  the  Reformation,  and  all  church  lands  should  also  be  administered 
by  the  government,  as  the  Lutheran  Church  was  a  state  church. 
But  before  the  revenues  could  be  made  to  flow  in  the  proper  channels, 
the  administrative  system  had  to  be  readjusted  to  the  altered  con- 
ditions. Three  subordinate  officers,  stiftsskrivere,  were  appointed 
to  supervise  the  buildings,  property,  rents,  and  incomes  belonging  to 
the  churches,  and  rules  were  made  regarding  saw-mills  and  the 
lumber  trade,  the  preservation  of  the  forests,  the  keeping  of  all  public 
property,  and  the  building  of  war  galleys.  Paul  Huitfeldt  was  per- 
sonally very  active.  He  traveled  about  in  the  united  dioceses  of  Oslo 
and  Hamar,  and  compiled  a  census  of  the  property  of  churches  and 
clergymen.  A  copy  of  this  document,  usually  called  "Paul  Huit- 
feldt's  Stiftsbog,"  is  still  in  existence.^  The  lensherrer  usually  re- 
ceived the  whole  income  of  a  small  len,  but  only  a  relatively  small 
share  of  the  income  from  the  principal  len.  The  statholder,  Paul 
Huitfeldt,  received  for  his  services  the  income  of  the  len  of  Troms0, 
but  only  10  per  cent  of  the  income  of  Akershus  len.  But  besides  this, 
he  was  granted,  also,  the  necessaries  for  his  large  household,  for  which 
he  might  use  three  hundred  chickens,  ten  barrels  of  tallow  for  candles, 
three  barrels  of  salmon,  and  five  hundred  flounders.  The  cost  of 
maintaining  these  great  lords,  besides  the  taxes  which  had  to  be  paid 
to  church  and  state,  often  made  the  public  burdens  alarmingly  heavy. 
In  1571  every  odelsbonde  had  to  pay  taxes  to  the  amount  of  one-half 
of  his  whole  income.  This  was,  however,  a  war  rate ;  in  1576  it  was 
reduced  to  half  that  amount,  or  25  per  cent  of  the  income.  The 
revenues  of  the  crown  were  derived  from  the  following  sources :  ^ 
The  landskyld,  or  income  from  rented  crown  lands ;  income  from  lands 
operated  for  the  benefit  of  the  crown,  consisting  chiefly  of  lumber 

>  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  181  f. 

'  The  system  of  taxation  at  this  time  is  found  clearly  illustrated  in  an 
old  manuscript  in  the  Norwegian  royal  archives,  which  contains  an  itemized 
account  of  incomes  and  expenditures  of  Akershus  len  for  the  years  1557-1558, 
and  1560-1561.  Extracts  from  these  accounts  have  been  published  by 
T.  H.  Aschehoug  in  Norske  Satnlinger,  vol.  I.,  p.  161  ff. 


II  NORWAY    IN    THE    REIfiN'    OF    FREDERICK    II.  1)7 

sawed  in  the  n»yal  f()r('>t>,  the  rejjular  taxes,  consisting  of  the  ledirig 
tax  for  the  coast  (Hstricts  and  the  vijtpre  tax  for  the  inland  districts ; 
foring,  or  tlie  feeding;  of  liorses  used  hy  the  jjovernment.  which  seems 
to  have  l)een  a  new  tax,  as  it  is  mentioned  for  the  first  time  in  a 
statute  of  l.")78;  fines  imposetl  by  the  court  in  punishment  of  crime; 
tithen ;  duties,  consisting  of  duty  on  goods  exi)orted,  and  a  certain 
tax  or  toll  on  ships  according  to  their  si/x' ;  sUc  (excise),  or  import 
duty  on  ale  and  j)rydsing  ;  and  aid  paid  the  crown  hy  certain  districts, 
prol)al)l>'  a  fri'c  donation.  The  taxes  were  collecte<l  hy  the  provosts 
and  fiujrd.s,  who  usually  einployiHl  the  len.snurnd  {hondir-lerufttupnd) 
for  this  j)urj)ose.  As  money  was  very  scarce,  the  taxes  were,  usually, 
paid  in  sheep,  cattle,  and  produce  of  various  kinds,  which  had  to  be 
transported  to  Akershus,  or  some  other  central  point,  at  the  expense 
of  the  crown.  A  part  was  used  for  the  household  of  the  statholdcr 
or  Inusherrc,  and  for  the  j)ayment  of  servants  and  officials ;  the  re- 
mainder was  sent  to  Denmark.' 

After  the  war  the  army  was  neglecteil  both  in  Xonvay  and  Den- 
mark ;  but  considerable  attention  was  devoted  to  the  fleet,  as  Fred- 
erick II.  wished  to  maintain  Danish  supremacy  in  the  Baltic.  The 
sea  was  also  made  insecure  by  luimerous  pirates,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  keej)  a  strong  fleet  in  active  service  to  keep  them  at  bay.  In- 
teresting incidents  sometimes  occurred  in  these  pirate  hunts.  In  15t)7 
Captain  Aalborg  sailed  from  Bergen  to  look  for  pirates.  At  Karm- 
sund  he  discovered  two  suspicious  looking  vessels,  which  he  brought 
to  Bergen  for  inspection.  One  of  the  vessels  was  found  to  carr\' 
Janu's  Hepburn.  Karl  of  Bothwell,  the  husband  of  Mary  Stuart. 
Although  a  fugitive,  lie  was  courteously  received  by  Erik  Kosenkrans, 
connnandant  at  Bergen,  who  entertaine<l  him  at  a  bancjuet.  In 
Bergen  the  earl  met  a  lady  to  whom  he  had  been  untnie.  This  was 
Anna,  the  daughter  of  Christopher  Trondssrtn,  who  confronted  him 
with  evidence  that  he  was  her  husband.  In  Norway  she  was  known 
as  "skottefnien"  (the  Scotch  lady).  She  would  have  nothing  more 
to  do  with  the  faithless  Bothwell.  and  the  earl  was  taken  to  Denmark, 
where  he  was  imprisoned  at  Malmohus.  ami  later  at  Dragsholm, 
until  his  death  in  ].")7S. 

'  T.  H.  Asohohoujr,  I^c  twrske  Cnmmuntrs  Rclsf or/at ning  Jot  1S37,  p.  84  f. 
Yngvar  Nielsen,  Xorgcs  Uislorie,  vol.  IV. 


158  HISTORY    OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

One  of  the  most  noteworthy  characters  whose  names  are  connected 
with  the  pirate  hunts  of  those  times  is  Mogens  neiness0n,  who  was 
born  of  Norwegian  parents  in  the  Faroe  Islands,  where  his  name  still 
lives  in  stories  and  traditions.  He  had  sailed  as  merchant  between 
Bergen  and  the  Faroe  Islands ;  his  ship  had  been  robbed  by  pirates, 
and  he  had  gone  to  Holland,  where  he  enlisted  in  the  navy.  Later 
he  returned  and  began  again  to  trade  with  his  native  islands,  though 
this  trade  had  been  made  a  royal  monopoly.  Sometimes  he  hunted 
the  pirates,  and  at  other  times  he  was  a  Vildng  corsair,  leading  a  life 
of  romantic  adventure,  until  his  old  enemy,  Christopher  Valkendorf, 
succeeded  in  throwing  him  into  prison.  Through  Valkendorf's 
influence  Heiness0n  was  sentenced  to  death  and  executed  without 
proper  trial.  This  unjust  proceeding  was  later  annulled,  and  Chris- 
topher Valkendorf  had  to  pay  Heiness0n's  widow,  and  his  old  busi- 
ness partner,  Hans  Lindenow,  a  large  indemnity.^ 

The  problem  of  creating  a  just  and  efficient  government  in  Norway, 
where  the  details  of  law  and  administration  could  not  come  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  king  and  his  Council,  presented  difficulties  which 
were  not  solved  even  by  the  creation  of  the  office  of  statholder.  The 
old  complaints  of  extortion  and  oppression  by  the  fogeds  and  royal 
officials  continued.  Unlawful  taxes  were  often  collected,  and  the 
people  felt  aggrieved  by  many  unjust  and  arbitrary  acts  on  the  part 
of  the  foreign  royal  officers,  who  neither  understood  the  local  condi- 
tions, nor  enjoyed  the  good-will  of  the  people. 

However  well-meaning  the  paternal  rule  of  a  foreign  monarch  may 
be,  it  is  always  bad.  His  numerous  subordinates  may  practice  a 
most  exasperating  tyranny,  which  he  cannot  mitigate  without  de- 
stroying the  very  system  of  which  he  has  become  the  representative. 
In  order  that  the  king  through  his  Council  might  exercise  a  more 
direct  influence  upon  the  administration  and  the  enforcement  of  the 
laws  by  the  courts,  councils  of  magnates,  which  had  hitherto  been 
assembled  on  special  occasions,  were  held  more  frequently.  From 
1568  such  councils  (herredage)  may  almost  be  regarded  as  a  perma- 

1  Troels    Lund,   Mogens    Heineas&n,    Copenhagen,    1877.      Ludvig  Daae, 

Om    Mogens    Hciness6n,   Christiania,    1869.     Lucas    Debes,    Feroe    et  Feroa 

reserata,    Copenhagen,    1673.     J.    H.    Sehr0ter,    Fcer^iske    Folkesagn,  Anli- 
quarisk  Tidsskrijt,  1849-1851. 


II  NORWAY   IN'   THK   REIGN   OP  FREDERICK   II.  159 

nently  estiiblished  institution.  They  were  to  act  as  a  higher  court, 
but  administrative  questions  were  also  considered  and  settled. 
Some  members  of  tiie  Danish  Council  —  not  above  five  —  were  sent 
to  Xonvay  to  hold  such  assizes.  The  measures  adopted,  and  the 
decisions  made  were  to  be  regarded  as  if  they  had  been  made  by  tlic 
Council  itself,  but  an  ai)peal  could,  nevertheless,  be  made  to  the  kinj^ 
and  the  Council.'  The  kirii;  thou^dit  that  all  irregularities  and  (jf- 
fenses  could  be  investigated  and  adjusted  by  the  stathuldcr  and  the 
Councils,  so  that  no  complaints  would  have  to  be  carried  directly  to 
the  throne.  But  the  Norwegians  were  accustomed  fnjm  very  early 
times  to  bring  their  grievances  to  the  attention  of  the  king  directly. 
He,  they  thought,  would  not  shield  the  offender,  even  if  he  were  a 
high  official;  he  would  give  them  justice,  and  instead  of  appealing 
to  the  slatholdcr,  they  aj)pointed  committees  to  go  to  Copenhagen 
to  lay  their  com|)laints  before  the  king  himself.  The  king  was  an.xious 
to  see  justice  done,  but  the  officials  and  nobles  against  whom  com- 
plaints were  made,  sought  to  revenge  themselves  upon  those  who 
venture<l  to  seek  justice  in  that  way.  In  1573  a  committee,  led  by 
Ilolv  Ilalvardss0n,  was  sent  to  Copenhagen,  and  when  they  had 
presented  their  case,  the  king  wrote  a  letter  to  Ludvig  Munk,  lens- 
hcrre  in  Trondhjem,  requesting  him  to  aid  the  binder,  and  to  see  to 
it  that  the  matter  was  settled  right.  But  when  the  committee  re- 
turned, they  got  into  trouble  with  Ludvig  ^lunk  and  his  foged,  and 
Ilolv  Ilalvardss0n  and  his  companions  were  unjustly  condemne<i  to 
death  and  executed.-  The  constant  struggle  between  tyrannical 
officials  and  an  angry  people,  wliose  necks  could  not  be  bent,  fills  the 
centuries  of  the  union  period  with  tragic  episodes,  and  constitutes 
one  of  its  most  characteristic  and  noteworthy  features.  The  struggle 
was  not  a  war  for  national  liberty,  conducted  by  great  leaders  ;  it  was 
not  a  general  organized  movement,  but  a  dogged  and  persistent  fight 
by  the  people  for  their  legal  rights  and  their  freedom  as  individuals, 
without  which  a  Norseman  could  not  live,  and  out  «)f  which  national 
Hberty  sprang  full-grown  when  the  union  with  Dciunark  eiidctl. 

'  Yngvor  Nielsen,  Norgc.t  Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  171  ami  lOS.  T.  II.  Aschiv 
houg,  Slntsforfnlttingcn  i  Norge  og  Danmark  indlil  J  SI.',,  p.  '.iS'2  IT. 

*  To  Uvmdngxdommc  af  l')7S  og  ITiTfi  angnacndc  noglr  Hinder  i  (Juldalen 
som  var  henrcllcdr  for  Landrnndcsng,  Norskc  Snmlingrr,  II.,  p.  31  fT.  TIalvd.in 
Koht,  Fi/rcbuing  til  norsk  Politik,  Historiskc  AJhandUngir  tUcgnet  J.  E. 
Sars,  p.  132  fif. 


igo  history  of  the  norwegian  people  ii 

24.    Intellectual  and  Social  Conditions  in  Norway  in  the 
Sixteenth  Century 

The  literary  life  in  Norway  in  the  sixteenth  century,  though  it 
shows  a  lack  of  creative  ability,  is  not  wholly  wanting  in  intellectual 
energy,  and  many  valuable  works  were  written  in  this  period  by  the 
Norwegian  humanists.  Humanism,  which  had  spread  over  Europe 
from  Italy,  had  been  temporarily  interrupted  by  the  Reformation,  but 
after  Protestantism  had  been  established  in  the  North,  it  blossomed 
forth  again  with  increased  vigor.  In  Norway,  as  elsewhere,  the 
clergy,  who  had  studied,  not  only  in  the  schools  at  home,  but  at  the 
universities  abroad,  and  had  acquired  the  spirit  and  culture  of  the 
age,  became  devoted  adherents  of  the  new  learning.  Some  noblemen 
of  literary  tastes  and  scholarly  inclinations  were  also  enthusiastic 
humanists.  At  the  bishops'  seats,  and  also  at  the  parsonages,  small 
libraries  were  collected,  though  books  were  rare  and  expensive.  The 
prevalent  cosmopolitan  spirit,  the  Latin  language  everywhere  used 
by  scholars,  and  common  intellectual  interests  bound  the  humanists 
in  all  countries  together  with  fraternal  ties.  They  felt  themselves 
to  be  a  sacred  brotherhood,  constituting  the  universal  kingdom  of 
learning,  and  theirs  was  the  special  privilege  of  exploring  and  bringing 
to  light  the  great  intellectual  treasures  and  culture  of  classic  antiq- 
uity. They  turned  their  attention  also  to  the  past  history  of  their 
own  people,  and  dug  from  obscurity  and  neglect  the  sagas  of  the 
kings  of  Norway,  translated  them  into  the  modern  Norse  tongue, 
and  sought  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  their  own  past  greatness. 
In  Bergen,  where  the  talented  humanist  Gel)le  Pederss0n  became  the 
first  Lutheran  bishop,  a  circle  of  learned  literary  men  sprang  into 
existence.  In  Nidaros,  Stavanger,  Hamar,  Oslo,  and  other  places 
humanists  were  poring  over  old  books  and  dusty  manuscripts  in  their 
eager  search  for  knowledge.  One  of  the  leading  Norwegian  human- 
ists was  Mag.  Absalon  Pederss0n  Beyer  of  the  Bergen  Latin  school, 
a  pupil  and  protege  of  Geble  Pederss0n.  Mag.  Absalon  wrote  the 
"  Liber  Capituli  Bergensis,"  ^  a  diary  which  gives  a  picture  of  Bergen  at 

1  The  work  is  published  by  N.  Nicolaysen,  Christiania,  1860,  under  the 
title  Liber  Capituli  Bergensis,  Absalon  Pederss^ns  Dagbog  over  Begivenheder 
isoer  i  Bergen,  1552-1572. 


II  LITERATrRE    IN'    THE    SIXTEENTU    CENTURY  161 

timt  time  with  ^'rr;it  distinctness  of  dttail.  lie  iilso  wrote  "Norges 
Heskrivelse,"  '  a  (k'scription  of  Xonvay  which  is  especially  reraarkahle 
because  of  the  intense  patriotic  feeling  expri'ssed  in  it.  The  author 
bemoans  in  most  pathetic  words  the  loss  of  Norwegian  indeixMidence, 
but  he  sj)eaks  with  elocjufiit  h(ipffuhie>s  when  he  refers  to  the  coun- 
try's future.  The  followinj^  quotation  will  show  the  general  tenor  of 
the  book:  "Therefore  bej;ins  here  Norway's  old  age,  since  she  has 
become  so  old,  cold,  and  unfruitful  that  she  cannot  give  birth  to 
royal  children  of  her  own,  who  roulil  be  her  rulers.  Her  nobility, 
good  heroes,  and  warriors  died  from  her,  i)art  by  the  sword,  and 
part  by  the  pestilence  during  the  Black  Death  .  .  .  so  that  from  that 
time  forth  the  Norvs'egian  nobility  has  constantly  decreased  in  num- 
ber, year  by  year,  and  da.\'  l)y  day.  since  their  fathers  either  gave 
their  property  to  monasteries  or  churches,  or  forfeited  it,  or  they 
wasted  it  themselves  throu|;h  marriaj^e,  or  a  number  of  bastard  sons 
inherited  it.  Furthermore,  the  Norwegian  nobility  receive  no  grants 
of  land  belonging  to  the  crown  or  the  dioceses,  and  their  own  suffice 
little  or  nothing  to  maintain  the  style  and  extravagance  which  are 
now  so  common,  therefore  they  are  becoming  extinct."  He  compares 
Norway  to  an  old  widow  who  nnist  lean  upon  a  stall'  in  walking,  but 
she  is  only  a[)j)arently,  not  really,  weak. 

"Still  Norway  might  awaken  from  her  sleep  if  she  could  get  a 
ruler,  for  she  is  not  so  degenerate<l  or  weakened  that  she  could  not 
regain  her  former  power  and  glory  ;  for  these  hard  mountains  are 
full  of  good  l)utter,  silver,  gold,  and  other  precious  things.  The 
people  still  i)ossess  some  of  the  old  virtue,  manhood,  and  pcnver, 
which  should  enable  them  to  fight  for  their  lord  and  native  land,  if 
they  could  daily  see  him  and  experience  his  favor."-  The  author's 
optimism  regarding  Norway's  future  tlevelopment  and  the  ability  of 
the  Norwegian  people  to  retain  their  lost  national  greatness,  reste<l 
on  a  correct  anticipation,  based  on  a  thorough  knowledge  of  local 

'  Published  by  Oustav  Storm  in  H isiorisk-topografiske  Skriftrr  om  Sorge 
og  norske  Landsdelr  i  del  lOde  Aarhundrvdc,  Christiania,  1S95.  Ynfrvjir 
Nielsen,  Af  Nnrgcs  Ilislorir,  Dc  norskv  IIumnninlrr,  p.  ll.'>  (T. 

*  Gustav  Storm,  Ih'slorisk-lopogrdfi.skc  Skrifirr,  Om  Norgis  Rige,  af  Ma+j. 
Absalon  Pedersstln  Beyer,  p.  21  fT.  liiismus  Nyonip,  Historisk-slalisti.'ik 
Skildring  af  Tilslandcu  i  Daiunark  og  Norge  i  aldrc  og  nyerc  Tidcr,  vol.  I., 
p.  320  ff. 

VOL.  II M 


162  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

conditions.  Unfortunate  circumstances  had,  indeed,  led  to  Norway's 
union  with  Denmark,  in  which  perfect  equahty  between  the  two 
sister  kingdoms  could  not  be  maintained ;  but  the  Norwegian  people 
had  never  been  conquered,  their  spirit  had  not  been  subdued  or 
broken,  sometime  the  irksome  ties  would  be  dissolved,  Norway 
would  wake  from  her  slumbers,  the  spirit  of  the  people  would  reassert 
itself,  and  a  new  era  of  national  progress  would  begin.  Modern 
Norwegian  history  proves  the  correctness  of  Mag.  Absalon  Pederss0n's 
views.  We  shall  have  the  opportunity  to  observe  how  this  new  na- 
tional awakening  began  long  before  the  union  with  Denmark  was 
dissolved. 

Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  clergyman  in  Undal  in  Agder,  was  a  patriot 
like  his  contemporary,  Absalon  Pederss0n  Beyer.  He  wrote  a  work 
about  Norway,  "Norigis  Beskriffuelse,"  a  Norwegian  natural  history, 
and  a  description  of  the  Norwegian  island  colonies.^  He  also  pub- 
lished a  translation  of  the  "  Sagas  of  the  Kings  of  Norway,"  a  most 
important  work,  through  which  the  people  learned  to  know  their 
past  history,  as  they  were  no  longer  able  to  read  their  books  in  the 
Old  Norse  language.  Through  this  work  Norwegian  national  feeling 
received  a  powerful  stimulus.  Mattis  St0rss0n,^  who  died  in  1569 
as  lagmand  in  Bergen,  translated  the  "  Sagas  of  the  Kings  of  Norway  " 
from  the  "Heimskringla"  and  the  "Codex  Frisianus,"  and  for  the 
lensherre  in  Bergen  he  wrote,  about  1555,  "En  kort  Beretning  om 
Kj0bm8endene  ved  Bryggen"  {i.e.  a  short  account  of  the  Hanseatic 
merchants  in  Bergen).^  He  complained  of  their  encroaclmients, 
and  proposed  plans  for  improving  the  country^'s  economic  condition. 
Gustav  Storm  says  :  "  He  thought  that  Greenland  in  olden  times  had 
been  a  gold-mine  for  Norway,  similar  to  what  India  was  for  the  Span- 
ish monarchy,  and  we  probably  do  not  err  in  believing  that  he  has 
translated  the  old  'Gr0nlands  Beskrivelse,'  and  has  worked  it  into 

^  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  Samlede  Skrifter,  edited  by  Gustav  Storm,  Chris- 
tiaaia,  1881. 

^  Mattis  St0rss0n's  work  is  the  first  translation  of  the  sagas  into  modern 
Danish.  It  was  published  in  Copenhagen,  1594,  by  Jens  Mortensen,  and 
was  erroneously  called  ''Jens  Mortensens  Sagaoverssettelse."  See  Gustav 
Storm,  Et  gjenfundct  Haandskrijt  af  Mattis  St^rss^ns  Sagaoversoettelse,  His- 
torisk  Tidsskrift,  anden  rsekke,  vol.  V.,  p.  271  ff. 

*  Printed  in  Norske  Magasin,  I.,  p.  43-46. 


ri  LITERATFKE    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTUItY  163 

Erik  Valkendorf's  accounts  of  Greenland,  to  he  used  on  the  expedi- 
tions of  discovery  which  were  sent  out  from  IJergen  sliortly  after- 
ward." Laurents  Ilanss0n  Bonde,  who  lived  in  the  nei^hl)orhood 
of  Hermii,  translated  sagas  and  wrote  commentaries  to  the  C(j(ies  of 
church  laws.'  Erik  Hansson  Sch0nneb0l  wrote  "  LijfoteiLS  og  Vester- 
aalens  Beskrivelse."  ^  "  Her^'cns  Fundats,"  written  by  some  un- 
known author,^  looO  or  1. ')(')().  contains  a  history  of  Borden  till  the 
time  of  Christopher  \'alkendorf  and  the  subjugation  of  the  Hanseatic 
merchants.  "Bergens  Rimkr0nike,"  by  an  unknown  author,  nar- 
rates the  histor>'  of  the  city  till  the  time  of  the  Victual  Brothers,  and 
is  of  importance  as  an  historical  source*  "Gandske  Xommedals 
Lens  Beskrilluelse  Aar  1597,"  "Om  Ilammars  KJ0bsUi{ls  Bygning," 
1553,^  and  "Norsk  So"  ("Die  nordtsche  Sau"),  a  bitter  complaint 
of  moral  conditions  in  Bergen,  written  about  1584,  are  also  of  unknown 
authors.' 

In  Oslo  Bishop  Jens  Nil3.s0n  became  the  center  of  a  large  circle  of 

>  Gr^nlands  hUloriske  Mindcsmcrkcr,  111.,  p.  250-2G0,  490-494.  Laurits 
Hanssfins  SagaoversaUelse,  edited  by  Gustav  Storm,  Christiania  Videnskabs- 
Selknbs  Skriflcr,  1899. 

*  Published  by  Gustav  Storm  in  IlUtorisk-lopografiske  Skrifter  om  Norge 
og  norske  Landsdele.  Storm  has  shown  that  Sch0nuob0l  is  the  author, 
though  the  work  was  orifjinally  published  anonymously.  See  Ifistorisk 
Tidsskrifl,  trodio  nckke,  vol.  IV.,  p.  173  ff. 

*  Horluf  Lawritss0n  has  been  regarded  as  the  author  of  Bcrgcnx  Fundats 
by  Ilolborg,  Xyorup,  N.  Nicolaysen,  Yngvar  Nielsen,  and  others;  but 
Gustav  Storm  has  shown  that  Lauritss0n  cannot  be  the  author.  (J.  Storm, 
Om  Skriftel  "  Bvrgcns  Fundats"  og  dels  forf alter,  Hislorisk  Tidsskrifl,  tredie 
rakke,  vol.  IV.,  p.  418  ff. 

*  N.  Nicolaysen,  and  likewise  Yngvar  Nielsen  ("Bergon,"  p.  328)  have 
held  that  the  author  of  Bcryins  Fundats  has  usetl  Bergcns  I{imkri>niki'  as  a 
BOUrce,  but  Clustav  Storm  has  shown  that  Bcrycns  liirnkriinikv  is  ba.sod  on 
Bergrns  Fundats.     Soo  llistnrish  Tiilsskrifl,  trodic  nekko.  vol.  IV.,  p.  418  ff. 

*  Published  by  (lustav  Storm  in  Ilistorisk-topugrajijikc  Skrifttr  om  Sorgc 
og  norske  Landsdele. 

*  Norske  So,  printed  in  N.  Nicolaysen's  Xorskc  Magasin,  vol.  II.  The 
title  was  suggested  by  a  deformed  pig  born  at  Oslo,  July  7,  1581.  This 
caused  great  alarm,  as  the  superstitious  pectple,  and  the  no  le.ss  superstitious 
humanistic;  scholars,  regarded  it  as  an  evil  omen  signifying  thai  the  v««ngeance 
of  God  would  fall  upon  the  people,  because  of  their  wickc<ines8.  The  poem 
is  of  importance  as  an  historical  source,  as  it  gives  us  an  insight  into  the 
moral  dci)ravity  in  Bergen  at  that  time,  though  the  author  is  guilty  of  ex- 
travagant e.xaggerations. 


164  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

learned  and  able  humanists.^  Besides  his  knowledge  of  Greek  and 
Latin  he  was  well  versed  in  Norwegian  history  and  Old  Norse.  He 
copied  the  manuscript  of  the  "  Jofraskinna,"  and  wrote  Latin  songs, 
in  which  he  describes  the  scenery  of  Norway,  and  the  life  and  customs 
of  the  people,  especially  in  the  district  of  Telemarken,  where  the  life 
of  the  Middle  Ages  was  still  well  preserved.  His  most  important 
work  is  his  "Visitatsb0ger,"  a  record  of  his  work  as  bishop  of  Oslo- 
Hamar  diocese  during  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  in  which  he  de- 
scribes the  country,  the  roads,  the  lower  nobility,  clergy,  peasants, 
and  townspeople.^  Fredrik  Gr0n  says  of  Absalon  Pederss0n  Beyer, 
Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  and  Jens  Nilss0n :  "  In  a  larger  sense  the  hu- 
manistic ideas  were  brought  to  Norway  by  these  men.  It  was,  at 
all  events,  principally  these  three  who  brought  humanistic  thought 
to  the  hitherto  intellectually  isolated  educated  circles  in  Norway,  to 
whom  these  thoughts  w^ere  hitherto  unfamiliar." ' 

Regarding  the  population  in  the  North  in  this  period  only  meager 
data  exist,  as  no  census  was  taken  till  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  calculations  based  on  tax  lists  and  the  old  military 
system  leave  so  much  to  conjecture  that  the  results  deduced  by  dif- 
ferent authorities  diverge  very  radically.  Professor  P.  A.  Munch 
held  that  the  population  of  Norway  prior  to  the  Black  Death  must 
have  been  about  560,000.  Professor  J.  E.  Sars  states  as  a  result  of 
his  investigations  that  prior  to  the  great  plague  Norway  had  about 
300,000  inhabitants,  and  that  during  the  plague  the  number  was 
reduced  to  200,000 ;  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  had 
again  risen  to  300,000,  and  at  the  end  of  the  same  century  the  popula- 
tion of  Norway  numbered  about  400,000.^  Troels  Lund  has  figured 
out  that  in  the  year  1600  Denmark  had  a  population  of  about  1,400,000, 
and  that  the  population  of  Norway  numbered  about  600,000.     But 

^  Among  those  belonging  to  this  circle  were  :  Halvard  Gunnarss0n,  author 
of  Latin  poems  and  historical  works,  Rector  Jacob  Wolf,  Doctor  of  Medicine 
Peder  Fleml0se,  Peder  Alfss0n,  Claus  Berg,  Provost  Rasmus  Hjort  in  Tuns- 
berg,  Povel  Nilss0n  of  Sande,  and  others. 

'  Biskop  Jens  Nilss^ns  Visilatsbfiger  og  Reiseoptegnelser,  published  by 
Yngvar  Nielsen,  Christiania,  1885.  See  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Af  Norges  His- 
torie,  De  norske  Humanister,  p.  115  ff. 

*  Fredrik  Gr0n,  Nogen  medicinske  Forholde  i  Norge  i  del  16de  Aarhun- 
drede,  Hisiorisk  Tidsskrift,  fjerde  rsekke,  vol.  IV.,  p.  399  ff. 

*  P.  A.  Munch,  Del  norske  Folks  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  439  ff. 


II  I'OIM  I.VTION    I\    TMK    SIXTEKNTH    CKNTl'KY  lft5 

as  Sars  claims  tliat  tliis  estimate  is  without  foundation,  we  may 
take  the  lowest  fij^ures  as  the  more  rehable,  i.e.  the  total  population 
of  Norway  and  Denmark  in  1(1(10  mi^dit  he  estimated  to  he  about 
1,5(KI,0()().'  Ikit  relatively  considered,  this  was  a  larj^e  population 
at  that  time,  as  Scotland  did  n<»t  have  over  80(),(M)0  inhabitants,  and 
the  population  of  Enji;lan(l  did  not  number  above  5,(MI(),()(I(). 

City  life  was  b\it  little  develoi)e<l,  as  the  people  lived  for  the  most 
j)art  in  the  country.  Ber^'en  was  still  the  largest  city  in  the  North, 
and  the  most  imjjortant  commercial  center.  The  population  of 
the  leading  cities  in  the  Scandanavian  kingdoms  about  1000  is  esti- 
mated by  Troels  Lund  as  follows  :  Hergen  15,000,  Copenhagen  13,000, 
Stockholm  7000.  Malmo  0000,  and  Trondhjem  about  5000.  But  this 
estimate,  which  is  based  un  military  service  and  tax  lists,  seems  to  be 
largely  a  result  of  conjecture.-  Yngvar  Nielsen  estimates  the  jjopu- 
lation  of  Bergen  to  have  been  six  or  seven  thousand  at  the  time  of 
the  introduction  of  the  Reformation  (1536)  '  while  J.  E.  Sars  thinks 
that  at  this  time  the  poj)ulation  of  Bergen  could  not  have  been  much 
above  3000.  Trondhjem  about  1000,  Oslo  about  1500,  and  the  other 
cities  i)robably  had,  on  the  average,  about  500  inhabitants.^  Because 
of  the  Hanseatic  trade  monopoly,  man>'  of  the  smaller  towns,  such  as 
\'aagen,  ^'eey.  Borgund,  Kaui)anger,  and  Lillehammer,  had  either 
disappeared,  or  had  become  mere  market  places. 

From  time  to  time  foreign  elements  have  been  added  to  the  native 
population  in  Norway,  as  in  all  otiuT  countries.  This  influx  of  new 
blood  may,  indeed,  have  been  lighter  in  so  distant  a  land  than  in 
the  countries  more  centrally  located,  but  in  the  Middle  Ages  the 
immigration  became  of  great  imi)ortance  to  Norway  in  several  ways. 
After  the  union  was  established,  a  great  lumiber  of  Danes  settled  in 
the  kingdom  as  officials,  ministers,  teachers,  men'hants,  and  even  as 
laborers  and  artisans.  During  the  Hanseatic  supremacy  the  Ger- 
man merchants  became  an  inllucntial  clcnifiii  in  many  cities,  es- 
pecially in  Bergen,  where  their  colony  at  one  time  is  thought  to  have 

•J.  E.  Sars,  FolkcjtKrngdcns  Bcvdgclse  i  S'nrgc  lS-t7iic  Aarh.,  Historisk 
Tidsskrifl,  anden  rtokke,  vol.  III.,  p.  2S2  fT.  Troels  Lund.  Dagligt  Liv  i 
Norden  i  dct  Hide  Aarhundnilf,  vol.  I.,  p.  .■)2  fT. 

*  Troels  Lund.  Dagligt  Liv  i  Xorden  i  del  IGde  Aarhxindrrdf,  vol.  L.  p.  52  ff. 
'  Ynpvar  Xiolson,  Hergen,  p.  2S."). 

*  J.  E.  Sars.  i'dsigl  over  den  norake  Historic,  IIL.  p.  259  ff. 


166  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

numbered  about  3000  persons.  In  the  sixteenth  century  many 
Hollanders  and  Englishmen  settled  in  Norway  as  merchants,  and 
many  Scotchmen,  who  hud  })een  brought  over  as  mercenaries,  re- 
mained permanently  in  the  country.^  The  most  remarkable  foreign 
element  which  came  to  the  North  in  that  century  was  the  Gypsies. 
The  origin  of  this  people  is  veiled  in  impenetrable  mystery.  In 
course  of  time  they  have  spread  over  the  greater  part  of  Asia  and 
Europe,  and  they  are  also  found  in  Africa  and  America.  In  southern 
Europe  they  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  1417,  and  claimed  to  be 
Egyptian  pilgrims  who  made  a  vow  to  wander  about  homeless  for  seven 
years  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  their  ancestors,  who  had  refused  to  give 
Jesus,  when  a  child,  a  drink  of  water  from  the  Nile.  By  the  Greeks 
they  were  called  Gyphtoi,  which  has  been  changed  in  English  to  Gyp- 
sies. The  story  w^hich  they  told  of  their  origin  created  sympathy 
for  them,  and  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope  placed  them  under  their 
special  protection.  But  when  it  was  learned  that  the  Gypsies  did 
not  return  to  their  ow  n  land,  that  they  practiced  witchcraft,  and  that 
they  were  not  to  be  relied  upon  in  word  or  deed,  they  soon  became  the 
object  of  hatred  and  persecution.  In  some  countries  they  were  called 
Tartars  (N.  Tater),  as  they  were  thought  to  be  heathens  from  Asia. 
Led  by  their  king  or  duke  the  Gypsies  generally  advanced  in  bands  of 
three  hundred  persons  or  less.  A  few  of  the  leaders  were  mounted,  the 
rest  of  the  band  —  men,  women,  and  children  —  went  on  foot.  They 
were  seen  for  the  first  time  in  the  North  in  1505.  A  band  led  by  Count 
Antonius  Gagino,  which  had  spent  some  months  in  Scotland,  came  to 
Denmark,  bringing  a  letter  of  recommendation  from  James  IV.,  stating 
that  they  had  been  peaceful.  In  1511  another  band  led  by  "Junker 
J0rgen  of  Egypt"  entered  Schleswig.^  In  the  following  year  the 
Gypsies  appeared  in  Sweden,  and  they  must  have  entered  Norway 

^  The  influx  of  foreigners  into  the  Norwegian  cities  can  be  observed  in 
the  Bergens  Borgerbog,  1550-1751,  edited  by  N.  Nicolaysen,  Christiania, 
1878.  During  two  hundred  years,  from  1550  till  1750,  9279  persons  had 
acquired  the  privileges  of  citizenship  in  the  cities  of  Norway.  The  birth- 
place of  6526  is  recorded.  Of  these  3352  were  born  in  Norway  or  in  the 
Norwegian  colonies,  and  2974  were  foreigners :  1607  Germans,  758  Danes, 
353  Enghshmen  and  Scots,  147  Swedes,  103  Hollanders,  five  Frenchmen, 
and  one  Spaniard. 

^  Troels  Lund,  Dagligt  Liv  i  Norden,  p.  52  ff. 


II 


THE   GYPSIES  167 


about  the  same  time.  Thoy  were  at  first  treated  with  kindness, 
but  as  they  were  given  to  theft  and  swindle,  they  soon  became  gen- 
erally hated.  In  15:^6  tliey  were  outhiwed  and  ordere<i  to  leave 
Norway  within  tliree  mijnths ;  any  one  niiglit  kill  them  and  take 
their  property  ;  people  were  forl>i(lden  to  shelter  them  or  give  them 
any  aid  ;  and  the  h'ths-nuind  who  did  not  arrest  all  the  Ciypsies  within 
his  district  was  made  personally  responsible  for  any  damage  which 
they  might  do.-  "The  poor  Gyi)sies  were  now  in  dire  straits, "  says 
Troels  Lund.  "  The  foxes  and  wolves  were  better  situated  ;  but  they 
could  not  be  exj)elled  even  by  these  measures.  Adhering  like  burrs, 
homeless  as  migrating  birds,  shy  and  unsusceptible  to  kind  as  to 
harsh  treatment,  Imngry  as  wolves,  noiseless  and  .keen-eyed  Hke  cats 
in  the  dark,  they  Hved  only  for  the  moment.  They  could  rejoice 
hke  children  when  they  found  a  brief  rest,  but  they  could  also  endure 
hardsliii)s  on  their  endless  wanderings  to  a  degree  that  no  merceiuiry 
soldier  had  dreamt  of.  They  did  not  depart;  they  retreated  every- 
where, but  remained  in  the  country.  And  whither  should  they  go? 
If  they  went  to  France,  they  would  be  sentenced  to  the  galleys ;  in 
Germany  and  the  Netherlands  they  were  outlawed.  The  only 
thing  accomplished  by  this  onler  issued  by  King  Christian  III.  was 
to  split  them  up  into  smaller  bands,  which  were  chase<l  without  plan 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  persecuted  wherever  they 
appeared,  but  gone  at  the  moment  when  they  were  to  be  seized  ;  dole- 
ful, leaving  no  footprints,  like  children  of  the  darkness."  As  the 
Gypsies  had  no  religion,  as  they  jjracticed  magic  arts,  and  were  ac- 
cused, though  unjustly,  of  sacriKcing  human  beings,  the  church  joined 
the  state  authorities  in  persecuting  them,     in  Sweden  an  order  was 

•The  Code  of  (^hristian  V.,  a  lawbook  prepared  for  (ho  kingdom  of  Nor- 
way, 1G87,  contains  tlie  following  article  rej^ardins  the  Oypsios  :  (Jypsiofl 
who  run  about  and  swindle  people  with  thoir  eheatinj;.  lies,  theft,  and  sorwry 
should  be  seized  by  the  local  authorities  wherever  they  can  bo  found,  and 
those  who  are  captured  by  the  people  in  the  country  should  be  delivertnl  to 
the  nearest  bondir-hnsmand.  who,  with  the  aid  of  the  j)o<iple,  shall  bring  them 
to  the /«(/(</,■  and  all  their  belongings  shall  i)e  s<'i/A'd,  and  their  Iea<lers  shall 
be  punisheii  by  death ;  the  others  shall  leave  the  kingdom  by  the  shortest 
route,  and  if  they  are  afterwards  seen  or  met  with  in  this  kingdom,  they 
shall  sutler  death  like  their  leaders,  and  whoever  houses  or  shelters  them 
shall  pay  to  his  lord  for  every  night  and  every  person  like  one  who  ahelt<>r3 
an  outlaw.    Book  HI.,  chapter  '22,  article  3. 


168  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

issued  to  the  parish  priests  in  1560  that  "a  priest  must  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  Taters  (Gypsies).  He  must  neither  bury  their  dead 
nor  baptize  their  children."  ^  A  similar  order  was  issued  by  the 
Bishop  of  Fyen  in  Denmark,  1578.  "  If  Gypsies  come  to  the  land, 
as  sometimes  happens,  then  shall  no  priest  marry  them,  or  give  them 
the  sacrament,  but  he  shall  let  them  die  as  if  they  were  Turks, 
and  they  shall  be  buried  outside  of  the  churchyard  as  heathens.  If 
they  wish  to  have  their  children  baptized,  they  must  baptize  them 
themselves."  ^  But  the  united  efforts  of  the  church  and  state  could 
not  crush  them.^  Under  the  worst  persecutions  they  seem  to  have 
made  no  attempt  to  leave ;  they  were  not  reduced  in  number,  nor 
did  they  adopt  a  different  mode  of  life.  At  last  the  more  humane 
spirit  of  modern  times  freed  even  the  despised  Gypsies  from  perse- 
cution, and  suffered  them  to  walk  their  ow^n  paths  unmolested.  But 
the  modern  humane  spirit  accomplished  what  medieval  persecution 
did  not  achieve.  The  Gypsies  no  longer  felt  the  necessity  of  wholly 
isolating  themselves  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  They  accepted  into 
their  flocks  tramps  and  idlers  of  various  kinds,  and  thereby  they 
gradually  lost  their  language  and  their  identity  as  a  people.  In 
Denmark  they  have  already  ceased  to  exist  as  a  distinct  nationality, 
and  in  Sweden  and  Norway  they  are  fast  disappearing.  The  Night- 
men  in  Jutland  and  the  Fanter  in  Norway  are  the  last  mixed  remnants 
of  the  Gypsies,  who  through  the  process  of  amalgamation  wall  soon 
be  totally  absorbed  by  the  native  population.*  As  to  their  influence 
on  the  native  population  Troels  Lund  says :  "  The  Gj^sies  constituted 
a  distinct  ingredient  in  the  life  of  the  North  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
not  only  as  viewed  by  themselves,  but  especially  through  their  con- 
nection with  the  rest.  Their  sneaking,  noiseless  existence  constitutes 
a  mysterious  ingredient  in  the  motley  mixture,  and  belongs  to  the 
shady  side  of  its  existence.  They  help  us  to  understand  the  people's 
great  aversion  to  being  out  after  dark,  the  shudder  which  went  through 
all  when  an  unusual  noise  was  heard  at  night,  or  a  light  was  seen  in 

^  F.  Dyrlund,  Tatere  og  Natmandsfolk,  p.  13. 

*  Bloch,  Den  fyenske  Geisiligheds  Historic,  p.  43,  quoted  by  Troels  Liind, 
Dagligt  Liv  i  Norden,  vol.  I.,  p.  77. 

'  Eilert  Sundt,  Fante-  eller  Landstrygerfolket  i  Norge,  Christiania,  1850- 
1865.  *  Ibid. 


II  INLAND   TIlAVnL   IN   THE   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY  169 

the  forest.  One  mi^ht  tliiiik  that  the  fact  that  they  seldom  appeared 
would  have  restricted  this  fear,  but  they  gave  name  and  example 
to  a  host  of  Iij;ht-fcarinj;  tramps,  crooks,  loafers,  and  niKJithawks, 
who  even  before  iiad  bcni  a  trui;  scourge.  Tlie  same  was  tiie  case 
with  the  sorcery  and  (itinonolatry  of  the  Gypsies.  As  they  were  too 
few  to  attract  much  attention  tliemsclves,  they  became  the  visible 
and  tanpble  cxj)ression  for  the  superstition  and  fear  of  the  devil 
whicii  diaracterized  the  age." 

Inland  tra\tl  was  still  attended  with  great  difficulty.  The  jour- 
neys through  the  mountain  districts  had  to  be  made  on  horseback, 
as  no  wagon  roads  existed.  The  narrow  mountain  trails  which 
wound  across  the  iiiouiitaiiis  and  through  the  dense  forests  were 
often  as  hard  to  iind  as  they  were  difficult  to  travel.  This  was  es- 
pecially the  case  in  winter,  when  snow  and  ice  made  travel  both  diffi- 
cult and  dangerous,  Man's  best  friend  on  these  lonesome  and  hazard- 
ous journeys  was  the  strong  Norwegian  mountain  pony,  who  might 
be  trusted  both  to  find  the  trail  and  to  walk  it  with  heavy  burdens, 
and  it  is  not  strange  that  the  Norseman  from  time  immemorial  has 
felt  a  most  tender  attachment  for  his  favorite  animal.  The  dangers 
and  hardships  of  inland  travel  are  referred  to  even  in  the  Edda  poems. 
The  "  Ilavamal"  says  : 

"  Fire  needs  he 
wlio  enters  the  house 
and  is  cold  about  the  knees; 
food  and  clothes 
the  man  is  in  need  of 
who  has  journeyed  over  tlic  mountains." 

And  Skirnir,  who  is  sent  to  Jotunheim  by  the  got]  Frey  to  woo  for 
him  the  fair  Cicrd.  says  to  his  horse: 

"  Dark  it  is  outside, 
nu'thinks  it  is  time  to  journey 
over  the  damp  mountains 
to  the  J0tun  hosts  ; 
but  both  of  us  shull  return, 
or  both  shall  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
powerful  .lotun." 

("Skirnismdl") 


170  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

A  couple  of  logs  did  the  service  of  bridge  across  the  roaring  mountain 
torrents.  The  work  of  keeping  the  roads  in  repair  consisted  in  re- 
moving rocks  and  timber  which  obstructed  the  passage.  The  road 
overseer,  appointed  by  the  binder,  rode  on  horseback  along  the  middle 
of  the  road  with  a  spear  sixteen  feet  long  with  loops  on  each  end.  If 
he  could  pass  with  this  spear  so  that  the  loops  did  not  become  at- 
tached to  any  obstruction,  the  road  was  considered  to  be  in  order.^ 
Two  main  routes  led  from  eastern  to  western  Norway  over  the  moun- 
tains ;  one  from  Oslo  to  Bergen  through  Valdres,  across  Filef jeld  to 
Sognef  jord,  and  the  other  to  Trondhjem  through  Gudbrandsdal  across 
the  Dovre  mountains.  Until  mountain  stations  were  erected  where 
wayfarers  might  find  food  and  shelter,  these  routes  could  be  traveled 
only  with  the  greatest  diflSculty.  But  the  stream  of  pilgrims  wliich 
yearly  visited  the  shrine  of  St.  Olav  in  Trondhjem  prior  to  the  Ref- 
ormation made  the  erection  of  such  stations  a  necessity.  In  speaking 
of  the  route  across  the  Dovre  mountains  the  old  writer  Peder  Clauss0n 
Friis  says :  "  But  in  the  winter  people  of  high  estate,  as  well  as  mem- 
bers of  the  court,  travel  mostly  that  way,  because  however  deep  the 
snow  may  fall,  it  blow^s  together  on  the  high  mountains,  and  becomes 
so  hard  that  men  and  horses  can  walk  on  it,  and  the  binder  run  over 
it  on  ski  and  snow-shoes.  And  there  are  these  three  stations  :  Driv- 
stuen,  Herdekinn,  and  Fogstuen,  built  on  the  same  mountain,  in 
order  that  travelers  may  find  lodging  there.  And  kings  and  arch- 
bishops have  given  cows  and  land  to  those  who  dwell  below  the 
mountains,  in  order  that  they  shall  keep  the  stations  in  proper  order. 
And  at  Herdekinn  dwells  a  man  who  has  some  cows  which  are  given 
for  his  support,  in  order  that  he  may  keep  the  station  properly,  and 
show  the  travelers  the  way  across  the  mountains  in  the  winter ;  and 
it  is  his  duty  always  to  keep  a  supply  of  fodder  and  dry  wood  ready, 
for  there  are  kettles  and  pots  in  the  house,  and  other  such  utensils. 
And  at  the  other  stations  there  are  implements  and  dry  wood  for 
making  fire,  so  that  the  travelers  may  build  themselves  fire,  and  not 
suffer  from  cold,  when  they  have  to  remain  over  night,  and  cannot 
find  the  way  across  the  mountains."  ^    On  the  southern  route  were 

*  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  IV.,  p.  224  ff.  Troels  Lund,  Dagligt  Liv  i  Norden, 
vol.  I.,  p.  93  f. 

"^  Peder  Claus80n  PViis,  Samlede  Skrifter,  published  by  Gustav  Storm, 
p.  3G1  f. 


II  INLAND   TRAVLL    IN'    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTlUY  171 

found  Maristiicn  and  Xystuen,  and  at  these  stations  chapels  were  also 
erected  for  tlu-  pilgrims  and  travelers.'  Because  of  the  great  in- 
convctiieiice  connected  \vith  inland  travel,  it  is  natural  that  tra\el 
l)y  water  was  jjreferred  wherever  it  was  possihle.  On  account  of  the 
lack  of  proper  means  of  communication  the  inliind  nioinitain  dis- 
tricts were  thinly  settled,  and  made  slow  progress.  But  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  as  in  days  of  old,  the  most  generous  hospiUdity  was 
^hown  every  wayfarer.  In  the  monasteries  tlie  traveler  always 
found  welcome  and  free  lodging:  for  charity's  sake,  until  these  insti- 
tutions were  closed  on  tlie  advent  of  the  Keformati(jn.  But  the  un- 
written law  of  hospitality  was  as  carefully  observed  by  the  people 
at  large.  Mag.  Absalon  PederssOn  Beyer  writes :  "Truly  a  pious, 
godfearing,  and  virtuous  j)erson  can  journey  from  Bohus  to  Vard0- 
hus,  which  journey  is  more  than  three  liundred  miles,-  and  lie  shall 
not  spend  above  ti  riksdaler,  yes,  they  are  glad,  and  they  consider  it 
an  honor  when  anyone  wishes  to  eat  and  drink  with  them.  The>- 
-ometimes  even  give  people  presents  if  they  will  make  merry  with 
them.  A  Norwegian  sailed  from  here  to  Danzig,  and  stopped  at  an 
inn.  And  when  he  was  going  to  leave,  the  hostess  asked  him  to  pay 
for  food  and  ale.  lie  asked  if  he  should  pay  for  ale  and  food,  and 
the  hostess  answered  yes.  He  said  that  it  was  not  custonuiry  in  his 
country  to  receive  pay  for  ale  and  food,  Init  the  woman  said  that  it 
was  custom  in  her  country.  Then  said  he:  *0  Norway,  thou  holy 
land  !  As  soon  as  I  touch  thee  again,  I  shall  fall  on  my  knees  and 
kiss  thee.'  which  he  also  did.  And  it  is  a  strange  thing  that  in 
other  lands  Norway  is  regarded  as  a  barren  kingdom,  which  it  is  in 
some  respects,  and  still  so  much  ale  and  food  are  given  for  nothing 
that  many  are  astonished."  '  After  the  monasteries  were  abolishtHj, 
the  country'  parsonages  became  the  hostelries  for  weary  travelers, 
where  free  food  and  lodging  were  cheerfully  given  by  the  hospitable 
parson,  who  was  usually  an  excellent  host.  In  the  cities  numerous 
inns  offered  lodging,  food,  and  ale  for  a  small  price,  but  they  were 

'  YngA-ar  Xielsoii.  lieischnandbog  over  Norgr,  *>'  S'ystuen."  Ilisloruk 
Tuhskrifl.  IV..  231-j;i2.      Xorsk  Turislforcnings  Anrbog.  1S74,  p.  78. 

'  Throo  hundred  Xorwofjian  miles   =  2100  En^H^li  niilos. 

'  .Vbsaloii  PfiioiHsoti  Hoyor.  Orn  Norgis  Rigr,  puhlislu-d  by  (lUatnv  Storm 
in  Ilislorisk-topografiske  iSkri/lcr  om  Norge  og  riorskc  LutuLidclf,  p.  40  ff. 


172  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

usually  low  dives,  where  thieves  and  drunkards  had  their  haunts, 
and  where  no  wayfarer  could  feel  safe.  These  cheap  inns  were  es- 
pecially numerous  in  Bergen,  where  they  numbered  four  hundred 
in  1625.  In  Stavanger  they  multiplied  so  rapidly  that  in  1604  Chris- 
tian IV.  made  a  regulation  restricting  their  number,  as  "they  aroused 
God's  anger  by  drunkenness,  murders,  and  otherwise." 

The  chief  means  of  inland  transportation,  especially  of  heavy  goods, 
was  the  sleigh,  and  such  transportation  was  carried  on  in  the  winter 
months  when  the  fine  sleighing  facilitated  traffic.  The  wagon  was, 
indeed,  used  in  the  more  level  districts,  and  had  been  used  from  the 
very  earliest  times,  which  can  be  seen,  among  other  things,  from  the 
Oseberg  find  from  about  800  a.d.,  where  a  four-wheeled  wagon  has 
been  preserved  complete.  But  the  use  of  the  wagon  as  a  vehicle  of 
transportation  must  have  been  very  restricted  until  the  time  when 
more  modern  roads  were  constructed. 

The  houses  of  the  common  people  were  much  the  same  in  the  six- 
teenth century  as  they  had  been  ever  since  the  Viking  period.  On 
each  gaard  (farm)  there  were  a  number  of  houses  erected  for  different 
purposes,  the  main  one  being  the  stue  (0.  N.  stofa),  or  dwelling  house, 
which  corresponded  to  the  skaale.  Instead  of  glass,  which  was  very 
scarce  and  expensive,  windows  were  usually  made  of  translucent 
paper  or  membrane.  The  houses  were  built  of  logs,  and  the  walls 
were  low.  The  spacious  roof,  which  was  made  of  birch-bark,  covered 
vnth.  sod,^  bore  a  rich  crop  of  grass  and  wild  flowers,  and  might  at 
times  serve  as  pasture  for  some  nimble  and  enterprising  goat.  From 
the  outside  these  houses  presented  no  imposing  appearance,  but 
upon  entering  one  might  find  the  stue  large  and  cozy,  though  the 
conveniences  known  to  modern  times  were  wanting.  The  abundance 
of  fine  pine  timber  enabled  the  Norwegians  to  build  large  houses, 
and  to  erect  separate  buildings  for  all  sorts  of  purposes,  so  that  a 
large  gaard  would  look  almost  like  a  small  village.  One  notable 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  stue  or  skaale  since  earlier  times.  The 
open  fireplace  in  the  center  of  the  room  (arinn),  and  the  opening  in 
the  roof  above  it  (Ijori),  had  disappeared,  and  an  oven  with  chimney, 
built  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  had  come  to  serve  the  purpose  of 
both.  The  room  was  lighted  by  burning  sticks  of  pitch  pine,  or  a 
1  Gustav  Storm,  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  Samlede  Skrifter,  p.  136  f. 


I'LATK  IV 


,  flH^^^^H 

Ol.l)     l'AU>O.NAt.l,     1  UOM     \.\Al.l,     IN     (I  I   I)  IIUA  M)>1)  A 1.,     NuW     Al      Ll  l.I.l.  11 A  M  Ml.  K. 

Latku  Tyi'k. 


(  >1.1)    (    111   HI  II    A  I     HoHi.tM). 


II  DWELLING8    A\D    CITIES  173 

lamp  filk'<l  with  train  oil.  Tlic  larj^f  table  at  the  upper  end  of  tlie 
room  was  built  of  substantial  ]nnc  planks,  the  benehes  were  ma<ie 
of  the  same  material,  the  dishes,  vessels,  and  utensils  were  home- 
made, and  so  were  the  clothes,  the  shoes,  and  even  the  ornaments  of 
gold  and  siKcr.  The  Imiiso  of  the  coiunion  man  were  {)lain  even  to 
simj)li<'ity,  dark  and  poorly  veiitilate<i,  but  they  had  their  charm 
when  the  floor  was  strewn  with  twigs  of  evergreen  fcjr  holidays  or 
festive  occasions,  and  not  less  when  the  famil\-  gathere<l  about  the 
fireplace  in  the  e\ening,  each  with  his  own  work,  knitting,  sewing, 
mending,  wood  carving,  or  nuiking  vessels  and  utensils  for  the  house- 
hold. Then  songs  and  stories  imlocked  the  stores  of  adventure  of 
ages  past,  and  young  and  old  lived  once  more  with  Esben  Askelad, 
and  the  heroes  of  ballads  and  the  sagas.  This  simple  rustic  life  left 
few  but  strong  imj)ressions,  and  though  its  comforts  were  few,  it 
fostered   a   vigorous  and  manly   race. 

The  cities  of  continental  h'urope  originated  for  the  most  part  as 
fortified  strongholds,  serving  as  a  defense  against  the  enemy  ;  but  even 
in  early  times  the  Norsemen  built  conmiercial  towns,  and  the  citie> 
of  Norway  are,  as  a  rule,  of  commercial  origin.  Walls  and  fortifica- 
tions were  of  later  construction,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  castle, 
the  city  was  never  felt  to  be  a  fortress.  But  the  general  features  of 
the  European  cities  in  the  sixteenth  centur\'  were,  nevertheless,  met 
with  also  in  Norway,  and  a  description  of  London  or  Copenhagen 
would,  no  doui)t,  apply  in  a  general  way  also  to  Bergen,  Oslo,  and 
Trondhjem.  The  limite<l  space  inside  the  city  walls  necessitate<l  a 
crowding  together  of  the  houses.  Not  only  were  the  streets  narrow, 
but  the  second  and  third  stories  were  often  extended  beyond  the  first, 
shutting  out  i)oth  air  and  light.'  The  streets  were  poorly  pavnl. 
dark,  crooked,  and  hlthy.  as  manure,  a.shes,  garbage,  and  refu.se  of  all 
sorts  were  thrown  out  of  doors  without  much  regard  for  comfort  and 
well-being.  Pigs  were  running  l(»ose,  wallowing  in  pools  of  mud.  and 
living  oil"  tiie  garl)age  heaps,  and  when  the  late  petlt^trian  sought  to 
find  the  way  honu\  he  had  to  carry  a  lantern  to  avoid  falling  into  the 
cellarways,  projecting  into  the  dark  and  narrow  passage  calle<l  the 
street.     Numerous  laws  were  passed  to  secure  cleanliness  and  better 

'  Valdotnar  Vodol,  By  og  Borgcr  i  Midddaldcren.  Trools  Lund.  Dagligl 
Liv  i  S' or  den. 


174  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

order  in  the  cities,  but  these  were  not  heeded.  People  regarded  them 
as  an  infringement  on  their  Hberty,  and  continued  in  the  old  ways. 
New  lessons  could  only  be  taught  by  great  calamities,  and  nature 
applied  the  lash  to  dull  humanity  in  the  form  of  conflagrations  and 
pestilence,  until  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  finally  produced  the 
needed  improvements.  Time  and  again  the  cities,  consisting  as 
they  did  of  wooden  structures,  packed  closely  side  by  side,  were  al- 
most totally  destroyed  by  fire.  Patiently  the  suffering  and  impov- 
erished inhabitants  rebuilt  them  in  the  same  way,  until  fear,  at  length, 
gave  birth  to  the  idea  of  constructing  wide  streets  and  public  squares, 
and  of  rearing  the  buildings  of  less  combustible  material.  The  filth 
in  the  narrow  passages  and  ill-kept  streets  proved  an  even  worse 
enemy  than  fire.  The  summer  heat  turned  these  filthy  passages  into 
breeding  places  of  disease,  exhaling  their  deadly  contagion  upon  a 
people  who  failed  to  obey  nature's  great  law  of  cleanliness.  Violent 
epidemics  harried  the  North  in  the  sixteenth  century  with  a  frequency 
which  filled  all  minds  with  dread,  and  caused  untold  sorrow  and  suf- 
fering. From  1550  till  1554  a  malignant  pest  harried  the  larger  cities 
of  Norway  and  Sweden,^  and  especially  Denmark,  where  the  uni- 
versity and  the  schools  were  closed,  the  court  fled  from  the  capital, 
and  so  many  people  died  that  it  was  feared  that  the  country  would  be 
depopulated.  In  1563-1566  the  same  plague  renewed  its  visit  in 
Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden.  Bergen,  Trondhjem,  and  Stock- 
holm suffered  severely ;  the  dead  were  thrown  into  big  pits  by  day 
and  by  night ;  even  birds  and  animals  were  poisoned  by  the  con- 
tagion. In  1568  the  pest  again  visited  Copenhagen,  in  1572  Stock- 
holm, in  1575-1578  it  harried  both  Denmark  and  Sweden,  and  in 
1580-1581  it  renewed  its  ravages  in  the  whole  North.  Copenhagen 
was  again  visited  by  the  dread  disease  in  1583,  and  during  the  next 
two  years  it  spread  throughout  all  Denmark.  In  Stockholm  it  broke 
out  anew  in  1588,  in  1592  it  was  brought  from  Livonia  to  Copen- 
hagen, in  1596-1598  it  harried  Sweden  fearfully,  and  in  1599  it  was 
again  raging  in  Denmark.  What  sorrow  and  helpless  misery  these 
fearful  epidemics  left  in  their  trail !     But  at  this  great  cost  some  lessons 

*  Absalom  Pederss0n  Beyer,  Liber  Capituli  Bergensis,  1552-1572,  pub- 
lished by  N.  Nicolaysen,  Christiania,  1860,  p.  109.  Norske  Magasin,  II., 
645.     Troels  Lund,  Dagligt  Liv  i  Norden,  II.,  p.  67  f. 


II  THE    WITCHCRAFT   CRAZE  175 

were  learned,  and  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  quickened  human 
intciii^'CMcc.  The  study  of  diseases,  and  the  science  of  me<!icine  and 
sanitation,  whidi  were  to  transft)rni  all  human  life,  ori^iiuited  in  these 
dark  periods  of  human  helplessness  and  woe. 

Hut  if  the  suffering  due  to  man's  ignorance  cast  a  dark  shadow  over 
human  existence,  the  self-inflicted  horrors  arisinj^  from  man's  cred- 
ulity and  superstition  have  (jfteu  turned  hunmn  society  into  a  veri- 
lHi)le  inferno  from  which  reason  itself,  and  all  nobler  instincts,  for  a 
season  seem  to  have  fled.  The  sixteenth  century  was  a  period  when 
superstition  sat  enthroned  in  the  miiuls  of  all  classes,  high  as  well  as 
low.  But  of  all  delusions  which  haunted  man's  brain,  the  belief  in 
witchcraft  with  the  attending  torture  and  burning  of  witches  was 
undoubtecily  the  most  abominable.'  It  is  not  here  the  place  to  dwell 
upon  the  revolting  horrors  of  tiie  witchcraft  craze,  except  so  far  as 
it  has  left  its  stain  of  stupid  fear  and  brutality  also  in  Norwegian 
history.  As  early  as  1325  a  witchcraft  trial  was  conducted  in  Bergen 
against  Ragnhild  Trcgagaas.  After  she  had  been  kept  in  prison 
and  chains  for  a  long  time,  she  was  finally  released  on  the  condition 
that  she  should  fast  certain  periods  everj'  year,  amounting  in  all  to 
over  half  the  days  in  the  year,  and  that  she  shoukl  make  a  pilgrimage 
to  some  sanctuary  outside  of  Norway  once  every  seven  years.  How 
many  such  cases  occurred  prior  to  the  Reformation  is  not  known,'  but 
witchcraft  trials  and  executions  were  numerous,  especially  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  begiiuiing  of  tlie  seventeentii. 
The  most  noted  case  was  the  trial  of  tiic  widow  of  Absalon  Pederss^jn 
Beyer,  who  was  condemned  to  death,  and  burned  as  a  witch  in  Ber- 
gen, 1590.'  Any  woman  who  knew  more  than  the  Lord's  Prayer,  i.e. 
\^ho  possessed  literary  culture  above  the  average,  was  in  danger  of 
being  persecuted  for  .sorcery  and  secret  association  with  the  devil ; 

'One  of  the  chief  works  on  the  history  of  the  wit<'horaft  craze  is  Soldan, 
Ge.achichte  dir  Ilcxcnproeeusc,  2  vols..  Stutlk'nrt.  ISSO.  Walter  8<«ott.  L*tUr$ 
on  Devwnology  and  Wilchcrajl,  London,  1.S72  and  1H.S1.  lirt'tzmann,  Huc- 
vasen  og  Troldskab  i   Norgc,   lS(j.').     O.   A.  Overland.    S'nrgcn   HiMorif,  VI., 

p.  125  ir. 

»P.  A.  Munch.  To  Breve  af  liiskop  Audfin  bclrcffende  en  IlrzcproctM  i 
Bergen  Aar  1S25,  Samlingcr  til  dci  norake  Folks  Sprog  og  Hislorit,  vol.  V., 
p.  479  ff. 

'The  documents  of  the  trial  are  printed  in  Sorake  Samlingcr.  vol.  I., 
p.  529  fr. 


176  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

and  after  the  craze  was  once  started,  any  prank  of  imagination  was 
sufficient  cause  for  dragging  the  \4ctims  of  suspicion  before  the 
courts,  and  subjecting  them  to  the  most  cruel  tortures  to  press  from 
them  an  admission  of  guilt.  From  the  years  1592  to  159-1  the  "Ber- 
gens  Raadhus-Protokol"  ^  gives  accounts  of  several  witchcraft  trials. 
Oluf  Gausdal  was  condemned  to  death  as  a  sorcerer.  He  claimed  that 
he  had  learned  his  magic  art  of  two  women,  ^Marine  Haldorsgaard 
and  Mumpe  Guron,  and  these  were  burned  as  witches  some  years 
later.  He  even  implicated  the  bishop's  wife,  who  was  saved  with 
difficulty  from  sharing  the  fate  of  the  others.  Delis  R0neke  was  tried 
for  witchcraft  and  banished  from  Bergen ;  Johanne  Jensdotter  was 
burned  at  the  stake,  and,  likewise,  Anna  Knutsdotter.  In  1613  two 
women  were  burned,  because  "by  their  sorcery  they  had  caused  a 
mill  in  Sandvik  to  be  destroyed,"  and  several  more  women  were 
burned  at  the  stake,  because  they  were  thought  to  have  caused  ship- 
wreck upon  the  high  seas  by  their  magic  arts.  Anna,  the  widow  of 
Herluf  Lauritss0n,  the  supposed  author  of  "  Bergens  Fundats,"  was 
also  accused  of  witchcraft.  She  was  thrown  into  prison  and  on  the 
night  of  the  19th  of  July  "  her  neck  was  twisted  and  broken  by  the 
devil,"  says  the  account.  Who  the  devil  was  that  committed  this 
outrage  is  not  recorded.  One  woman  was  tortured  with  red-hot  irons 
until  she  died,  and  another  died  in  prison  after  being  tortured.  From 
Finmarken  to  Oslo  and  Christiania  witchcraft  trials  were  carried  on 
with  torture  and  executions.^  As  late  as  1737  Ole  Hoime  in  Slidre 
parish  was  tried  as  a  sorcerer,  but  he  escaped  with  a  relatively  mild 
punishment.^  This  seems  to  have  closed  the  chapter  of  witchcraft 
trials,  the  ghastliest  spectacle  in  Norwegian  history,  though  com- 
paratively few  were  executed  as  compared  with  the  thousands  who 
suffered  death  in  all  parts  of  Europe.  Xo  worse  outrage  was  ever 
added  to  the  woeful  list  of  wrongs  against  humanity  even  in  those 
days  of  medieval  darkness,  and  its  effect  upon  the  finer  moral  and  in- 
tellectual sensibilities  of  society  was  the  more  pernicious,  because  it 

^  Uddrag  av  Bergens  Raadhus-Protokol  for  Tidsrummel  Juli  1592-  Mai 
1594,  published  by  N.  Nieolaysen  in  Norske  Samlingcr,  vol.  I.,  p.  321  ff. 
Daniel  Thrap,  Bergenske  Kirkeforholde  i  del  17de  Aarhundrede,  Christiania, 
1879. 

^  Norske  Samlinger,  I.,  p.  525  ff. 

*  O.  A.  Pverland,  Norges  Hislorie,  vol.  VI.,  p.  125  fif. 


ri  CRIMINAL   JLklPKLDENCE  177 

had  been  committed  in  the  name  of  religion  and  justice.     This  reign 
of  terror  and  superstition  hreeded  general  callousness  and  mental 
obtuseness,  de»trf>yefl  the  regar^l  for  the  sacreriness  of  hu- 
and  the  rights  of  man,  and  fostered  a  judicial  brutality  whicL  :     ■  ^.  - 
itself  in  all  criminal  jurisprudence  of  that  [>erirxl.     The  crude  crjn- 
ception  of  the  rights  of  the  individual  and  his  value  t/>  srKnety  is  sa/^lly 
cf^nspicuous.     In  early  days  the  freeman's  p>ersrjn  and  honor  were 
regardefJ  as  sacrwl.  and  this  .^acredness  of  person  (mannhelgi)  was 
guarrJed  by  the  old  laws.     The  greatest  crimes  were  punished,  not 
by  straightway  taking  the  life  of  the  criminal,  but  by  imp^jsing  a  fine, 
or  by  declaring  him  an  outlaw,  thereby  turning  him  over  to  the 
vengeance  of  those  whom  he  harl  wrrjnged,  but  aLvj  to  the  merc>'  of 
the  cr>mmunity.     In  the  sixteenth  centun*'  the  idea  of  sacredness  of 
the  individual  seems  to  hiave  di->apf>earefl.     Human  life  ha/1  \mt<     ;  • 
cheap,  arul  neither  the  Ixxly  nor  the  honor  of  the  individual  cit    • 
was  any  longer  a  sacred  thing  which  the  court  was  comf>elled  to  treat 
with  respect.     The  trials  were  often  accompanied  by  brutal  t/jrture, 
and  capital  puni.-hment  was  inflicted  with  a  frequenc>'  which  made 
the  hangman  one  of  the  lea/Jing  city  officials,  and  the  public  execu- 
tions the  amusement,  not  only  of  the  jesting  rabble,  but  of  the  sedate 
city  fathers.      On  passing  Norrjnes  at  Bergen  one  might  have  seen, 
almost  at  any  time,  several  Ixxiies  dangling  frrjm  the  gallows,  exp<jsed 
even  after  death  to  the  jeers  of  idlers,  prrjbably  for  no  greater  crime 
than  for  jumping  over  the  city  wall,  or  stealing  a  few  pounds  of  butter. 
The   rwy>rd^   left  \>\   Mag.  Ab>alon  Perierss<Jn  Beyer   in   his  diar>'. 
"  Liber  Capiluli  Bergcn^is,"  gives  us  an  iitsight  into  the  way  in  which 
crimes  were  punished  in  Bergen  in  the  sixteenth  centur>'.     A  Iwy  was 
behearJe/l  for  jumjjing  over  the  city  wall.     A  man  who  was  i 

of  having  killeri  hi>  wife  was  trjrtured  till  one  joint  of  his  tl.  ....  .  .  A 

off.     At  times  he  a/imitteri,  but  again  he  denied  his  guilt,  but  he  was, 
nevertheless,  executed.     A  baker  was  hanged  l>ecause  he  had  stolen 
butter.     A  bonde  (farmer)  was  hanged  because  h«- 
train-oil  on  the  wharf.     Two  young  men  of  old  m-  - 

tives  of  Christijpher  Tnjndi>s<»n,  were  hanged  l>ecause  they  ha^i  picked 
locks  and  strjien.  A  young  Ixjy  who  ser\ed  at  the  castle  was  aU) 
hanged  for  theft  Examples  of  this  kind  of  legal  justice  need  not  be 
multipUe*],  nf>r  need  we  mention  the  numerous  executions  for  what 

VOL.    II  —  .S 


178  HISTORY   OF  THE    NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

we  would  consider  more  suflBcient  reasons,  for  these  alone,  it  seems, 
might  have  satisfied  the  desire  of  judges  to  inflict  the  favorite  death 
penalty.  Fights  and  drunken  brawls  were  numerous  even  at  wed- 
dings and  other  social  gatherings ;  murders  and  other  crimes  were  of 
frequent  occurrence.  When  we  read  the  descriptions  of  social  con- 
ditions in  the  sixteenth  century  left  by  old  writers,  we  feel  that  there 
was  guilt  enough,^  but  no  shadow  in  the  picture  is  deeper  than  that 
of  justice  forgetting  to  be  just,  and  allying  itself  with  superstition 
and  bigoted  cruelty.  It  is  the  one  great  evil  which  especially  darkens 
the  physiognomy  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

But  the  century  has  also  its  brighter  side  looking  forward  to  a  new 
era,  the  first  dawn  of  which  had  already  broken  through  the  medieval 
darkness.  New  elements  of  progress  had  entered  the  intellectual  and 
spiritual  life  of  the  people  with  the  Renaissance  and  the  Reformation, 
while  new  inventions,  a  revival  of  commerce,  and  the  growth  of  a 
native  merchant  class  in  the  cities  gave  promise  of  a  new  develop- 
ment in  the  economic  life  of  the  nation.  The  destruction  of  the 
Hanseatic  trade  monopoly,  and  the  development  of  Norwegian 
lumber  export  were  the  important  factors  in  this  commercial  and 
economic  development.  Boards  and  timber  had  been  exported,  es- 
pecially to  Iceland  and  England,  in  very  early  times.  King  Henry 
III.  wrote  to  his  bailiffs  in  Southampton,  Nov.  13,  1253,  instructing 
them  to  buy  two  hundred  Norwegian  pine  boards,  and  deliver  them 
to  the  sheriff  of  that  city,  to  be  used  for  wainscoting  the  room  of  his 
dear  son  Edward  in  the  Winchester  castle.^  At  the  same  time  men- 
tion is  made  of  a  purchase  of  1000  Norwegian  boards  for  the  panelling 
of  some  rooms  in  the  Windsor  castle.  "Norway  planks,"  says 
Turner,  "were  largely  imported  into  this  country  from  the  early 
period  of  the  century  (thirteenth),  and  perhaps,  although  it  is  not 
quite  clear,  at  a  still  earlier  term."     The  lumber  export  to  England 

'  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  Samlede  Skrifter,  p.  381.  Absalon  Pederss0n 
Beyer,  Liber  Capituli  Bergensis.     Norske  So. 

'  Liberate  Roll  37  Henry  III.,  quoted  in  Some  Account  of  Domestic  Agri- 
culture in  England  from  the  Conquest  to  the  End  of  the  Thirteenth  Century,  by 
T.  Hudson  Turner,  Oxford,  1851.  See  L.  J.  Vogt,  Om  Norges  Udf^rsel  af 
Tra;last  i  aldre  Tider,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  anden  raekke,  vol.  V.,  p.  86  ff. 
Alexander  Bugge,  Handelen  mellcm  England  og  Norgc  indtil  Begyndelsen  af 
det  16de  Aarhundrede,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie  raekke,  IV.,  p.  138  ff. 


II  TRADE    WITH    KNGLAND    A.VD    HOLLAND  179 

did  not  hecome  of  ^reut  importance,  however,  till  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  the  l]iiuli>li  forests  no  longer  produced  the  needwl 
sui)i)ly.  A  more  iniportaiit  market  for  Norwegian  lumher  developed 
in  HolhuKi  and  the  lower  districts  of  northwestern  Germany.  In  a 
letter  issued  iiy  King  Kirik  Magnusson  to  the  citizens  of  Hamburg, 
July  31,  1290,  in  which  he  grants  them  various  trade  privileges,  he 
states  that  they  shall  have  the  right  to  carry  from  Norway  in  their 
own  shij)s  lumber  and  all  other  kinds  of  goods,  upon  paying  a  fixe<l 
export  duty.'  On  .Vugust  24,  1  llii,  the  city  of  Amsterdam  received 
the  privilege  to  trade  in  Bergen  and  elsewhere  in  Norway,  except  in 
the  Norwegian  colonies,^  and  in  the  reign  of  Christian  I.  five  similar 
letters  were  issued  in  six  years  (1452-1458),  granting  trade  privileges 
to  various  cities  in  Holland,^  an  indication  of  the  rapid  growth  of 
trade  with  the  NetluTlands.  This  lumber  trade  with  Holland  led  to 
an  ever  widening  commerce  with  that  countr\',  as  the  Hollanders 
did  not  enforce  a  monopoly  on  trade  like  the  Hanseatic  merchants, 
but  maintained  an  open  market,  and  welcomed  goods  brought  in 
Norwegian  ships  as  well  as  in  their  own,  L.  J.  Vogt  observes  that 
on  December  4,  1490,  the  Norwegian  (^ouncil  issued  an  order  for- 
bidding the  common  and  ruinous  practice  found  in  many  districts 
in  southern  Norway,  that  biitulcr  have  and  use  their  own  shij)s  with 
which  they  sail  to  foreign  lands  with  rafters,  boards,  jioles,  salt,  an»l 
other  gf)ods,  and  neglect  agriculture.^  This  shows  that  the  lumber 
trade  at  this  time  must  have  been  \  cry  lucrative.  The  boards  were 
yet  made  })y  s|)litting  the  logs  into  slabs  and  hewing  them  with  the 
ax,  anil  they  were,  therefore,  called  huggcnhord  (hewn  boards).  New 
possibilities  for  tiiis  trade  were  develo{)eil  through  the  invention  of 
the  saw  driven  by  water  j)ower,  which  was  introduced  from  Swe<len 
in  the  early  years  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Vogt  shows  that,  wliile 
the  plane  had  been  used  in  the  North  fn)m  earliest  anti(juity,  the  saw 
was  late  in  making  its  appearance,  not  only  because  of  the  didiculty 
experieiu-ed  in  giving  the  teeth  the  |)roper  shape  and  position,  but 
especially  in  making  a  good  saw-blade.  Sawmills  were  soon  in- 
troduce<i  in  every  district,  and  by  15:i()  they  seem  to  iiave  been  in 

'  Diplovwlarium  Norwegicuin,  vol.  V.,  no.  \V^.  '  Ibid.,  vol.  V.,  no.  721). 

»  L.  J.  V'oijt,  Hixloriak  Tidnakrifl.  and.«n  nokke,  vol.  V.,  p.  '.»0. 
*  Diplotnalarium  Norwcgicum,  VI.,  no.  903. 


180  HISTORY   OF  THE    NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

common  use.     But  the  old  method  of  making  huggenbord  with  the 
ax  was  not  discontinued. 

The  increasing  traffic  with  Holland  stimulated  also  other  countries 
to  enter  into  competition  for  the  valuable  Norwegian  trade,  as  Scot- 
land, England,  Denmark,  and  Germany  were  all  in  need  of  lum- 
ber. "At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,"  says  Vogt,  "it 
seems  to  have  been  an  established  custom  that  the  export  of  Nor- 
wegian lumber,  without  the  intervention  of  any  merchant,  was  free 
from  every  place  on  the  coast  of  Norway  where  a  ship  could  be  an- 
chored and  loaded."  ^  The  kings  had  sought  to  prohibit  trade 
ever^^'here  but  in  the  cities  in  order  to  facilitate  their  growth.-  A 
statute  given  by  Haakon  VI.  about  1380  states  that  all  goods  must 
be  brought  to  the  cities,  and  foreign  merchants  are  forbidden  to  buy 
or  sell  in  the  smaller  harbors  along  the  coast.  But  no  native  mer- 
chant class  existed  which  possessed  sufficient  capital  to  control  trade. 
It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  Norwegian  traders  in  early  times 
belonged  to  the  old  nobihty,  that  with  the  introduction  of  the  ideas 
of  cliivalry  it  came  to  be  regarded  as  inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of 
a  knight  or  of  a  man  of  high  station  to  carry  on  trade.  Commerce 
was,  accordingly,  left  to  the  poorer  classes,  and  especially  in  the 
fifteenth  century  the  merchant  class  of  the  cities  lost  both  its  eco- 
nomic strength  and  its  social  influence ;  the  native  aristocratic  families 
disappeared,  and  the  cities  were  turned  over,  so  to  speak,  to  the  con- 
trol of  foreign  merchants.  But  a  new  merchant  class  in  a  modern 
sense  began  to  develop  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
Norwegian  cities,  commerce,  and  navigation  developed  with  it.  Pro- 
fessor Alexander  Bugge  has  show^n  that  Norway  had  her  own  mer- 
chant class  about  1300,^  but  this  class  was  almost  totally  destroyed 
by  the  Hanseatic  merchants.     At  the  time  of  the  Reformation  the 

1  L.  J.  Vogt,  Om  Norges  Udf0rsel  af  Trcdast  i  celdre  Tider  II.,  Historisk 
Tidsskrift,  anden  rsekke,  vol.  V.,  p.  273. 

^  Ventilationer  angaoende  den  nordlandske  Handel,  etc.,  Samlinger  til  del 
norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historie,  vol.  V.,  p.  590  ff. 

'  Alexander  Bugge,  Handelen  mellcm  England  og  Norge  indiil  Begyndelsen 
af  del  15de  Aarhundrede,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie  raekke,  IV. ;  Gollwndinger- 
nes  Handel  paa  England  og  Norge  omkring  1300,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie 
raekke,  vol.  V.  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  De  norske  Stwnder,  p.  42  ff.  {Christiania 
Videnskabs-Selskabs  Skrifter,  1906). 


II  BKAIK'H    FOK    A    NOHTHEAST    PASSAGE  181 

whole  city  ])()i)iilati(iii  of  Norway,  according  to  Sars,  numherwl  alM)ut 
9<K)(),  coiisistiiifi  chicHy  of  shopkeepers,  fishermen,  seamen,  hil)orer3, 
and  a  frw  forcij^Mi  traders  and  artisans.  I  rider  tliese  circumstances 
tlie  cities  could  exercise  no  coq)()rate  strength  at  liome,  nor  any  com- 
mercial j)o\ver  ahroad.  A  new  foundation  had  to  he  laid  for  urhan 
life  in  a  more  modern  sense,  'i'hc  development  was  slow,  hut  the 
disappearance  of  the  old  aristo<Tacy  facilitated  progress,  as  the  j;ov- 
eriunent  of  the  cities  was  therehy  luiturally  transferred  from  a  circle 
of  aristocratic  families  with  inherited  class  j)rivileges  to  the  towns- 
men, who  could  claim  no  other  su|)eriority  than  that  ^iven  them  hy 
their  own  enerj^y  and  business  insight.  The  j^rowin^  demand  for 
Nonvej;ian  lumber  created  business  activity  and  heljjed  to  centralize 
trade  in  the  cities.  The  freedom  from  the  restraining  influence  of  a 
privile<;ed  aristocracy,  the  democratic  conditions  existin^^  in  the 
Norwej^ian  towns,  and  the  growing  commerce,  especially  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  sixteenth  centur>',  furnished  the  conditions  necessary 
for  the  development  of  the  Norwegian  cities  along  new  lines. 

Trade  in  the  North  was  also  stimulated  by  the  attempt  of  the 
English  to  find  a  northeast  passage  to  India.  This  jjlan  was  ad- 
vanced by  the  Spaniard  Sebastian  Cabot,  who  had  entered  the  Eng- 
lish service.  He  had  read  Ilcberstein's  account  of  Russia,  and  had 
studied  his  niaj),  as  well  as  Olaus  Magmis'  map  of  the  North  and  of 
the  Mare  Sri/tlu'runi.  A  company  of  Merchant  Adventurers  was 
formed  unih-r  the  patronage  of  the  go\eriuncnt,  and  three  ships  were 
disi)atciicd  under  Hugh  Willtnighby  to  discover  the  new  route.  The 
expedition  sailed  from  England  May  22,  155;^.  On  the  northwest 
coast  of  Norway  the  "Edward  Bonaventura,"  under  CapUiin  Chan- 
cellor, was  separated  from  the  fleet  in  a  severe  storm.  Willoughby 
with  the  remaining  two  shij)s  was  driven  far  to  the  northeast,  but 
finally  he  found  a  harbor,  and  landed  on  a  barren  and  uninhabited 
coast,  whcri'  he  and  his  followers  perished  from  hunger.  Their  dead 
bodies  and  Willoughby 's  testament  were  found  later.  Chancellor 
was  more  fortunate.  He  roundeti  the  northern  extremity  of  .Norway 
which  he  called  North  Cape,  and  succee<led  in  reaching  VanliJhus, 
where  he  was  well  received  by  the  commandant,  .\fter  spending 
a  week  as  his  guest,  he  sailed  again  to  the  northeast,  and  landinl  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Dvina,  where  he  was  receiveii  by  the  Russian  ro/tvxi 


182  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

of  the  village  of  St.  Nicolai.  Chancellor  received  permission  from  the 
voivod  to  go  to  Moscow  to  visit  the  Czar,  from  whom  he  received  a 
letter  granting  the  English  the  right  to  trade  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Dvina.  The  following  year  he  returned  to  England  with  a  cargo  of 
Russian  goods.  The  Enghsh  lauded  him  as  a  great  discoverer  who 
had  found  a  new  route  to  northern  Russia,  though  the  expedition  had 
failed  to  discover  a  new  route  to  India.  But  this  route  to  northern 
Russia  was  the  old  way  traveled  by  the  Norwegians  ever  since  Oh- 
there  first  discovered  it  in  the  time  of  Alfred  the  Great.  Both  Den- 
mark-Norway and  Holland  entered  into  competition  for  this  trade, 
and  the  search  for  a  northeast  passage  continued  for  half  a  century.^ 
The  treaty  of  Speier,  1544,  settled  the  political  difficulties  between 
Denmark-Norway  and  Germany,  resulting  from  Christian  III.'s  ac- 
tive cooperation  with  the  Schmalkaldic  League,  and  a  commercial 
treaty  was  entered  into  by  the  two  powers,  which  gave  Norwegian 
commerce  a  new  foundation.  By  this  treaty  unobstructed  trade  be- 
tween Norway  and  Holland  was  assured,  and  Amsterdam  became 
the  chief  market  for  Norwegian  lumber,  as  the  cities  of  Holland  were 
fast  becoming  the  center  of  the  world's  commerce,  which  had  devel- 
oped after  the  discovery  of  America  and  of  the  new  routes  to  India. 
The  rapid  development  of  commerce  resulting  from  these  discoveries, 
the  increase  in  ship-building,  and  the  growth  of  cities  greatly  enhanced 
the  demand  for  lumber  and  ship-building  material.  In  a  few  years 
after  1584  the  English  merchant  marine  was  trebled  in  size,  and  a 
heavy  export  of  Norwegian  timber  to  England  developed.  Accord- 
ing to  Vogt,  the  customs  rolls  show  a  demand  for  Norwegian  products, 
and  an  increase  in  Norwegian  trade  to  which  there  is  no  earlier  par- 
allel. In  1567  Bergen  exported  206  dozen  boards,  in  1597  2188  dozen. 
From  the  fogderi  of  Nedenes  twelve  ships  were  cleared  in  1528, 
150  ships  in  1560,  and  277  ships  in  1613.  The  lumber  export  is  es- 
timated to  have  risen  from  102  cargoes  to  1650  cargoes  in  1560.^  In 
the  harbors  where  the  shipping  of  lumber  was  carried  on,  new  sea- 

^  Gustav  Storm,  Om  Opdagelsen  af  '■' Nordkap^'  og  Veien  til  ^'^det  hvide 
Hav,"  Del  norske  geografiske  Selskabs  Aarbog,  vol.  V.,  1873-1894,  p.  911  £f. 

»  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Feslskrift  for  Oscar  II.,  vol.  I.,  p.  29  ff.  A.  Schwei- 
gaard,  Norges  Slatistik,  p.  125  ff.  B.  E.  Bcndixen,  El  Omrids  af  Norges  Handels 
Historic,  Bergen,  1900.  G.  L.  Baden,  Et  Udkast  til  en  Historic  af  Danmarks 
og  Norges  Handel  og  Noeringskilder  fra  Oldtiden  til  Nutiden,  Copenhagen,  1806. 


II  CHRISTIAN   IV.   AND    HIS    AGE  183 

port  towns  (X.  ladenteder)  sprang  into  existence.  Frederikshald, 
Larvik,  Brrvik,  Kra^tTO,  Hisor,  Arendal,  etc.,  owe  tlicir  (jrij^in  U)  tlie 
flourisliin^  lumber  trade.  The  nationalizing  of  trade,  wiiicii  liad  tluis 
liepiin,  was  an  iinj)ortant  diapter,  not  only  in  the  economic  develop- 
ment of  the  Norwegian  people,  l)Ut  also  in  their  political  and  intel- 
lectual progress.  A  Norwegian  hour^^eoisie  was  thereby  created  which 
was  to  play  an  important  jnirt  in  the  future  stru^^'lt-*^  f'^r  political 
independence  and  intellectual  einancijjation  from  the  Danish  tutelage, 
which  was  I'orccil  upon  the  Norwegian  j)eople  throuj^h  the  union  with 
Deinnark. 

25.    Christian  IV.  and  his  Age 

When  Frederick  II.  died  in  loSS,  his  son  Christian  was  only  eleven 
years  old.  The  Council  assumed  control  of  the  government  and  ap- 
pointed four  of  their  own  number  to  act  as  a  regency  during  the 
minority  of  the  j)rin(c.  In  1580  he  had  been  elected  heir  to  succeed 
his  father  as  king  of  Denmark,  and  two  years  later  a  council  of  Nor- 
wegian nobles  at  Oslo  acknowledged  him  successor  also  on  the  throne 
of  Norway.  Aksel  Gyldenstjerne,  member  of  the  Council,  and  a 
prominent  and  able  nobleman,  was  apjiointeti  statholder  of  Ncjrway. 
As  the  personal  representative  of  the  king  and  regency  he  had  royal 
power  both  in  secular  and  ecclesiastical  matters.  He  was  instructetl 
to  exercise  supervision  over  bishops  and  priests,  so  "that  full  concord 
might  be  maintained,  and  a  good  exani])le  might  be  set  the  parish- 
ioners." The  military  strength  of  the  kingdom  was  to  be  carefully 
examined,  and  in  case  of  war  he  should  summon  the  lenaherrer  into 
service  with  the  full  quota  of  men,  and  assume  supreme  comnumd. 
This  attention  to  the  militar>  service  was  a  laudable  forethought 
at  this  time  when  the  storm-clouds  of  the  apj)roaching  European  wars 
already  obscured  the  political  horizon.  England's  gnnNing  naval 
power  had  already  encouraged  her  bold  sea-captains  to  rob  Spanish 
treasure  ships,  and  t^^  plunder  isolated  Spanish-American  settlements. 
In  1587  Sir  Francis  Drake  had  even  entered  the  harbors  of  Cadiz  and 
Coruna,  where  he  burned  the  ships  and  galleys  which  Philip  II. 
had  Htted  out  for  an  attack  ujxju  Englanil.  The  Invincil>lc  .Vnnada 
was  ready  to  sail  in  July,  1588,  three  months  after  the  death  of 
Frederick  II.     England,  Spain's  political,  commercial,  and  religious 


184  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

enemy,  was  to  be  conquered.  Even  Danish  and  Norwegian  ships 
and  crews  had  been  hired  to  join  the  great  fleet  when  it  arrived  in 
Enghsh  waters,  but  owing  to  a  remonstrance  from  the  Enghsh  am- 
bassador in  Denmark  these  ships  were  not  allowed  to  leave  the  harbors. 
If  Philip  should  succeed  in  crushing  England,  Denmark-Norway  as  a 
Protestant  power  could  no  longer  feel  safe,  but  the  stormy  sea  and 
the  bravery  of  the  English  sailors  destroyed  the  great  Armada. 
Many  ships  were  driven  so  far  north  that  they  were  wrecked  on  the 
northwest  coast  of  Norway ;  five  ships  are  said  to  have  stranded  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Trondhjem ;  England  and  the  Protestant 
North  was  no  longer  endangered  by  Spanish  aggression. 

Prince  Christian,  who  was  born  April  12,  1577,  was  declared  to  be 
of  age  when  he  became  nineteen  years  old  in  1596.  On  August  29 
of  that  year  he  was  crowned  in  Copenhagen  as  King  Christian  IV., 
and  the  following  year  he  entered  upon  his  duties  as  ruling  sovereign. 
The  superstition  of  the  age  had  been  brought  into  play  in  connection 
with  the  birth  of  the  prince.  A  peasant  had  visited  the  king  to 
inform  him  that  a  mermaid  had  foretold  the  birth  of  a  son  to  the 
royal  pair,  who  should  "become  an  excellent  king  and  lord  in  these 
Northern  lands,"  a  prophecy  which  gained  general  credence.  The 
mother  had  the  chief  care  of  the  boy's  education  and  early  training. 
She  had  been  reared  according  to  the  strict  rules  of  her  German 
home,  in  Mecklenburg ;  she  loved  order  and  economy,  and  took 
great  interest  in  household  affairs  and  the  management  of  the  royal 
estates,  a  love  for  the  practical  which  was  inherited  by  the  son.  He 
was  well  educated  in  the  learning  of  the  age,  and  could  speak  and 
write  several  languages,  but  as  a  student  he  was  only  moderately 
successful,  as  his  interest  centered  chiefly  on  architecture,  ship- 
building, seamanship,  and  other  practical  pursuits,  in  which  he  ex- 
hibited energy  and  talent,  and  a  desire  to  see  and  do  things  in  his 
own  way.  In  regard  to  his  kingly  duties  he  entertained  views  re- 
sembling those  of  the  Stuart  kings  in  England,  or  of  the  Tudor  Henry 
VIII.  He  would  not  only  be  the  highest  power  in  the  state,  but  he 
would  give  personal  attention  to  all  details  of  government,  so  that 
nothing,  however  unimportant,  might  happen  which  did  not  reflect 
his  royal  will.  As  he  possessed  great  courage,  energy,  and  practical 
insight,  and  was  always  ready  to  take  an  active  part  in  all  adminis- 


II  CIIUISTIAV    IV.    AM)    HIS    KCK  185 

trative  affairs,  he  institutLHi,  at  least  in  a  practical  way,  a  pers(jiial 
rule  which  bears  the  marks  of  his  own  teinperaiiiciit  and  character. 
lie  was  a  hold  seaman,  and  visite<l  Norway  a  j^rcatcr  mnni)cr  of  times 
than  all  his  predecessors  toj;ether  since  the  union  was  estahlished. 
Professor  Vulvar  Nielsen  has  shown  that  he  visite<l  that  kin^^dom 
not  less  than  twenty -six  times  during  his  reign.'  In  l.VJ!)  he  made  a 
voyage  to  the  North  Cape  to  study  conditions  in  northern  Ncjrway, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  regulate  the  growing  conmierce  in 
those  j)arts,  and  also  to  protect  Finmarken,  which  Ijoth  Russia  and 
Sweden  would  snatch  from  Norway  at  tiic  fir>t  opportunity.  lb- 
made  the  voyage  with  a  wliolc  s(|ua(lrnn  of  war  vessels,  and  capture*! 
several  Dutch  incrciiant  shij)s  wliicJi  sought  to  sail  to  Russia  by  way 
of  Vardohus. 

His  firm  hand  was  soon  felt  also  in  the  internal  administration  in 
Norway,  where  the  discontent  was  general  because  of  the  extortions 
practicc(l  by  the  Danish  Irn.sfn'rrrr  and  t]\v'\r  fofjnh,  who  jjaid  little 
attention  to  the  laws,  and  increased  arbitrarily  their  own  income  and 
the  burdens  of  the  people.  The  Nonvegian  bfitider  did  not  patiently 
submit  to  injustice  of  that  kind,  but  sent  delegations  to  the  king  to 
ask  for  justice.  The  complaint  was  again  directed  against  Ludvig 
Munk,  IcihsJwrrc  in  Trondciagcn,  who  liad  imprisoned  and  exec-utcd 
those  wlio  on  a  former  occasion  had  served  as  messengers  to  the  king. 
This  time  the  old  offender  was  made  to  feel  the  heavy  hand  of  royal 
justice.  lie  was  dismissed  from  his  office,  banished  to  his  estates  in 
Jutland,  and  forced  to  pay  a  heavy  fine. 

During  the  union  period  Dcinnark  had  gradually  established  an 
ovcrlordship  over  .Norway,  which  for  military  j)urposes,  as  well  a.s 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world  at  large,  made  the  two  kingd<>i!is  one  united 
realm,  and  greatly  increased  Denmark's  prestige  and  power.  Not 
Duly  was  the  central  government  Danish,  but  nearly  all  the  local 
officials  of  any  importance  in  Norway  were  Danes.  The  .Norwegian 
laws  had  been  translate<l  into  Danish,  which  became  the  official 
language  of  Norway,  though  it  was  never  spoken  by  the  common 

^  Ifistnrisk  Tidsskrifl,  f0rsto  riPkko,  vol.  III.,  p.  "^VJ  (T.  ;  fjcrdo  rjBkkp. 
vol.  III.,  p.  :i»)n. 

Aage  Skavlan,  Historiske  Billeder  fra  den  nyere  Tid  i  Sorgc,  Danmark  og 
tildels  i  Sverige. 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

people.  The  threat  made  by  Christian  III.  that  the  kingdom  of 
Norway  should  be  regarded  as  a  Danish  province  had,  indeed,  not 
been  carried  out,  but  intellectually  as  well  as  politically  Norway 
now  stood  under  the  egis  of  Danish  supremacy.  But  the  overlord- 
ship  was  formal  and  exterior,  and  did  not  deeply  affect  the  people's 
everyday  life.  Now  as  before  they  led  their  own  national  existence, 
and  were  governed  according  to  their  own  laws  and  customs,  and  as 
to  social  conditions  the  people  of  Norway  and  Denmark  were  more 
widely  separated  in  the  sixteenth  century  than  in  any  earlier  period. 
If  the  Danish  lensJierrer  and  fogeds  attempted  to  practice  in  Norway 
what  had  been  regarded  as  common  usage  in  Denmark,  they  en- 
countered the  firm  resistance  and  vigorous  protest  of  the  people, 
who,  though  they  could  not  place  a  son  of  their  own  on  the  throne  of 
Norway,  would  defend  to  the  utmost  their  individual  rights.^ 

Deimiark  had  not  been  able  to  get  fully  into  the  current  of  Euro- 
pean development,  which  tended  to  bring  the  lower  classes  into 
active  participation  in  political  life.  In  Sweden  Gustav  Vasa  had 
sought  the  support  of  the  common  people,  and  had  made  them  a  new 
political  factor;  in  France  and  England  the  commonalty  had  risen 
into  prominence,  and  had  added  new  vigor  to  the  national  develop- 
ment ;  but  in  Deimiark  the  aristocracy  alone  grew  in  importance, 
while  the  common  classes  were  constantly  depressed  in  the  social 
scale.  The  aristocracy  isolated  themselves  from  the  rest  of  society, 
and  instead  of  remaining  a  warrior  class,  they  became  an  aristocracy 
of  birth,  wealth,  and  titles,  who  would  not  allow  their  sons  and 
daughters  to  marry  outside  of  their  caste,  a  restriction  which  brought 
about  their  rapid  degeneration  as  a  class.  Full  jurisdiction  over  the 
enslaved  peasants  had  been  established.-  The  will  of  the  noble- 
born  lord  was  the  law  to  which  they  were  held  amenable.  They  had 
to  render  free  service  to  their  lords  whenever  they  were  called  upon, 

'  Halvdan  Koht,  Bondeslrid,  smaa  Segner  og  Upskrifter  fraa  Nordm^r, 
Christiania,  1906. 

*  Arild  Huitfeldt  writes  in  his  Danmarks  Riges  Kr^nike,  p.  1252:  ."Fred- 
erick I.  granted  the  nobles  jurisdiction  over  the  peasant's  boeslod,  and  all 
cases  of  forty  marks,  as  free  as  the  nobles  of  the  principality  of  Schleswig 
enjoj'ed  it,  which  is  a  very  great  privilege,  the  like  of  which  no  king  of 
Denmark  has  before  granted.  In  Norway  the  nobles  have  no  such  power, 
nor  in  Sweden  either,  except  those  who  for  a  short  period  are  made  counts." 


II  CHRISTIAN    IV.    A>;D    his    AGE  187 

and  Imd  to  yield  the  most  abject  obedience,  not  only  to  the  lord  hirii- 
<  If,  but  also  to  his  representatives  of  whatever  sort,  even  to  his 
(Tvants  and  stjihlc-boys.  In  the  rules  made  by  Chancellor  Nils 
K;uis  and  Treasurer  Christopher  \'alkendt)rf,  June  5,  1578,  for  the 
rvice  to  be  rendered  the  "  iionest  and  noble-born"  J0rf;en  Marsvin 
[)>  the  peasants,  it  is  sUited  tiiat  they  siiall  not  l)e  for(;e<i  to  work 
more  than  one  or  two  days  a  week,  except  in  the  fall,  when  they  shall 
work  three  days  a  week.^  But  this  was  the  service  rendered  on  a 
royal  estate,  which  was  miicli  more  moderate  than  that  exacted  by 
many  an  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  lord,  who  could  demand  service 
of  his  peasants  without  any  restriction  as  to  time  or  amount.  In 
many  provinces  the  peasants  lost  even  their  perscjnal  liberty.  They 
had  to  remain  permanently  on  the  farm  where  they  were  born,  and 
'hey  would  have  to  rent  such  a  piece  of  ground  as  the  lord  would 
_rant  them,  and  on  the  conditions  which  he  j)rescribe<i.^  The  cruel 
hunting-laws  show  even  more  clearly  to  wliat  extent  the  poor  Danish 
l)casants  were  oi)pressed  and  done  to  scorn  by  tlic  arrogant  nobles. 

I II  the  statute  of  Christian  III.  of  lij'.il,  any  one  who  catches  a  p>oacher 
instructed  to  put  out  his  eyes,  or  hang  hira  on  the  nearest  tree. 

I'iie  king's  officials  are  instructed  to  watch,  so  that  no  man  from  the 
cities  kill  animals,  either  large  or  small,  or  any  hares;  and  that  no 
jDgcd,  or  steward  of  a  manor,  or  peasants  shall  keep  greyhounds  or 
retrievers,  or  shoot  animals,  large  or  small,  on  penalty  of  death,  or 
the  loss  of  their  property.'  In  the  stiitute  of  Frederick  II.,  lo.')().  the 
people  in  the  cities,  |)reachers  and  peasants,  are  instructcni  tiiat  they 
MHist  keep  no  dogs  unless  these  are  always  tiwl,  or  that  one  of  their 
front  legs  is  cut  off.  In  \r>7:i  King  Frederick  II.  wrote  to  the  people 
of  Kolding  Icn  that  .since  he  iiad  li'arned  that  several  of  them  kept 
many  dogs,  which  ran  about  in  the  forests  and  fields,  and  ehasl^^  awjiy 
and  harmed  the  wild  animals,  he  wished  them  to  take  notice  that  no 
one  should  kccj)  more  than  one  dog.  and  that  dog  should  have  one 

'  Rasmus  Xyonip,  Shildriiif/ur  nf  Tihdinden  i  Ihinmnrk  og  Sorge  i  aldre 
ng  nyere  Tider,  vol.  I.,  p.  3GS  ff.     Nyt  dansk  Mngnsin,  vol.  II..  p.  167. 

»  Suhmake  nye  Samlinger  til  den  danske  Historic,  vol.  I.,  p.  107  ff..  quoted 
l>y  Xyorup. 

*  Rasmus  Nyorup,  Skildringvr  nf  Tihlandcn  i  Danmark  og  Norge,  vol.  I., 
p.  ;iSl  (T.  Arnt  Borntson  B«'r^r(Mi,  Danmark  oc  Norgis  frugtbar  Herlightd, 
1656,  p.  147  ff. 


188  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

front  leg  cut  off  above  the  knee.  In  1577  the  wild  animals  did  so 
much  damage  that  the  peasants  in  Lem  sogn  were  unable  to  pay 
their  taxes.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  Danish  nobles,  who  were 
accustomed  to  look  upon  the  peasants  as  a  class  possessing  no  rights 
which  they  were  obliged  to  respect,  should  attempt  also  in  Norway 
to  override  the  laws,  and  oppress  the  people.  But  in  Norway  they 
did  not  possess  the  same  privileges  as  in  Denmark.  Even  Frederick 
I.  had  promised  in  his  Norwegian  charter  to  rule  the  Norwegian 
people  "according  to  St.  Olav's  and  the  kingdom  of  Norway's  laws 
and  good  old  usages  unchanged  in  all  respects."  ^  As  already  stated 
elsewhere,  the  freedom  of  the  Norwegians  was  safeguarded  in  the 
first  place  by  the  law  of  odel,  which  maintained  a  relatively  large 
class  of  free  hinder  who  owned  their  farms.^ 

In  the  second  place,  the  renters,  who  were  more  numerous,  were 
protected  by  the  laws  as  to  their  personal  liberty  and  independence 
of  their  landlords.  The  amount  of  rent  to  be  paid  was  fixed  by  law, 
and  beyond  this  the  renter  owed  no  obedience  or  responsibility  to 
the  landlord.  Since  the  old  nobility  had  practically  disappeared,^ 
Norway  had  virtually  become  a  democracy,  while  Denmark  was  the 
most  typical  exponent  of  aristocratic  rule.  This  may  have  been  the 
reason,  also,  why  the  principle  of  elective  kingship  was  maintained  in 
Denmark,  while  Norway  always  inclined  to  the  hereditary  principle, 
which  had  also  been  introduced  in  Sweden  by  Gustav  Vasa.  The 
aristocratic  social  organization,  and  the  elective  principle,  proved  a 
weakness  which  sapped  Denmark's  strength,  and  retarded  her  prog- 
ress, though  at  the  time  she  exercised  dominion  over  Norway.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  democratic  conditions  in  Norway,  though  they 
had  pushed  the  Norwegians  for  a  season  into  the  background,  fostered 
powers  and  possibilities  for  a  new  national  development. 

The  Danish  lensherrer  and  fogeds,  who  looked  upon  the  Norwegian 

^  Kong  Fredrik  den  f^rstes  norske  Haandfcestning  af  1534,  Samlinger  til 
det  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historie,  vol.  I.,  p.  1  fif. 

2  Professor  J.  E.  Sars  has  shown  that  of  the  ea.  30,000  farms  in  Norway 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  about  10,000  were  owned  by  odelsh^nder, 
and  20,000  were  operated  by  renters.  J.  E.  Sars,  Norge  under  Foreningen 
med  Danmnrk.  Om'\F olkemoengdens  Bevoegelse,  by  the  same  author,  in  His- 
torisk  Tidsskrijt,  anden  raekke,  vol.  III. 

^  Yngvar  Nielsen,  AJ  Norges  Historie,  p.  77. 


11  CHRISTIAN    IV.    AM)    MIS    \C.K  189 

laws  as  a  restriction  upon  their  privileges,  sought  to  introduce  the 
Danish  system  also  in  Norway.  ThecrDWii-Iaiuls  had  heen  increased 
through  the  secularization  of  monasteries,  and  the  confiscation  of 
church-lands  until  the  crown  owncil  over  one-fourth  of  all  the  t^ixahle 
lands  in  the  kingdom.  Tlic  Dani-'li  lords  Itcgan  to  demand  service 
of  the  tenants  living  upon  these  crown-lands,  and  gradually  also  of 
the  renters  dwelling  on  their  own  esUites.  Many  of  the  minor  len.t 
had  been  grante<l  them  in  return  for  a  fixed  sum  of  money  paid 
by  them  to  the  crown,  or  for  service,  i.e.  for  furnishing  a  certain 
number  of  men  for  the  army.  Some  /r;w  had  been  grant«*<l  them 
"kvit  og  frit,"  i.e.  so  that  each  lord  should  have  the  whole  income 
from  his  len.  In  this  way  the  power  of  the  len-aherre  had  been  greatly 
increased,  and  the  king,  who  was  far  away,  could  have  no  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  methods  used  by  the  lensherrer  and  fogcdf  to  swell 
their  income. 

Another  and,  if  possible,  greater  power  was  given  the  lemherrer 
and  fogeds  in  connection  with  the  execution  of  the  decrees  of  the 
courts  of  justice.  Not  seldom  did  they  influence  the  foged.t  to  inflict 
the  heaviest  penalties,  as  death  or  banishment,  upon  the  offenders. 
The  lensherre  would  then,  out  of  kindness  of  heart,  commute  the 
sentence  by  substituting  a  fine  which  was  usually  so  large  that  the 
offender  had  to  deed  his  property  to  the  Iciuhcrrc  in  order  to  escape 
a  worse  fate.  In  this  way  the  lensherrer  and  foged.t  could  gradually 
increase  their  personal  holdings.  Statholder  Aksel  Gyldenstjerne 
wrote  to  the  goverinnent  in  Copenhagen.  October  9,  159():  "In  like 
manner,  if  any  poor  man  commits  an  otfeiLse  so  that  he  has  to  pay 
the  foged  or  the  lensherre  for  his  neck,  he  is  not  executed  for  such  a 
crime,  but  the  len.<(herrc  or  foged  imposes  so  high  a  fine  for  the  offense 
that  he  cannot  pay  it,  and  a  poor  fellow  promises  willingly,  in  onler 
to  save  his  life,  more  than  he  or  his  family  at  any  time  can  pay. 
Then  he  has  to  give  the  lensherre  or  foged  a  dee<l  on  his  farm  and  pos- 
sessions, as  if  the  same  had  l)een  bought.  This  has  cert-:iinly  ha|)pentHi. 
and  it  seems,  therefore,  advisable  that  a  royal  K-tter  should  be  issue*! 
to  all  lensherrer,  fogeds,  and  clergymen  in  all  .\orway  that  they 
should  in  no  wise  buy  or  confiscate  any  property,  unless  it  is  for- 
feited to  the  crown."  '  But  with  all  their  power  and  systematized 
'  Quoted  by  J.  E.  Sars  in  i'dsigt  over  den  norskc  Historic,  vol.  III.,  p.  333. 


190  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

injustice  the  Danish  lords  were  unable  to  force  their  system  upon 
Xorwa\".  Their  most  crafty  schemes  and  their  ruthless  greed  proved 
of  little  avail  in  a  contest  with  the  martial  spirit  of  the  Norwegian 
bqnder  and  their  uncompromising  love  of  freedom.  In  their  moun- 
tain homes  the  bonder  still  retained  their  old  character  and  customs. 
Tlu\\'  came  to  the  thing  as  well  as  to  the  church,  armed  as  of  old 
with  sword,  spear,  battleax,  shield,  bow,  and  arrows.  If  they  felt 
wronged,  if  their  temper  was  aroused,  the  sword  was  their  most 
convenient  argument,  and  many  a  bloody  tumult  occurred  at  the 
things  when  they  felt  that  justice  had  not  been  done.  At  times  they 
assembled  things  and  passed  resolutions  without  paying  any  atten- 
tion to  the  govermnent  officials.  Stiff-necked  and  turbulent  they 
often  were,  impatient  of  ail  restraint,  and  utterly  unwilhng  to  sub- 
mit to  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  Danish  lords. ^  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis, 
who  as  clergyman  sympatliized  with  the  Danish  officials,  says  of 
them  in  speaking  of  the  origin  of  the  Norwegian  people :  "  However 
this  may  all  be,  the  inhabitants  of  this  country  have  their  origin  and 
descent  from  a  hard  people,  because  they  have  always  been  a  hard, 
stubborn,  disobedient,  obstinate,  restless,  rebellious,  and  blood- 
thirsty people,  which  I  cannot  deny  they  still  are.  especially  in  places 
where  they  keep  their  old  customs,  that  is,  among  the  mountains 
far  away  from  the  sea;  there  dwells  still  a  wild  and  wicked  people." 
In  another  place  he  calls  the  bdnder  of  Telemarken  "  a  wicked,  im- 
pious, hard,  wild,  and  rebellious  people  —  some  shameless,  devilish 
fellows,  guilty  of  adultery,  murder,  manslaughter,  heresy,  licentious- 
ness, fights,  and  other  vices  beyond  any  that  live  in  this  country. 
It  was  their  greatest  joy  in  olden  times  to  kill  bishops,  priests,  fogeds, 
and  commandants,  which  is  also  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  one 
parish  in  that  district  seven  clergymen  have  been  killed,  in  other 
parishes  one  or  two,  and  in  some  a  greater  number."  Professor  J.  E. 
Sars  remarks :  "  The  many  irksome  schemes  and  impositions  invented 
by  the  lensherrer  and  fogeds  seem  to  have  caused  among  the  bdnder  a 
restlessness  and  agitation  in  wliich  their  strength  degenerated  into 

1  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis,  Samlede  Skrifter,  p.  225.  257  flf.,  300.  Fifty  fogeds 
and  clergymen  are  said  to  have  been  killed,  and  manj-  others  to  have  been 
driven  away  in  Nedenes  len.  L.  Daae,  Historisk  Tisskrifl,  fdrste  raekke, 
vol.  IV.,  p.  305.  C.  F.  Allen,  De  nordiske  Rigers  Historic,  vol.  I.,  p.  251  ff., 
648. 


II  CnUISTIA.V    IV.    AND    HIS   AOE  191 

hriitality,  anfl  their  combative  and  head-strong  character  assumed 
traits  of  insubordinati«)n  atul  resistance  U)  all  forms  of  restraint.  The 
efF(»rt8  of  the  len.shcrrcr  and  fognh  to  rwluce  them  to  a  subordination 
akin  to  that  of  the  Danish  peasants,  instead  of  frightening  or  sub- 
duing them,  only  increased  their  defiance.  They  employed  force 
against  force,  and  throughout  the  whole  land  they  seem  to  have 
risen  in  arms  against  all  officials  who  in  any  way  s<jught  to  exercise 
authority  over  them.  .  .  .  These  irregular  outbursts  of  a  spirit  of 
lil)erty,  which  lacks  guidanc-e  and  a  fixed  aim,  do  not  make  a  pleasant 
impression,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  they  have  played  a 
part  in  the  country's  history  which  is  by  no  means  unimportant. 
We  may  view  as  a  whole  the  endless  variety  of  complaints  of  fogedf 
and  other  functionaries,  of  riots  and  assaults  and  the  violent  taking 
of  justice  into  their  own  hands  on  the  |):irt  of  the  i)eopIe.  of  which 
the  documents  of  our  history  from  that  period  bring  evidence  ;  where 
the  issue  seems  to  be  trifling  matters  without  any  connection  —  real 
or  imaginary  injustice  against  some  individual  —  and  we  can  see  in  all 
these  clashes  between  the  hdtuier  on  the  one  side,  and  the  lervtherrer, 
fofjefh,  and  clergy  on  the  f)ther,  a  single  long-continued  struggle  in 
defense  of  what  must  be  called  the  chief  product  of  the  people's 
earlier  political  development,  and  the  most  important  condition  for 
their  national  future  —  p(jpular  freedom  and  the  right  to  own  property. 
And  in  this  struggle  the  Norwegian  bdnfler  became  the  unqualified 
victors."  '  The  spirited  resistance  of  the  bdnder  compelled  the 
lenjiherrer  and  fogeds  to  respect  their  rights,  and  to  avoid,  at  least  to 
some  extent,  more  serious  conflicts  with  them.  The  Norwegian 
people's  bravery  and  love  of  liberty  became  proverbial  in  Denmark, 
and  the  government  feared  that  a  general  uprising  might  take  place, 
if  the  officials  were  allowed  to  unduly  oppress  the  people.  For 
this  reason  the  king  listened  to  the  complaints  made  by  the  Nor- 
wegians, and  many  an  oflcndcr,  even  of  high  rank,  was  severely 
punisheii.  But  many  a  just  complaint  was  also  left  unheeded, 
and  in  too  many  instances  the  vindictive  officials  found  opportunity 
to  wreak  vengeance  on  those  who  had  sought  to  bring  them  to  justice. 
King  Christian  IV.  was  especially  anxious  to  win  the  good-will  of  the 
Norwegians.  When  J0rgen  Friis  succetnjwl  Gyldenstjerne  as  stat- 
'  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Ilisioric,  vol.  III.,  p.  336  ff. 


192  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

holder,  the  king  himself  was  present,  and  the  new  official  had  to 
pledge  himself  under  oath  that  he  would  "hsten  and  pay  diligent 
heed  to  the  complaints  of  the  poor  people  and  help  them  to  secure 
justice."  Towards  the  Estates:  nobility,  clergy,  citizens,  and 
common  pe()i)le  of  the  kingdom,  he  should  so  act  that  the  king  should 
not  on  his  account  hear  any  complaints  from  the  people.  In  1604 
the  king  himself  held  court  in  Bergen  to  decide  a  quarrel  between 
the  people  and  the  lensherre,  Peder  Grubbe.  Peder  Clauss0n  Friis 
was  also  involved  in  the  trial,  but  both  Friis  and  the  people  were 
held  to  be  innocent,  while  Grubbe  was  found  guilty,  and  was  removed 
from  his  len. 

Even  in  the  courts  of  law,  justice  often  miscarried  because  the 
old  codes  were  no  longer  understood  by  the  lagmcend  and  officials. 
Since  the  union  was  established,  the  Norwegian  jurisprudence  had 
received  no  attention.  Magnus  Lagab0ter's  code,  which  was  still 
in  use,  had  not  been  revised,  and  many  new  statutes,  passed  from 
time  to  time,  had  not  been  incorporated  in  it.  A  revision  of  the  code 
was  sorely  needed,  and  in  1602  Christian  IV.  ordered  the  Norwegian 
lagmoBnd  to  prepare  a  new  code,  which  should  be  printed  and  put  in 
use  throughout  the  kingdom.  The  new  lawbook,  known  as  the 
"Code  of  Christian  IV.,"  was  submitted  to  the  king  in  1604,^  and 
after  he  had  caused  it  to  be  read  before  an  assembly  of  nobles  and 
lagmcBud  in  Bergen,  it  was  formally  authorized  and  printed.  The 
new  code  was  only  a  translation  of  Magnus  Lagab0ter's  laws,  and 
the  work  was  wretchedly  done,  as  many  old  legal  terms  had  been 
misunderstood ;  but  it  was,  nevertheless,  an  improvement,  as  the 
laws  were  reduced  to  a  code  which  could  be  read  and  understood, 
and  which  was  everywhere  accessible  in  printed  form.  The  new 
code  was  also  introduced  in  the  Faroe  Islands,  but  Iceland  had  its 
own  laws,  and  did  not  adopt  it,  nor  was  it  introduced  in  the  Shet- 
land or  Orkney  Islands,  where  the  old  Norse  laws  were  still  in  force. 
The  church  laws  were  not  embodied  in  the  code,  but  the  king  caused 
a  new  church  ordinance  to  be  prepared,  which  was  formally  pro- 
claimed at  a  council  in  Stavanger,  1607. 

The  religious  outlook  was  beginning  to  cause  no  small  anxiety  at 

'  Kong  Christian  den  fjerdes  norske  Lovbog  af  1604,  edited  by  Fr.  Hallager 
og  Fr.  Brandt,  Christiania,  1855. 


II  CHRISTIAN    IV.    AND    HIH   AfJE  103 

this  time.  The  CathoHc  reaction  against  the  Reformation,  organized 
hy  the  roiiiicii  of  Tn'Mt.  had  ^'aiiicd  ^rcat  strcnj^th,  owitij^  to  the  cii- 
thiisiastie  proj)aj,Mii(la  of  tht;  Ji'suits  and  tlie  vij^or  of  tlie  inqui.sitioM. 
The  Catholic  ( 'hun  li  had  risen  to  do  battle  for  its  spiritual  supremacy, 
to  regain  what  it  had  lost.  Also  in  the  North  the  Jesuits  hepan  a 
stealthy  aj:jitation,  which  did  not  escape  the  attention  of  Kin^  Chris- 
tian. A  Xorwc;^ian  Jesuit,  Lauritz  Nilss0n,  witii  the  latinized  name 
of  Laiirciitius  Xicohii.  also  called  Klostcrlasse  (Closterla.ssius)  had 
found  welcome  in  Sweden,  where  Kinj;  John  III.  incline<l  toward 
Catholicism.  A  higher  school  was  organized,  where  Closterlassius 
should  teach.  \i  first  his  church  adiliations  were  to  remain  a  secret, 
and  he  was  to  appear  only  as  the  learuetl  scholar,  a  form  of  agitation 
ado])ted  for  the  j)urpt)se  of  ^ainiii^  influence  in  the  schools,  and  of 
encouraging^  the  students  to  attend  the  Catholic  universities.  If  the 
students,  who  would  become  ministers  in  the  church,  could  be  won 
for  Catholicism,  that  faith  could  in  time  be  reintroduced  among  the 
common  people,  and  great  efforts  were,  therefore,  made  to  create  the 
belief  that  the  Catholic  universities  were  better  than  the  Protestant, 
and  that  they  enjoyed  a  higher  reputation  for  learning.  But  Clos- 
terlassius did  not  accomplish  much  in  Sweden.'  lie  became  arro- 
gant, forfeited  the  good-will  both  of  the  king  and  the  people,  and 
had  to  leave  Stockholm.  The  Jesuits  directed  their  attention  also 
to  .\orwa>  ,  where  the  Reformation  had  still  wrought  but  an  iin])erfect 
conversion  of  the  people  to  the  Lutheran  faith.  Disguised  as  mer- 
chants they  traveled  about  in  the  country,  ami  sought  to  persuade 
young  men  to  go  to  Catholic  schools  in  foreign  lands,  .\fter  the.se 
young  men  had  comj)leted  their  studies,  they  often  returned  to 
Norway  to  be  ordaine<l  as  Lutheran  ministers  in  order  to  be  able  to 
carry  on  a  .secret  propaganda  among  their  parishioners.  Closter- 
lassius wrote  several  works  against  Protestanti.sm,  among  others, 
"A  Letter  from  Satan  to  the  Lutheran  Ministers,"  and  though  he 
never  returned  to  Norway,  he  actively  supporteil  the  Jesuits  there. 

'  Andreas  Brandrud,  Klosterlasse,  et  Bidrag  lH  den  jrsuitiske  [Propagandas 
Historic  i  S'ordcn,  Cliristiania,  1895.  M.  KuhlRTiid.  Jisuiti-rne  i  \orge, 
Elverum,  1.S07.  liiskop  Xils  CloslrupK  ViKil'itstr  i  Oslo  og  Uamar  Stiflcr 
1617-1637,  edited  hy  Ludvijr  Daae  ojj  H.  J.  Huilf.'l<It-Kiuus,  p.  21.  L.  Daa*\ 
Bidrag  til  den  knlholnke  lieaktions  Historic  i  Xorgr  i  Christian  IV.'s  Tid, 
Hislorisk  Tidsskrifl,  trodie  nekke,  vol.  III.,  p.  300  IT. 
VOL.  n  —  o 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

At  a  council  in  Bergen,  1604,  the  Norwegian  bishops  called  the  king's 
attention  to  the  Jesuit  agitation.  He  seems  to  have  been  alarmed 
by  the  reports,  and  issued  a  royal  letter  forbidding  any  one  who  had 
been  educated  by  the  Jesuits  to  serve  in  the  church  or  schools  of  the 
kingdom.  In  1606  Closterlassius  was  banished  from  Denmark,Vhere 
he  had  arrived  on  a  visit,  and  in  1613  the  Jesuit  priests  in  Norway 
were  summoned  before  a  council  in  Skien,  where  they  were  sen- 
tenced to  have  forfeited  their  office  and  inheritance,  and  they  were 
immediately  banished  from  the  kingdom.  After  this  time  but  few 
traces  of  CathoHcism  were  found  in  Norway.^ 

This  episode  had  also  opened  the  king's  eyes  to  the  necessity  of 
improving  the  schools  of  the  two  kingdoms,  so  that  Norwegian  and 
Danish  students  would  not  need  to  go  to  foreign  institutions.  In 
1604  a  new  plan  of  instruction  for  secondary  schools  was  prepared, 
and  better  textbooks  were  introduced.  Gymnasiums  were  estab- 
lished at  the  Latin  schools  of  Roskilde,  Odense,  Ribe,  Aarhus,  Lund, 
and  Christiania,  in  order  that  the  students  could  be  better  prepared 
for  their  university  studies.  Three  or  four  professors  were  appointed 
for  each  gymnasium,  who  would  give  more  advanced  instruction 
in  the  classical  languages,  besides  giving  lectures  on  theology,  logic, 
natural  science,  mathematics,  botany,  and  anatomy.  But  this  very 
laudable  attempt  to  place  secondary  education  on  a  higher  level  was 
unfortunately  rendered  abortive  by  later  events.  Only  the  gym- 
nasium  of  Roskilde  existed  towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  that  of  Odense  till  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth.  The 
academy  of  Sor0  was  founded  in  1623,  and  the  University  of  Copen- 
hagen was  much  improved.  Seven  new  chairs  were  created,  and 
the  king  donated  to  the  university  a  large  part  of  his  own  library,  in 
all  1100  volumes. 

King  Christian  was  a  great  builder  and  erected  more  castles  and 
fortresses,  and  founded  more  cities,  than  any  other  king  in  the  union 
period.  In  Norway  he  founded  the  city  of  Christiansand,^  and  when 
Oslo  was  almost  totally  destroyed  by  fire,  August  17,  1624,'he  founded 

*N.  Slange,  Christian  IV.'s  Historic,  p.  205  f. 

*  Af  Nicolai  Wergelands  utrykle  Christiansands  Beskrivelse,  edited  and 
published  by  Ludvig  Daae,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  anden  reekke,  vol.  III., 
p.  44ff. 


II  CHRI8TLVN   IV.    AND   HIS   AGE  195 

the  new  city  of  Christiaiiia  so  near  to  the  ruins  thutOslo  has  long  since 
been  incorporated  in  tlie  capital  city  of  \onvay .  The  castles  of  Akers- 
hus  and  liolius  were  cniarj^ed  and  surrounded  by  strcmp  walls,  and  at 
Akershus  he  erectcnl  a  j)ala(r  which  still  lifts  its  towers  alx)ve  the  city.' 

The  ever  active  and  energetic  king  showed  a  great  interest  also  for 
the  Norwegian  ininiiij,'  industry,  which  in  the  reign  of  Frwlerick  II. 
had  been  wholly  neglected.  St;  great  an  impetus  was  given  to  this 
industry  in  this  reign  that  it  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  founded 
by  Christian  IV.  A  large  number  of  new  mines  were  opened,  but 
for  want  of  the  necessary  skill  and  science  they  yielde<l  no  profit.^ 
The  most  important  were  the  Koros  copper  mines,  opened  lOtl,  and 
the  grejit  Kongsberg  sih  cr  mines,  discovered  in  1023,  wliich  led  to  the 
founding  of  the  two  cities,  l{0ros  and  Kongsberg.  As  many  as  4000 
men  were  employe<l  at  Kongsberg,  but  the  mines  were  often  operated 
at  a  loss,  till  in  1830,  when  they  began  to  yield  jjrohtable  returns. 

Christian  I\'.,  who  was  intensely  interested  in  navigation,  enter- 
tained a  fond  hope  of  being  able  to  reestablish  communications  with 
the  Norse  colonies  in  Greenland.  Some  attempts  had  been  made 
also  in  the  previous  reign  to  reach  the  distant  island.  Frederick  II. 
sent  an  expedition  in  1579  under  the  Enghsh  captain  John  .Vlday, 
and  another  in  loSl  nndcr  Mogeris  Ileiuess0n,  the  great  Faroe  sca- 
caj)tain,  but  both  failed  to  reach  their  tlestination  because  of  fog  and 
icebergs.  In  loSo  the  English  navigator  John  Davis  reached  the 
west  coast  of  Greenland,  but  he  found  no  traces  of  white  people,  and 
thought  that  he  was  the  real  discoverer  of  the  land.  In  DM).')  King 
Christian  sent  three  shii)s  under  the  Danish  nobleman  Godcke  Linde- 
now  and  John  Cunningham,  a  Scotchman,  with  the  Englishman 
James  Hall  as  pilot.  Cunningham  succeedetl  in  landing  on  the 
west  coast,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  for  the  king,  while 
Lindenow  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  land  on  the  east  coast.' 

•  Qustav  Storm,  Ahcrshus  Slot  fra  Midtcn  af  17dc  Aarhnridrcdc,  Chris- 
tiania,  1901.      Xorskc  Savdingcr,  I.,  p.  G33  IT. 

'  Ludvij;  Daae,  Del  gnvdc  Christiania,  Clirislianiii.  IS'.M.  Job.  Dyriiig, 
Kongeriget  Norge,  p.  l.")l  ff.  I.  Chr.  Berg,  Aklstykkcr  til  lifrgvcrkerrut 
Historic,  Samlingcr  til  dct  uorskc  Folks  Sprog  eg  Historic,  vol.  III.,  p.  1  ff. 
Arnt  Berntson  Borpon,  Danmark  oc  Norgis  frugtbar  Ilcrlighcd.  p.  274  ff. 

*  M.  M.  liosches  Optcgnclser  fra  Nordlandcnc  l5St-1039,  Sorske  Sam- 
linger,  vol.  II.,  p.  496. 


196  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Two  more  expeditions  were  sent  out,  one  in  1606,  and  another  in 
1607,  but  as  no  traces  of  the  colonists  were  found,  the  project  was 
abandoned.  The  king  turned  his  attention  instead  to  the  search 
for  the  northwest  passage,  and  sent  an  expedition  to  the  Hudson 
Bay  under  Jens  Munk  in  1619.^  In  1636  he  organized  the  Green- 
land Company  to  trade  with  Greenland,  and  to  carry  on  whaling  at 
Spitzbergen,  but  the  trade  with  Greenland  fell  mostly  into  the  hands 
of  the  Hollanders  and  the  English.  In  harmony  with  the  practice  of 
the  age,  Christian  IV.  created  many  similar  companies  with  exclusive 
trade  privileges  in  certain  parts  of  the  world.  In  1616  he  chartered 
the  "East  India  Company"  to  trade  with  the  East  India  Islands, 
China,  and  Japan.  This  company  raised  a  capital  stock  of  190,000 
riksdaler,  and  secured  Tranquebar  on  the  Coromandel  coast,  which 
became  the  chief  seat  of  its  commercial  operations  in  the  far  East.^ 
In  1619  a  company  was  formed  to  trade  with  Iceland,  and  in  1625  a 
Danish  "West  India  Company"  was  organized. 

It  was  King  Christian's  manifest  ambition  to  increase  his  power 
at  sea,  and  this  desire  was  strengthened  also  by  the  necessity  of 
being  well  armed  both  on  sea  and  land  because  of  the  great  wars 
waged  by  Philip  II.  in  the  Netherlands,  and  the  strained  relations 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Protestant  princes  in  Germany. 
Much  attention  was  therefore  devoted  especially  to  the  navy.  At 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  Denmark-Norway  had  a  fleet  of  twenty- 
two  vessels,  large  and  small,  and  some  of  these  were  very  antiquated. 
The  king  hired  Scotch  ship-builders  to  assist  the  ablest  men  within 
his  own  kingdom  in  constructing  a  number  of  new  warships  of  the 
best  type,  and  in  a  few  years  the  Danish-Norwegian  fleet  was  by 
far  the  most  powerful  in  the  Baltic  Sea.  In  time  of  war  the  sailors 
and  marines  serving  on  the  new  fleet  seem  to  have  numbered  about 
six  thousand. 


1  Daniel  Bruun,  Del  h^ie  Nord,  F(Br0ernes,  Islands  og  Gr^nlands  Udjorsk- 
ning,  p.  182  ff.  Two  books  about  Greenland  and  the  Norse  colonies  were 
\\Titten  at  this  time :  Relation  om  Gr^nland,  by  Jens  Bjelke,  an  almost 
worthless  product,  and  Lyscander's  Gr^nlandske  Chronica,  a  work  of  some 
merit. 

^  A  riksdaler  was  at  this  time  equal  to  a  speciedaler  (four  kroner),  or  a 
little  more  than  an  American  dollar. 


II  FOREIGN   RELATIONS.      THE    KALMAH    WAR  197 

20.    FouKicN  RELATIONS.     TnK  Kalmak  Wak 

111  intcriKil  iuliniiiistration  Cliristiaii  IV.  had  shown  ^rcat  energy 
;in(l  talent.  An  earnest  desire  to  inerease  his  own  personal  influence 
and  the  power  and  prestige  of  his  realm  are  features  characteristic 
uf  his  reijj;n.  He  showed  such  quickness  and  orijjinality  of  thought 
and  such  executive  ability  that  the  people  regarded  him  as  a  truly 
great  king,  to  be  compared  with  the  most  illu^trious  monarchs  in 
history.  But  this  view  represents  nothing  i)Ut  the  fondness  with 
which  peo|)le  are  wont  to  cherish  a  talented  ruler  who  possesses 
charming  traits,  and  knows  how  to  win  their  admiration  by  a  jolly 
straightforwardness  and  bold  artlessness  of  speech  and  conduct.  It 
is  true  that  Christian  IV.  instituted  many  useful  reforms,  but  he  was 
not  a  true  reformer.  There  is  not  to  be  found  in  his  many  i)raise- 
worthy  undertakings  and  happy  innovations  any  constructive  prin- 
ciple aiming  at  the  gradual  uplifting  of  the  people  through  a  steady 
improvement  of  their  social  and  economic  condition.  lie  did  noth- 
ing to  rescue  the  Danish  peasants  from  the  wretched  condition  to 
which  they  had  been  reduced  by  the  nobility.  lie  confirmed  all  the 
old  statutes  aiming  at  the  preservation  of  the  privileges  of  the  aris- 
tocracy, and  only  increased  the  burdens  of  the  pt)or  by  unnecessary 
wars  and  extravagant  building  projects,  though  in  minor  things  he 
was  so  saving  that,  as  he  informed  the  Council,  he  could  not  afford 
to  get  properly  married.  Morally  he  was  weak,  and  intellectually 
not  much  above  the  ordinary.  Though  a  man  of  great  courage,  he 
was  neitiieran  able  general  nor  a  far-sighted  statesman.  His  anil)ition 
often  led  him  into  undertakings  which  were  beyond  botii  his  means 
and  his  ability,  and  which  brought  upon  his  king(l«>m  sutfering  and 
disaster.  He  lacked  the  statesman's  intuitive  foresight.  He  spent 
much  of  his  time  in  a  multitude  of  details  in  which  he  was  unable  to 
distinguish  the  important  from  the  uiiiinportant.  and  his  foreign 
policy  was  often  dictated  by  persf)nal  pi(iue  and  ambition  rather  than 
by  a  wise  forecast  of  j)olitical  events. 

In  1597  the  king  married  Anna  Catharine  of  Brandenburg,  who  l)ore 
him  six  children,  three  of  wliom  died  in  childhood.  The  queen  died 
in  1012,  but  even  before  her  death  he  had  fornunl  illicit  att^ichments. 
In  1015  he  acknowledged  Christine  Munk,  a  daughter  of  Ludvig 


198  HISTORY   OF  THE  xNORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Munk,  to  be  liis  legally  wedded  wife,  though  nothing  is  known  of  the 
marriage  ceremony,  and  he  never  gave  her  the  title  of  queen.  She 
bore  him  twelve  children,  but  the  marriage  was  finally  terminated  by 
a  divorce  accompanied  by  a  scandal.^  He  had  many  illegitimate 
children  with  different  mothers.  His  illegitimate  sons,  Christian 
Ulrik,  Hans  Ulrik,  and  Ulrik  Christian,  received  the  surname  of 
Gyldenl0ve.  Even  in  that  age  of  no  very  delicate  tastes,  the 
king's  moral  laxity  must  have  been  a  constant  source  of  scandal  and 
offense. 

In  Sweden  serious  clashes  between  the  Protestants  and  the  party 
representing  the  Catholic  reaction  had  led  to  important  changes. 
King  John's  son,  Sigismund,  an  ardent  Catholic,  who  had  become 
king  of  Poland,  succeeded  his  father  on  the  throne  of  Sweden,  but  in 
1599  he  was  deposed  because  of  his  attempt  to  overthrow  the  Lutheran 
faith.  The  Duke  of  Sodermanland,  a  younger  son  of  Gustav  Vasa, 
and  brother  of  King  John  HI.,  was  placed  on  the  throne  as  Charles 
IX.  The  new  king  possessed  some  of  the  ability  of  the  great  Vasa 
dynasty,  which  was  to  place  Sweden  in  the  front  rank  of  European 
powers,  but  he  assumed  from  the  outset  a  very  aggressive  and  un- 
compromising attitude  towards  Denmark-Norway,  due  in  part, 
perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  Christian  IV.  had  shown  himself  a  friend  of 
Sigismund,  if  not  an  open  supporter  of  his  party.  In  1610  Charles 
founded  the  city  of  Gottenborg,  which  would  give  the  Hollanders  a 
new  harbor,  where  they  could  unload  their  cargoes,  and  avoid  pay- 
ing the  toll  for  passing  through  the  Sound.  The  Swedish  aggressions 
in  Finmarken,  which  had  caused  trouble  in  the  previous  reign,  became 
more  pronounced  than  ever.  Charles  IX.  called  himself  "King  of 
the  Lapps  in  Nordland,"  collected  taxes  as  far  as  Malangen  and 
Titisfjord,  a  distance  south  of  Troms0,  and  gave  the  merchants  of 
Gottenborg  right  to  trade  from  Titisfjord  to  Varanger.^  Christian 
IV.,  w^ho  wished  to  maintain  a  naval  supremacy  both  in  the  Baltic 
and  the  North  Sea,  resisted  these  encroachments  vigorously,  but 
neither  protests  nor  negotiations  could  influence  the  independent 

*  Aage  Skavlan,  Historiske  Billeder  fra  den  nyere  Tid. 

*  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  De  norske  Slander,  p.  131.  N.  Slange,  Christian 
IV.'s  Historic,  p.  256  ff.  Amtmand  G.  Hammer,  Historisk  Underretning  om 
Finmarkens  Handel,  Samlinger  til  det  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  vol. 
III.,  p.  261  ff. 


II  FOREIGN   REL.\TI0N8.      THE    K.\LMAU   WAIl  199 

and  haughty  King  (.'liarles  IX.  The  Northern  Trotestant  powers 
were  thus  drifting  towards  open  hostihties  at  a  moment  when  their 
(Jernmn  brt'thren  stood  confronted  ])y  tlie  Empire  and  the  papacy, 
who  were  niarshahng  their  forces  for  the  last  great  assault  on  Protes- 
tantism, the  Thirty  Years'  War.  In  KiO.S  the  "Protestant  Union" 
was  formed  with  Elector  Frederick  of  the  Palatinate  as  Director,  and 
the  following  year  the  "Catholic  League"  was  organized  with  Elec- 
tor Maximilian  of  Bavaria  as  commander-in-chief.  The  "Uni(jn" 
sought  the  support  of  Henry  I\'.  of  France,  and  of  Christian  IV.  of 
Denmark-Xorway,  hut  King  Christian  chose  to  wage  war  with 
Sweden  rather  than  aid  his  Protestant  brethren  in  Germany.  In 
1611  he  finally  forced  the  Council  to  declare  war  agaiiLst  Sweden. 
It  appears  that  he  did  not  onl>  intend  to  protect  his  realm  against 
encroachments,  hut  that  he  entertained  a  hope  of  being  able  to  con- 
quer Sweden,  and  to  establish  once  more  the  union  between  tlie  three 
Northern  kingdoms.  He  invaded  Sweden  with  an  army  of  about 
6000  men,  and  while  he  laid  siege  to  the  city  of  Kalmar  with  the 
greater  part  of  his  force,  he  dispatched  Sten  Sehested  with  a  portion 
of  it  again.^t  Elfsborg.  The  army  was  supported  by  the  fleet,  which 
was  superior  to  that  of  Sweden.  The  Norwegian  forces  were  stationed 
in  the  border  districts,  and  were  instructed  not  to  enter  Swedish  ter- 
ritory unless  special  orders  were  given.'  On  May  27  Kalmar,  with 
the  exception  of  the  castle,  was  taken,  an  event  which  gave  to  the 
struggle  the  name  of  the  Kalmar  War,  and  on  Inly  17  an  undecisive 
battle  was  fought  with  the  Swedisii  army  under  King  Charles  IX., 
who  had  arri\ed  in  the  neigliboriiood  of  the  citN'.  The  day  after 
the  battle  Kalmar  castle  was  treacherously  surrendered  by  its  com- 
mandant, and  in  a  similar  way  Gland  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Danes, 
though  Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  brave  son  of  King  Charles  IX., 
recaptured  the  island  l)ei'ore  the  campaign  was  closed  in  the  fall.  On 
October  30  King  Charles  IX.  died  at  Nykoping  castle,  and  Gus- 
tavus Adolphus  ascended  the  thnuie  of  Swalen.  He  wishe<l  to 
conclude  i)eace  with  Denmark,  but  Christian  IV.,  who  drcameil  of 
large  conquests,  would  accejjt  no  reasonable  terms,  and  the  war  was 
continued.  In  March,  1012,  King  Christian  had  grcjitly  strengthened 
his  army  in  southern  Sweden,  but  he  made  the  tactical  mistake  of 
»  Samlingcr  til  del  norskc  Folks  Sprog  og  lliMorie,  vol.  III.,  p.  221. 


200  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  U 

dividing  his  forces,  which  proved  of  great  advantage  to  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  who  had  only  a  weak  army  of  peasants,  as  the  Swedish 
nobles  took  no  part  in  the  conflict.  With  his  main  force  King  Chris- 
tian turned  towards  the  city  of  Gottenborg,  which  he  destroyed  after 
having  taken  the  fortresses  of  Elfsborg  and  Gullborg.  But  the  fleet, 
though  superior  to  the  Swedish,  accomplished  nothing,  and  he  had 
won  no  decisive  victories.  After  unsuccessful  operations  against 
Jonkoping,  the  king  returned  in  August  to  Copenhagen,  whence  he 
again  advanced  with  his  fleet  against  Stockholm.  But  Gustavus 
Adolphus  hastened  to  the  succor  of  his  capital,  and  Christian  sailed 
away  without  venturing  an  attack  on  the  city.  This  was  the  last 
important  event  of  the  war.  Through  the  efforts  of  England  peace 
was  concluded  at  Kn8er0d,  January  20,  1613.  Sweden  relinquished 
all  claims  to  Finmarken,  and  agreed  to  pay  a  war  indemnity  of  one 
million  riksdaler.  All  conquered  territory  was  relinquished,  both 
countries  should  have  the  right  to  use  the  three  crowns  in  their  coats 
of  arms,  and  they  should  both  enjoy  the  same  trade  privileges  and 
freedom  from  tolls.  The  war  had  produced  no  marked  result  except 
that  of  destroying  lives  and  property,  of  creating  bitter  enmity 
between  the  closely  related  Protestant  nations  of  the  North,  and  of 
increasing  taxes  and  public  burdens. 

Some  of  the  Norwegian  forces  seem  to  have  taken  part  in  the 
operations  against  Elfsborg,  but  the  Norwegians  were  not  much 
interested  in  the  war.  Some  of  the  officers  in  charge  of  their  forces 
were  incompetent,  and  the  soldiers  were  often  disobedient  and  un- 
willing to  fight.  But  two  minor  episodes  occurred,  one  of  which 
especially  became  of  great  importance  to  the  Norwegian  people. 

In  the  Kalmar  War  both  Christian  IV.  and  Gustavus  Adolphus 
enlisted  foreign  mercenaries.  A  Flemish  officer  and  colonel  in  the 
Swedish  army,  Jan  von  Monkhoven,  was  sent  by  Gustavus  Adolphus 
to  the  Netherlands  and  Scotland,  where  he  raised  a  force  of  1200  or 
1400  men  with  which  he  hoped  to  capture  Trondhjem.  He  lost  one 
ship,  but  arrived  at  Trondhjem  with  the  rest  of  the  force,  some  800 
men ;  but  the  people  defended  their  city  well,  and  he  sailed  to  Stj0r- 
dalen,  where  he  landed  his  troops.  A  force  of  250  soldiers  and  1000 
binder  which  had  been  assembled  was  scattered  without  difficulty, 
as  the  lensherre,  Sten  Bilde,  was  a  cowardly  and  incompetent  man, 


iJr^^ 


NORWAY 

Blil  ORE  1645 


f„^.^e-    v„T^ 


II  FOREIGN    RELATIONS.      THE    KALMAll    WAR  201 

who  did  little  or  nothing  for  die  defense  of  the  country.  Monk- 
hoven  crossed  the  mountains  into  Ilcrjedalen  and  Ja*mtland,  where 
he  harried  and  |)lMn(k'r<'d  uniudlested.  He  fought  at  Kalinar,  and 
fell  in  the  siege  of  (Idof  in  In^'crrnaniand,  1G14.'  The  second  corpw 
of  mercenaries,  raise<l  in  Scotland  for  the  Swedish  service,  met  a 
different  fate.  The  enlistment  was  intru.sted  to  James  Spence  of 
Wormiston,  who  diwl  later  as  a  Swedish  baron.  He  employed 
Colonel  Andrew  Ramsey  to  conduct  the  recruiting,  and  James  I., 
king  of  England  and  Scotland,  wiio  was  married  to  King  Christian's 
sister,  Anna,'-  and  prol)al)ly  would  not  ha\e  offended  his  brother-in- 
law,  leartuMl  nothing  of  the  recruiting  until  it  was  too  late  to  prevent 
the  enlisted  soldiers  from  leaving.  A  small  force,  possibly  ;i50  men, 
succeeded  in  de|)arting,  led  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Alexander  Ramsey, 
under  whom  served  the  captains  Bruce,  James  Moneypeimy.  James 
Scott,  (icorge  Hay,  and  (leorge  Sinclair.  On  the  IDth  and  20th  of 
August,  1612,  they  came  to  anchor  in  the  Romsdalsfjord,  and  landed 
their  troops  at  Klungnes,  near  a  clitf  which  still  bears  the  name  of 
S hatha mnuireu.  They  forced  two  hdnder  to  act  as  guides,  and  began 
their  march  through  Romsdal.  The  people  fieri  at  their  approach, 
and  as  they  were  a  small  force,  they  did  not  venture  to  harass  the 
settlements  through  which    they  marched,'  but    hastened  on  their 

'  Chr.  Lanpe,  Nye  Bidrng  til  Knltnnr  Krigcns  Ifixtorie,  .\orske  Snrnlinger, 
vol.  I.,  p.  202  (T. ;  vol.  II.,  p.  41  ff.  Ynpvar  Niolsen,  Nnglc  Notitscr  orn 
Johan  von  Mitnnichhofcn,  Historixk  Tids.skrift,  f0rsto  rsekko,  vol.  IV.,  p. 
109  ff.  N.  Slange,  Christian  IV.'s  Ifisloric,  312  ff.  I.  Chr.  Berg,  Bidrag  til 
Historien  af  Chrintinn  den  fjerdes  Krig  mcd  Sverige  i  Aarene  1611  og  1612, 
Samlinger  til  dvt  norske  Folks  Sprog  ng  Historic,  vol.  III.,  p.  210  ff.  Yngvar 
Nielsen,  Jens  Rjelke  til  0straat,  p.  40  IT. 

*  Norske  Smnlingrr,  vol.  I.,  p.  454  ff.,  Bcretningcr  nf  I'rindscsse  Annaa 
Giftermaal  tncd  Kong  Jakob  den  6te  af  Skotlond. 

*  The  Norwegian  alntholder,  Enovold  Kruse,  WToto  (o  Christian  FViia 
and  Brcidi"  lijint/.au,  OctoluT  3,  1«)12:  ^'We  havo  al.>io  sine*'  IcarntHl  that 
tho.so  Scots  who  wcro  dcfcati-d  and  faptunnl  on  their  man-h  thmiigh  thi.s 
country  havo  ahsolutoly  neither  liurned,  nnirdertHl.  nor  d««stroye»l  anything 
either  in  Romsdal  or  (ludltrand.sdal.  e.xeept  only  a  Dane,  Sofren  Setnes  by 
name,  who  (hv<'Ils  in  Romsdal.  From  him  they  took  a  chest  full  of  silver 
articles,  etc."      Norske  Smnlinger.  vol.  II.,  p.  '2HS  ff. 

The  Zinklar  Vise,  a  popular  hallad  written  about  this  battle  by  Kdward 
Storm  (1742-1794).  is  biused  on  jxtpular  traditions,  and  abounds  in  exaggera- 
tions, as  ballads  usually  do.  S«>«>  H.  P.  S.  Krag,  Sngn  orn  Slaget  tfd  Krin- 
gelen.     The  following  stanza  may  servo  as  an  example : 


202  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

way,  and  crossed  the  mountains  into  Gudbrandsdal.  But  news  of 
their  approach  had  been  received,  and  the  brave  lensmand  Lars  Hage 
had  assembled  the  men  of  Lesje,  Dovre,  Vaage,  Fron,  Lom,  and 
Ringebu,  who  under  tlie  command  of  the  foged  Lars  Gram  took  their 
position  on  a  mountain  side  overlooking  Kringen,  where  a  road 
passes  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  along  the  Laagan  River.  Their 
exact  number  is  not  known,  but  in  a  song  written  shortly  after  the 
battle  they  are  said  to  have  numbered  500,  which  seems  to  be  ap- 
proximately correct.  The  officers  who  were  taken  prisoners  stated 
that  the  Scots  numbered  350  men.^  The  binder  gathered  piles  of 
stone  and  timber  on  the  mountain  side,  and  everything  was  ready 
when  the  Scots  arrived  on  August  26,  1612.  The  advance  guard 
was  allowed  to  pass,  but  when  the  main  body  arrived,  the  signal  was 
given,^  and  an  avalanche  of  stone  and  timber  swept  down  upon  them. 
Many  were  killed  outright,  and  many  were  swept  into  the  river  and 
drowned.  The  rest,  attacked  in  front  and  rear,  were  forced  to  sur- 
render. The  advance  guard  was  also  captured,  but  most  of  them 
were  put  to  death  after  they  were  taken  prisoners.  Only  eighteen 
were  escorted  to  Akershus,  among  whom  were  the  oflScers  Ramsey, 
Bruce,  Moneypenny,  and  Scott,  who  were  sent  as  prisoners  to  Copen- 
hagen. Hay  and  Sinclair  had  fallen.  Some  of  the  Scots  remained 
in  Norway,  and  some  enlisted  in  the  Danish  army.  Insignificant  as 
this  episode  was  from  a  military  point  of  view,  it  was,  none  the  less, 
the  spark  which  kindled  the  national  patriotism,  and  roused  the 
martial  spirit  of  the  Norwegians.  Hitherto  they  had  been  too  in- 
different even  to  defend  themselves ;  henceforth  their  valor  became 
proverbial.  A  stone  slab  was  erected  on  the  battlefield  of  Kringen 
fifty  years  later  bearing  the  inscription :  "  Here  Colonel  Sinclair  was 
shot  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  x\ugust,  1612."     This  slab  was  replaced 

And  with  him  fourteen  hundred  men : 
On  mischief  all  that  band  were  bent ; 
They  spared  nor  j'oung  nor  aged  then, 
But  slew  and  burnt  as  they  went. 

The  song  has  been  translated  by  Thomas  Michell,  History  of  the  Scottish 
Expedition  to  Norway  in  1612,  part  II. 

1  Olav  Kringen,  Fra  Snelandets  Hytter,  Decorah-Posten,  October  1,  1907. 

»  The  tradition  says  that  a  girl,  Pillar  Guri,  was  stationed  on  a  mountain 
top,  opposite  Kringen,  and  that  she  gave  the  signal  by  blowing  a  trumpet. 


II  FOREIGN   RELATIONS.      THE   KALMAR   WAR  203 

in  1733  by  a  wooden  cross  bearing  a  boml)a3tic  rliymed  inscription 
which  King  Cliristian  VI.  read  on  his  visit  in  Gudbrandsdal.'  A  new 
stone  shib  with  the  inscription:  "In  memory  of  the  bravery  of  the 
b0nder  1012"  was  erected  in  1S20.  This  was  again  replaced  by  a  new 
stone  monument  August  26,  1912. 

King  Christian  liad  learned  two  things  in  the  KaJmar  War.  In 
the  first  place,  that  his  army  organization  was  antiquated  and  wholly 
inefficient,  and  secondly,  that  Deimiark  could  no  lunger  seek  terri- 
torial aggrandizement  in  Sweden.  As  soon  as  the  war  was  over, 
he  began  to  im{)r()ve  the  army  both  in  Norway  and  Denmark.  In 
1614  he  issued  an  order  for  the  creation  of  a  small  national  militia, 
which  should  always  be  ready  for  military  service.  In  Norway  this 
force  was  to  consist  of  2100  men,  but  the  order  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  systematically  carried  out,  and  the  plan  was  soon  aban- 
doned. In  1017  the  firearms  which  had  been  provided  for  this 
army  were  finally  sold  to  the  people.     Not  till  after  Denmark's  sad 

*  This  inscription  reads  : 

Courage,  loyalty,  bravery,  and  all  that  gives  honor. 

The  whole  world  'midst  Norwegian  rocks  can  learn. 

An  example  is  there  seen  of  such  bravery. 

Among  tlie  rocks  in  the  Xorth,  on  this  very  spot: 

A  fully  armed  corps  of  some  hundred  Soots 

Was  here  crushed  like  earthen  pots; 

They  found  that  bravery,  with  loyalty  and  courage. 

Lived  in  full  glow  in  the  liearts  of  the  men  of  Uudbrandsdal. 

J0rgen  von  Zinclair  as  the  leader  of  the  Scots, 

Thought  within  himself,  "Xo  one  will  here  meddle  with  me." 

But,  lol  a  small  number  of  b0nder  confronted  him, 

Who  bore  to  him  Death's  mes.sago  of  powder  and  ball. 

One  Northern  monarch,  King  Cliristian  the  Sixth, 

To  honor  on  his  way  we  have  erected  this; 

For  him  we  are  ready  to  risk  our  blood  and  life 

Until  our  breath  goes  out  and  our  bodies  lie  stiff." 

This  not  very  happy  translation  is  found  in  Thomas  Michell's  History  of 
the  Scottish  Expedition  to  Norway  in  1612.  The  original  is  found  in  Ring's 
Norges  Bcskrivdse,  p.  348.  H.  F.  Hjorthoy's  Brskrivilsc  over  Gudbrandsdalcn, 
ch.  II.,  p.  27.  H.  P.  S.  Krag,  Sagn  om  Slagel  red  Kringelen.  Christiania, 
1838.  A.  Fabrioius,  Minder  fra  Nordens  Uistorie.  O.  O.  Olafsen,  SkotU- 
toget  efter  Folkesagnct  og  Historien,  Molde,  1877.  Xorske  Samlinger,  II., 
p.  288ff. 


204  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

experience  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War  was  the  plan  of  a  better  mili- 
tary organization  carried  out.^ 

In  1618  the  Thirty  Years'  War  broke  out,  and  nearly  all  nations 
of  western  Europe  were  drawn  into  its  bloody  vortex.  Bohemia 
became  the  first  theater  of  war.  In  1620  the  troops  of  the  Emperor 
and  the  Catholic  League  defeated  the  Protestants  in  the  battle  of 
the  White  Mountain,  near  Prague,  and  Frederick  V.  of  the  Palat- 
inate, who  had  been  chosen  king  of  Bohemia,  had  to  flee,  and  was 
later  outlawed  by  the  Emperor.  Tilly,  the  general  of  the  armies  of 
the  League,  wasted  the  Palatinate  with  fire  and  sword ;  Bohemia 
was  fearfully  ravaged,  and  the  Catholic  religion  was  reestablished. 
This  encouraged  the  fanatic  Emperor  Ferdinand  II.  to  make  a  general 
assault  on  the  Protestants  in  Germany.  In  order  to  make  himself 
independent  of  the  League,  he  placed  in  the  field  a  new  imperial 
army  under  Wallenstein.  The  Protestant  princes  were  in  dire 
straits.  Spain  had  also  joined  the  Catholic  alliance,  and,  by  dangling 
before  the  eyes  of  King  James  I.  of  England  a  possible  marriage 
between  his  son  Charles  and  a  Spanish  princess,  succeeded  in  keep- 
ing him  inactive.  France,  though  hostile  to  the  House  of  Habsburg, 
was  a  Catholic  power,  and  Holland  lay  bleeding  and  exhausted  after 
the  wars  with  Philip  II.  In  their  distress  the  Protestants  again 
turned  to  Christian  IV.  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  his  sister  Anna 
and  King  James  I.  of  England,  was  married  to  the  exiled  King 
Frederick  of  Bohemia.  He  sympathized  with  the  Protestants,  and, 
what  possibly  weighed  still  more,  he  had  for  some  time  been  trying 
to  extend  his  influence  in  lower  Germany  in  the  hope  that  he  might 
be  able  to  obtain  some  of  the  secularized  bishoprics  for  his  sons,  and 
also  to  gain  control  of  Hamburg  and  Bremen.  He  did  not  fear  the 
consequences  of  a  war  with  the  powerful  Catholic  coalition,  but  the 
Council  would  not  embark  on  so  hazardous  and  expensive  an  under- 
taking. The  king,  however,  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their  remonstrance. 
A  promise  of  aid  from  England,  and  the  fear  that  Gustavus  Adolphus 
might  become  the  leader  of  a  Protestant  alliance,  led  him  to  decide 

^  A.  C.  C.  Drolsum,  Del  norske  Folk  og  dels  Forsvarsvcesen,  p.  25  ff.  I.  Chr. 
Berg,  Aktstykker  til  den  staaende  Hcers  Historie,  Samlinger  til  del  norske  Folks 
Sprog  og  Historie,  vol.  III.,  p.  404  ff. ;  vol.  IV.,  p.  1  ff.  Didrik  Schnitler, 
Del  f^rste  Aarhundrede  af  den  norske  Hocrs  Historie,  Christiania,  1874. 


PLATK    V 


II  FOREIGN    RELATIONS.      TIIR    KALMAR    WAR  205 

fur  war.  In  May.  lOlT),  lie  cutertHl  Germany  with  an  army  f)f  al)»»ijt 
2(),(KK)  nu'u,  and  tlie  rceiifnrccments  sent  hitn  \)y  the  Pnitestaiit 
princes  increaseil  his  availahlr  forces  to  about  .'iO,(M)()  men,  thf 
greater  part  of  which  consisted  of  (icrman  mercenaries.  But  Chris- 
tian's operations  were  slow.  lie  wastc(i  much  time  in  minor  skir- 
mishes which  could  lead  to  no  decisive  rotilt,  and  riothiu;;  was  ac- 
complished iu  the  iirst  campai^'u.  In  1G20  WalleiLstein  dcfcate*!  tiie 
Protestant  forces  under  Mansfeld  at  Dessau,  while  Christian  was 
facing  Tilly  with  an  army  which  was  rapidly  being  reduced  in  num- 
bers through  sickness  and  desertions.  Money  was  scarce,  and  the 
aid  given  by  England  was  of  little  real  value.  At  length  Christian 
risked  a  decisive  battle,  .\ugust  17,  at  the  village  of  Luttcr  am  Barn- 
berg,  near  Wolfenbiittel,  but  suffered  a  crushing  rlcfeat.  The  retreat 
turned  into  a  rout;  panic  seize(I  the  fleeing  army,  and  the  king 
barely  escaped  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  When  he  reache<l 
Wolfetibiittel,  he  was  accompanied  by  eighty  horsemen,  who  had 
gathered  about  him  in  the  flight.  After  this  defeat  Christian 
show<'d  remarkable  energy.  lie  raised  another  army  for  the  cam- 
paign of  1(>27,  but  the  resistance  which  he  could  make  proved  use- 
less. In  July  Tilly  crossed  the  Elbe,  and  united  his  army  with  that 
of  Wallcnstcin,  and  the  two  generals  began  the  invasion  of  Den- 
mark. The  whole  {)eninsula  was  soon  overrun  and  subjected  to  the 
wildest  ravages,  not  only  by  the  lawless  warriors  of  Tilly  and  Wallen- 
stein,  l)ut  by  the  mercenaries  in  King  Christian's  own  army,  who 
turned  brigands  and  marauders.  Dcinnark  was  on  the  verge  of 
utter  ruin,  and  Emperor  Ferdinand  II.  anfl  Wallcnstcin  were  already 
laying  plans  for  extending  the  borders  of  the  Em|)irc.  and  of  estab- 
lishing its  control  over  the  Balti<-  and  the  .\orth  Sea.  This  grave 
danger  brought  (lustavus  .Vdolphus  into  the  arena.  The  imperial 
forces  laid  siege  to  the  city  of  Stralsund.  l)nt  it  rccci\('(|  help  from 
Sweden  and  Dernnark,  whose  fleets  controlled  the  Baltic.  an<l  W.d- 
lenstein  failed  to  take  the  city,  though  he  is  .said  to  have  sacrificnl 
12,000  men  in  the  attempt.  Gustavus  Adolphus  wisju-il  t«)  fonn  an 
alliance  with  Chri>tiMn  1\'.  for  the  defense  of  the  .Vorth  and  the 
Lnthcran  laith,  and  nothing  could  ha\c  secmnl  nmrc  advantage«)us 
for  Denmark  at  this  moment,  as  Wallcnstcin  ofrcntl  (lUstavus  to 
partition  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  and  Xorvvay  in  such  a  way  that 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

Sweden  should  receive  Norway,  while  Denmark  should  be  the  portion 
of  the  Emperor.  But  Christian's  suspicion  and  jealousy  prevented 
an  alliance  of  the  Protestant  kingdoms  of  the  North  at  this  critical 
moment.  It  may  be  urged  in  his  defense,  however,  that  by  avoid- 
ing an  alliance  with  Sweden  he  could  obtain  more  favorable  terms 
of  peace.  On  May  12,  1629,  he  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  with  the 
Emperor  at  Liibeck.  He  had  to  relinquish  all  claims  to  German 
possessions  for  his  sons;  he  had  to  resign  as  commander  of  the 
Protestant  forces  in  Germany,  and  had  to  promise  not  to  meddle 
with  German  affairs  in  the  future ;  but  he  lost  no  territory,  nor  was 
he  forced  to  pay  any  war  indemnity.  These  easy  terms  were  not 
granted  by  the  Emperor  and  Wallenstein  from  any  kindness  of  heart, 
but  because  they  wished  to  have  their  hands  free  for  the  coming 
struggle  with  Gustavus  Adolphus.  But  though  Christian  had  suc- 
ceeded in  making  peace  on  better  terms  than  could  have  been  expected, 
Denmark  had  paid  dearly  for  his  participation  in  the  war.  The 
ravages  and  suffering  brought  upon  the  kingdom  seem  to  have 
destroyed  its  vigor,  and  the  battlefield  of  Luther  am  Barnberg  marks 
the  beginning  of  Denmark's  national  decHne. 

In  1628,  while  the  realm  was  in  its  deepest  distress,  the  king  began 
in  earnest  the  reorganization  of  the  army.  According  to  an  order 
issued  on  January  18  of  that  year  to  the  Norwegian  statholder  Jens 
Juel,  four  farms  (gaards),  or  eight  half  farms,  or  sixteen  quarter 
farms  should  form  a  Icegd,  which  should  furnish  and  maintain  one 
soldier.  According  to  this  plan,  an  army  was  raised,  consisting  of 
five  regiments :  Trondhjem,  Bergenhus,  T0nsberg,  Akershus,  and 
Bohus,  and  three  fcenniker:  Stavanger,  Agdesiden,  and  Jsemtland. 
After  peace  was  concluded  at  Liibeck,  this  organization  was  again 
abandoned,  because  of  the  resistance  of  the  people  to  mihtary  burdens, 
but  it  was  reestablished  by  the  ordinance  of  September  19,  1641, 
which  united  the  Stavanger  and  Agdesiden  fcenniker  into  a  sixth 
regiment.  Each  regiment  numbered  about  1000  men,  and  was 
divided  into  three  companies,  except  the  regiment  of  Bergenhus  of 
1300  men,  which  was  divided  into  four  companies.  Cavalry  was 
organized  through  rostjeneste ;  i.e.  mounted  service  demanded  of 
nobility,  clergy,  and  odelsh^nder.  According  to  the  military  ordi- 
nance of  1641,  the  cavalry  numbered  520  arquebusiers  and  500  dra- 


II  NEW    NATIONAL    GROUTH  207 

goons,  hut  the  latter,  which  was  selected  from  the  infantry,  mi^ht  be 
regarded  as  mounted  infantry.  Through  the  ordinance  of  lO'iS 
fourteen  city  coin[)anies,  each  tunnl)ering  ahout  KK)  men,  were  also 
organized;  two  in  Trondhjem,  four  in  Bergen,  two  in  ('hristiania» 
and  one  in  each  of  the  cities  of  Fredrikstad,  T0nsl)erg,  Skien,  Kong- 
helle,  Marstrand,  and  Tdevalla.  These  companies  totidling  14()() 
men  were  recruited  among  the  citizens  of  these  cities,  and  were  to 
serve  as  a  sort  of  garrison  for  their  {jrotection.  The  fortresses  in 
Norway  at  this  time  were:  Vardohus,  Trondhjem  with  Munkhol- 
men,  Bergenhus,  Akersims,  Boims,  Fredrikstad,  Marstrand.  and 
the  redoubts  of  \'inger,  Flekker0,  and  Fr0s0en  in  Jiemtland.  These 
fortresses  had  permanent  garrisons,  which  were  greatly  strengthened 
by  Cliristian  IV.  The  term  of  military  service  was  fixed  at  three 
years,  and  no  one  could  rent  land  or  own  or  operate  a  farm  who  had 
not  rendered  the  required  military  service.'  Norway  had  thus 
received  a  national  army,  which  in  time  became  an  invaluable  aid 
in  the  struggle  for  national  liberty,  and  which  was  of  far  greater 
value  to  the  country  in  time  of  need  than  the  lawless  foreign  mer- 
cenaries employed  at  that  time  in  the  wars  in  all  countries. 

27.    New  N.vtional  Growth.     TTaxxibal  Sehested.     A  New 
War  with  Swhdkn 

Immediately  after  the  introduction  of  the  Reformation,  which 
destroyed  what  was  still  left  of  the  old  spirit  of  independence,  Nor- 
way reached  its  lowest  ebb  of  national  weakness.  But  signs  of  a 
new  social  and  economic  growth  soon  began  to  manifest  themselves, 
and  before  a  century  passed,  considerable  i)rogress  had  been  made 
towards  a  new  and  more  vigorous  natioiud  life,  which  was  charac- 
terized, however,  by  a  more  distinct  stratification  of  social  elas.ses.  A 
Lutheran  clergy  had  arisen,  generally  well  edu(ate<l.  and  imbuwl  with 
the  love  of  learning  and  the  more  advanced  ideas  of  the  Renaissance. 
A  new  merchant  class  sj)rang  up  in  the  cities,  and  a  new  nobility, 
springing  partly  from  the  old  Norse  nobility,  and  partly  from  im- 

'  Diflrik  Sdinitlor,  Dct  forste  Aarhundrcdc  u/  din  norskc  llirra  IIig(ori«. 
Barstad,  Xorgcs  Landforsvar  1604-1634.  Osoar  ^Ub.  Johusvii,  Hannibal 
Sehesteds  Statholderakab,  p.  30  fT. 


208  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

migrated  noblemen,  also  came  into  existence.^  The  growth  of  these 
new  classes  resulted,  however,  in  increased  burdens  for  the  hinder, 
who,  prior  to  the  Reformation,  had  enjoyed  a  very  high  degree  of 
social  and  economic  independence.  Christian  IV.,  who  needed 
money  for  his  expensive  wars  and  buildings,  increased  the  taxes,  and 
augmented  the  military  burdens  through  the  new  army  organiza- 
tion, while  the  three  uj^per  classes,  whose  interests  were  not  identical 
with  those  of  the  hinder,  sought  to  increase  their  own  privileges  and 
powers.^  The  binder,  who  up  to  this  time  had  virtually  constituted 
the  whole  nation,  were  gradually  reduced  to  the  fourth  and  lowest 
estate.  But  their  freedom  was  not  destroyed  ;  their  spirit  was  not 
broken,  nor  was  their  economic  well-being  and  independence  seriously 
impaired,  though  they  lost  much  of  their  former  power  and  social 
prominence.  Four  distinct  "estates"  were  gradually  developed: 
nobility,  clergy,  merchants,  and  binder,  and  Assemblies  of  Estates 
replaced  the  old  lagthings.  From  1548  such  Assemblies  of  the  four 
Estates  were  summoned  to  do  homage  to  a  new  king,  but  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  reign  of  Christian  IV.  they  also  took  part  in  the  levying 
of  taxes  and  in  the  making  of  laws.  The  new  social  classes,  though 
often  grasping  and  selfish,  represented  in  many  ways  a  more  en- 
lightened patriotism  than  the  binder,  who  loved  intensely  their  rights 
and  freedom,  but  who  failed  to  understand  the  demands  which  nev) 
ages  bring,  and  lacked  the  scope  of  vision  necessary  to  develop  the 
country  along  national  lines.  The  development  of  the  four  estates 
was  a  distinct  organization  of  new  forces  which  were  to  lift  the 
nation  to  a  higher  plane  both  politically  and  intellectuall^^  The 
new  national  army,  the  fortification  of  the  cities,  the  creation  of 
coast  defenses,  and  other  timely  improvements  were  made  possible 
through  their  support. 

Closely  associated  with  the  development  of  the  estates  was  alst 

'  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  De  norske  Stoender,  p.  27  ff.  Christiania  Viderv- 
skabs-Selskabs  Skrifter,  1906. 

*  Lorens  Berg  says:  "Christian  IV.  deserves  to  be  branded  as  an  op- 
pressor of  the  binder  in  spite  of  his  many  boastful  phrases  about  'guarding 
the  interests  of  the  common  people.'  For  example :  In  1640  he  was  on 
the  point  of  stopping  all  the  sawmills  in  the  land  by  his  letters  of  taxation. 
In  great  numbers  the  people  sought  'gracious  permission'  at  the  things  to 
shut  down  their  sawmills."  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  fjerde  raekke,  vol.  V., 
p.  50. 


11  HANNIBAL   SEHESTED  209 

ilie  consolidation  of  the  government  officials  into  a  distinct  ami  itifln- 
ential  class  —  a  hureaucracy.  In  1547  Norway  received  again  its 
own  chancellnr,  who  was  the  ktH'pcr  of  the  seal,  and  exercised  sui)er- 
vision  »)ver  the  courts  of  law,  and  in  l.')72  the  len.shcrre  of  Aker.->hii> 
was  made  atdtholdcr  of  Norway.  Christiaiiia,  as  his  residence  city, 
became  the  center  of  Norwegian  administration,  tlie  place  where 
the  Assembly  of  Estates  met,  where  kings  were  hailed,'  where  the 
leading  men  of  the  kingdom  assemble<l,  a  center  from  which  social 
and  political  inlhience  began  to  emanate  ;  the  new  city,  though  small, 
was  becoming  the  ca|)ital  of  the  kingdom. 

In  \(\V1  llamiil)al  Schested,  a  Danish  nol)leman,  was  made  leiu'f- 
licrrr  of  Akershus  and  atatholdcr  of  .\orway,  and  the  same  year 
he  married  King  ( 'hristian's  daughter  C'hristiane.  The  new  .stathoUler 
was  a  gifteil  man  of  fine  a|)pearance  and  noble  i)earing.  In  comj)any 
with  one  t)f  the  j)rinces  he  had  visiti^l  Rome,  Naples,  Paris,  and 
Ivondon ;  he  had  been  sent  on  important  missions,  and  had  become 
acqnaiiiti'd  with  the  leading  statesmen,  and  especially  as  the  king's 
son-in-law  he  could  ai)pear  with  royal  dignity  in  his  high  office, 
though  he  was  yet  only  thirty-four  years  of  age.  On  his  arrival  in 
Norway  Sehested  entered  uj)on  the  important  duties  of  his  office 
with  great  energy  and  earnestness.  He  studied  conditions  closely, 
and  aimed  to  make  all  possible  improvements  with  the  aid  and  ad- 
vice of  the  Estates,  which  he  summoned  to  meet  in  Christiaiiia.  lie 
-ought  to  perfect  the  yet  incomplete  military  organization,  to  secure 
lirearms  for  the  army,  and  to  aid  the  mining  industry,  which  was  in 
i,Teat  netnl  of  encouragement  and  able  a.ssistance.  In  these  efforts 
he  was  aided  chiefly  by  the  nobility,  the  clergy,  and  the  cities,  while 
the  hdndcr  held  aloof  or  showi'd  opposition,  partly  because  their 
burdens  were  already  heavy  in  j)ro|)ortion  to  their  income,  but  jiartly. 
also,  because  they  still  lackinl  understanding  of  the  value  of  national 
im{)rovements.  With  his  good  judgment  and  administrative  ability. 
Sehestc^l  might  have  done  great  things  for  Norway,  if  his  work  had 
not  been  suddenly  interrupted  by  a  new  war  with  Swe<Ien. 

The  crushing  defeat  of  the  I)ani-<h  army  in  (icrmany.  and  the 
phenomenal  victories  of  Gustiivus  Adolphu-^.  which  she<I  the  brightest 

'  AssomMiiw  of  Kstatos  woro  hoUl  in  Cliristiaiii:!.   HVJt).   1()2S.   UVU.   KVW. 
1G43.  1G4.S,   1().")7.  and  IGOl.     Ludvig  Duao,  Dd  (Jamie  ChrUliania,  p.  98. 
VOL.  II  —  p 


210  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

luster  on  Swedish  arms,  and  filled  all  Europe  with  acclaim,  suddenly 
changed  the  political  aspect  in  the  North  and  awakened  the  keenest 
jealousy  of  the  ambitious  King  Christian.  Not  only  was  Sweden 
assuming  political  leadership  in  the  North,  but  the  hitherto  insig- 
nificant kingdom  was  becoming  one  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe, 
while  Denmark,  which  but  recently  had  treated  Sweden  as  a  depend- 
ency, was  sinking  into  obscurity.  Gustavus  Adolphus'  brilliant 
career  was  closed  on  the  battlefield  of  Liitzen,  1632,  but  the  great 
Swedish  generals  still  wielded  the  sword  valiantly.  The  foreign 
policy  of  Sweden  was  wisely  guided  by  the  sagacious  statesman  Axel 
Oxenstjerna,  and  an  alliance  with  France  made  her  position  quite 
secure.  By  pursuing  a  friendly  policy  King  Christian  might  have 
profited  by  the  new  situation,  but  would  he,  could  he  admit  that  Den- 
mark-Norway had  lost  the  coveted  leadership  in  the  North?  No 
bitterer  chalice  could  be  brought  to  the  lips  of  so  proud  a  king.  He 
would  still  oppose  Sweden ;  not  openly,  but  he  began  to  systemati- 
cally annoy  the  Swedish  government  by  posing  as  a  peacemaker, 
and  by  trying  to  prevent  Sweden  from  securing  possessions  in  Ger- 
many. In  the  fall  of  1637  he  even  offered  the  Emperor  to  resist 
with  armed  force  any  attempt  of  Sweden  to  secure  German  territory. 
In  vain  Peder  Vibe,  the  Danish  minister  in  Stockholm,  warned  him. 
The  king  thought  that  the  course  which  he  was  pursuing  was  not 
dangerous.  But  Sweden  was  not  in  a  humor  at  this  moment  to 
bear  patiently  with  a  jealous  and  meddlesome  neighbor.  The  Kal- 
mar  War  and  the  indemnity  which  Sweden  had  been  forced  to  pay 
by  the  peace  of  Kn8er0d  were  not  forgotten,  and  Axel  Oxenstjerna 
was  much  irritated  by  King  Christian's  duplicity.  In  1643  orders 
were  given  the  Swedish  field  marshal,  Lennart  Torstensson,  to  march 
against  Denmark.  The  order  reached  him  in  Moravia  in  September, 
and  he  immediately  put  his  army  in  motion.  On  December  12 
he  entered  Holstein,  and  by  New  Year  he  stood  in  Jutland.  Both 
King  Christian  and  the  Council  were  taken  by  surprise.  Before  the 
end  of  January  the  whole  Danish  peninsula  was  in  Torstensson's 
hands,  and  General  Gustav  Horn  occupied  Sk§,ne  with  an  army  of 
eleven  thousand  men.  Louis  de  Geer  was  sent  by  Axel  Oxenstjerna 
to  the  Netherlands  to  attempt  to  secure  an  alliance  against  Den- 
mark, as  the  Hollanders  were  opposed  to  the  Sound-toll,  which  hin- 


II  A    \EW    WAR    WITH   SWEDEN  211 

dered  their  commerce  in  the  Baltic.  But  they  (iid  not  hke  to  see 
Denmark  annihilated,  and  Sweden  too  powerfni,  and  de  Geer  only 
succee<led  in  collecting  a  fleet  of  thirty  vessels,  which  was  sent  under 
comniaiid  of  Thijssen  to  coo[)erate  with  the  Swedish  forces.  In 
Denmark  all  was  consternation,  and  no  one  knew  wliat  to  do;  the 
king  alone  retained  his  presence  of  mind.  lie  placwi  his  confidence 
in  the  fleet,  and  Norway  might  he  ahle  to  give  some  assistance,  since 
it  now  possesse<i  an  army.  Statholder  Sehested  was  in  favor  of 
an  aggressive  policy  on  the  part  of  Norway,  a  plan  also  favored  hy 
King  Christian,  hut  the  Norwegians  streruionsl>'  o|)j)osed  an  attack 
on  Sweden.  The  quarrel  was  not  theirs.  They  would  never,  they 
said,  attack  Sweden,  for  their  Swedish  neighbors  wishe<l  them  no  harm, 
and  they  well  knew  that  if  they  touched  Sweden,  it  would  be  to  their 
own  misfortune.'  Their  opposition  to  the  statholder  in  this  matter 
grew  very  bitter,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  their  view  was  justified 
by  the  situation,  as  it  was  proven  to  be  correct  by  the  issue  of  the 
war.  But  the  Danish  lords  cared  but  little  for  the  public  senti- 
ment in  Norway.  Jakob  Ulfeld  in  Jtemtland  had  already  opened 
hostilities  by  sending  forces  to  raid  the  neighboring  Swedish  districts, 
but  they  hatl  to  withdraw  before  the  Swedes,  who  occupied  Jiemtland.^ 
Daniel  Buschovius,  a  chaplain  from  Elfdalen,  also  advanced  from 
Dalarne  with  200  men  into  the  districts  of  Indre  and  Sicrna  in  Oster- 
dalen,  and  persuaded  the  people  to  swear  allegiance  to  Queen  Chris- 
tina, the  daughter  of  Gustavus.^  The  Norwegians  again  advanced, 
captured  Morsel  redoubt,  and  recovered  Jiemtland,  which  remained 
in  their  possession  during  the  rest  of  the  war.  In  the  meantime 
Sehesteil  had  made  preparations  to  invade  \'ermland  with  a  force 

'In  a  U'tter  to  Admiral  Goddf,  January  30,  1S45,  Sohcstcd  wToto:  "It 
is  to  bo  heartily  dcplortHl  that  the  peoplf  of  this  kinpdoin  art*  so  rt'fra<"tory 
that  thoy  puhlidy  swear  and  protest  that  they  will  not  a<lvance  one  foot 
across  the  border,  neither  have  they  been  unllinR  to  be  stAtioned  hero  b4>tween 
Halland  and  the  border  of  Sweden."  Samlinycr  til  del  norskc  Fulkn  Sprog 
og  Historic,  III.,  p.  70.  Statholder  Uannihal  Schcsteds  Copicbog  for  Aant 
164-^.  This  was  an  oxapporation  at  the  time,  as  the  Norwegians  had  already 
made  several  expeditions  into  Sweden,  but  in  order  to  make  political  cApital. 
he  bases  this  statement  on  the  well-known  fact  that  the  Norwejfians  were 
opposed  to  the  war. 

*  Osear  Alb.  .lohnsen.  Hamnhnl  Schcsteds  Stalholdcrskah,  p.  .'i.")  fT. 

*  Yugvar  Nielsen,  Om  Indre  og  Sccrna,  Historitk  Tidtitkrifl,  III.,  p.  195  tt. 


212  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

of  2000  men,  assisted  by  a  similar  force  under  Henrik  Bjelke.  But 
he  was  ordered  to  cooperate  with  the  king,  who  had  already  spent 
some  time  before  Gottenborg.  On  the  arrival  of  Sehested  King 
Christian  departed  to  take  charge  of  the  naval  operations.  On  May 
16,  1644,  he  met  Thijssen's  fleet,  and  defeated  it  in  the  battle  of  List 
Dyb,  off  the  west  coast  of  Schleswig,  and  after  a  second  engagement 
a  few  days  later,  Thijssen  had  to  return  to  Holland.  On  July  1 
King  Christian  and  Admiral  Vind  fought  the  great  naval  battle 
of  Kolberger  Heide,  off  Kiel,  with  the  Swedish  fleet  under  Klaes 
Fleming.  The  old  king  showed  the  greatest  bravery.  Even  after 
he  was  so  severely  wounded  that  he  lost  the  sight  of  one  eye,  he  stood 
on  the  deck  of  his  flagship,  "Trefoldigheden,"  and  encouraged  his 
men.  As  a  result  of  the  battle  the  Swedish  fleet  was  bottled  up 
in  the  harbor  of  Kiel,  but  through  the  negligence  of  the  Danish 
admiral  Gait  it  managed  to  escape.  Gait  was  sentenced  to  death 
and  executed,  and  Eirik  Ottess0n  Orning,  a  Norwegian  captain, 
became  chief  admiral.  When  Thijssen  had  repaired  his  ships,  he 
again  put  to  sea,  sailed  through  the  Sound  under  the  thundering  can- 
nons of  the  Kronborg,  and  joined  the  Swedish  fleet.  A  Danish 
squadron  of  seventeen  ships  under  the  Norwegian  admiral,  Pros 
Mund,  was  attacked  and  destroyed ;  only  three  frigates  escaped 
into  the  harbor  of  Copenhagen. 

Sehested  did  not  engage  in  active  operations  till  in  June,  when  he 
attacked  and  destroyed  the  newly  founded  city  of  Vernersborg,  and 
sent  George  von  Reichwein  across  the  border  from  Vinger  and  Eid- 
skog.  Morast  redoubt  was  taken,  but  the  Swedes  dispatched  Gabriel 
Oxenstjerna  to  recapture  it.  Sehested  now  joined  the  Norwegian 
forces,  which  numbered  2825  men  with  eighteen  field-pieces.  A  seri- 
ous battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  Norwegians  were  victorious; 
Henrik  Bjelke  entered  Dalsland,  and  took  the  city  of  Am§,l,  but 
the  Norwegian  forces  found  it  necessary  to  withdraw  again  to  the 
border,  and  in  May,  Morast  redoubt  was  the  only  point  in  Swedish 
territory  in  their  possession.  The  newly  organized  Norwegian  army 
had  proven  that  it  could  render  efficient  service,  but  the  active  part 
which  Norway  had  been  forced  to  play  in  the  war  could  not  avert 
the  disastrous  outcome.  After  the  destruction  of  Pros  Mund's 
squadron,  Denmark's  strength  was  so  nearly  exhausted  that  King 


i 


n  A    NEW    \V\K    WITH    SWEDEN  213 

Christian  was  compelle<l  to  nejjotiate  for  peace.  The  representatives 
of  the  two  powers  met  at  Brtirnsebro,  on  the  border  between  Blekin^e 
and  Siii}\laiid,  where  j)eace  was  finally  concluded  Aiij^iist  \'.^,  1G45. 
Christian  iiad  to  c«Hie  i)errnanentiy  to  Sweden  the  islands  of  (Goth- 
land and  Osel,  und  Ilalland  for  a  i)eri()d  of  twenty-five  years.  He 
also  had  to  cede  the  Norwegian  provinces  of  Jffimtland  and  Ilerje- 
dalen.  The  districts  of  Indre  and  Sierna,  where  the  j)eoj)le  had 
sworn  allejjiance  to  the  queen  of  Sweden,  were  not  mentioned  in  the 
treaty,  but  they  were  retained  by  Sweden,  as  they  were  regarded 
by  the  Swedes  as  a  part  of  Ilerjedalen.' 

The  Xorwej;ians,  who  had  been  drag^^ed  into  the  war  ajjainst  their 
will,  and  had  defended  tiieir  territory  successfully,  suffered  the  great- 
est loss,  and  niij^ht  well  regard  themselves  as  the  victims  of  Danish 
politics.  But  the  peace  was,  none  the  less,  welcomed  with  joy, 
because  of  the  oppressive  burdens  caused  by  the  war.  In  Bergen 
the  news  of  peace  was  hailed  with  the  firing  of  guns,  the  flving  of 
banners,  and  thanksgiving  services  in  the  churches.^ 

King  Christian's  unfortunate  wars  not  only  destroyed  Denmark's 
prej)onderance  in  the  North,  and  transferred  the  leadershij)  to  Swe<len, 
but  they  affected  di.stinctly  also  the  relation  between  Norway  and 
Deiunark.  It  became  evident  to  a  far-sighted  statesman  like  Hanni- 
bal Sehested  that  Norway,  which  was  making  rapid  commercial 
and  economic  progress,  and  was  so  near  a  neighbor  to  Deimiark's 
powerful  rival,  could  no  longer  I)e  treated  as  a  mere  dependency, 
administered  in  the  interest  of  Denmark,  and  defended  by  a  few 
com|)anies  of  soldiers,  placed  as  garrisons  in  the  leading  fortresses 
of  the  kingdom.  The  altered  situation  had  create<l  new  demands. 
Neither  King  Christian  nor  the  Danish  statesmen  regarded  the  i)eace 
of  Br0msebr()  as  pemianent ;  they  would  await  the  o|)portunity 
to  regain  what  had  been  lost;  but  in  a  new  conflict  .Norway  might 
prove  a  source  of  weakness  rather  than  of  strength  from  a  militjiry 
point  of  view,  if  the  old  system  was  continued.     Sehested  would 

■  Yng^var  Nielsen,  Om  Indre  og  Sarnn,  Ifistnrisk  TuIsKkrifl,  vol.  III., 
p.  19.')  (T.  L.  HolluTK.  Dantnnrks  Rigrn  Ifistorir,  III.,  p.  4S  ff..  p.  229.  Sam- 
Ungcr  til  del  norskc  Folks  Sprog  og  Ilisloriv,  vol.  V.,  p.  47S ;  vol.  VI..  p.  470. 
Yngvar  Niolson,  De  nordcnfjcldskc  Bcgivcnhidrr  tG'iJ-KUjO,  p.  47  fT. 

«  Norske  Mmjnsin,  II.,  211.  llislorisk  Tidsskrift,  vol.  I.,  p.  28.  Oscar  Alb. 
Johuseu,  Hannibal  Schcstcds  Statholdcrskab,  p.  74  ff. 


214  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

institute  a  new  policy.  Norway  was  to  be  made  a  power  with  suffi- 
cient military  and  administrative  autonomy  to  act  of  her  own  ac- 
cord ;  the  kingdom  was  not  to  be  a  weak  dependency  which  had  to 
be  defended,  but  an  active  partner  in  the  union.  He  had  discovered 
Norway's  strength  in  the  war  with  Sweden,  and  saw  that  by  a  wise 
policy  of  administration  the  strength  might  be  rapidly  increased. 
He  won  the  old  king  for  his  plan,  and  received  such  a  plenitude  of 
powders  that  he  became  virtually  acting  king  of  Norway.  During 
the  war  the  king  had  given  him  the  supervision  and  highest  authority 
over  the  Norwegian  army,  a  power  which  was  not  curtailed  even 
after  the  peace  was  concluded,  and  he  soon  succeeded  in  obtaining 
control  also  of  the  finances  of  the  kingdom.  He  could  use  the  money 
in  the  Norwegian  treasury  at  his  own  discretion ;  he  was  authorized 
to  levy  taxes  in  order  to  improve  the  defenses  of  the  kingdom,  and 
to  borrow  money  in  the  name  of  the  king  and  the  realm.  The  reve- 
nues, which,  to  a  great  extent,  had  been  sent  to  Denmark,  were  now 
largely  used  in  the  kingdom,  and  Sehested  finally  convinced  the  king 
of  the  wisdom  of  using  all  the  Norwegian  revenues  at  home.  On 
July  2,  1647,  King  Christian  issued  an  order  that  all  the  taxes  should 
be  used  in  Norway  for  the  support  of  the  militia  and  for  the  payment 
of  the  debt.  Sehested  sought  the  active  cooperation  of  the  Norwe- 
gian Estates,  as  he  needed  their  aid  to  carry  through  his  reforms  as 
well  as  the  information  which  they  could  give  him  as  to  conditions 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  he  summoned  them  often  to 
give  advice  in  nearly  all  matters  touching  the  administration  of  the 
kingdom.^  "At  this  point,"  says  Professor  Johnsen,  "he  appears 
as  a  third  power  in  the  government  beside  the  king  and  the  Council. 
He  is  more  than  statholder,  more  than  viceroy,  he  is  the  representa- 
tive of  a  definite  political  policy,  the  representative  of  the  interests 
of  a  whole  kingdom  in  direct  opposition  to  the  one  power,  the  Council, 
and  in  aUiance  w4th  the  other,  the  king ;  but,  in  fact,  the  one  in  the 
alliance  who  takes  the  initiative,  who  is  both  the  propelling  and  the 
guiding  force."  ^  In  October,  1645,  Sehested  submitted  a  plan  for 
a  permanent  military  organization  to  the  assembled  Estates,  and 

'  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Et  Aktstykke  fra  Stcenderforhandlingen  i  Christiania 
1645.     Historisk  Tidsskrift,  fjerdo  raekke,  vol.  IV.,  p.  81  ff. 

*  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Hannibal  Sehesteds  Statholder skah,  p.  91. 


II  A   NEW    WAR   WITH   SWEDEN  215 

the  result  of  the  deliheratiori  was  that  the  German  cavalry  which 
had  ser\('(l  in  the  war  >liiiiiM  lie  kept.  This  cavalry  was,  however, 
dismissed  l»y  royal  order  in  l(Vt7.  The  regiments  should  be  kejjt 
up  and  strengthened,  and  able  officers  should  be  employed.  Accord- 
ing to  Sehested's  jjroposition,  sanctioned  by  the  king,  the  regiments 
of  Hohus,  Akershus,  and  Trondhjem  were  to  be  maintained,  and 
these  were  increased  respecti\ely  to  2()()(),  .SCK)(),  and  'M)()()  men.  The 
fortresses  were  to  be  repaired,  and  the  garrisons  strengthened,  and 
as  they  were  far  apart,  forts  were  also  to  be  erected  at  other  places. 
Sehested  sought  also  to  create  a  separate  Norwegian  fleet  of  thirty 
ves.sels,  but  failed  to  carry  out  the  plan,  as  it  received  no  general 
support. 

The  Danish  nobility,  and  the  Council  led  by  Korfits  Ulfeld,  another 
son-in-law  of  King  Christian,  were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  policy 
pursued  by  Sehested  and  the  king  in  regard  to  Norway.  They 
scouted  the  idea  that  Norway  should  have  a  separate  army  and  navy, 
that  the  finances  of  the  kingdom  should  be  administered  for  Nor- 
way's own  benefit,  and  that  no  contributions  were  to  be  sent  to  the 
Danish  treasury.  This  j)olicy,  they  believed,  would  lead  to  Norway's 
complete  independence.  The  king  was  now  old  and  weak,  and  when 
he  lost  his  oldest  son.  Prince  Christian,  who  hafi  been  elected  succes- 
sor to  tiie  throne  by  the  assembled  Danish  Estates,  the  Council 
gained  full  control.  The  reform  policy  in  Norway  was  abandonetl, 
the  expenditures  for  the  Norwegian  arin\'  were  reduced,  the  Danish 
chancellor  was  given  control  of  the  Norwegian  fiiuinccs,  and  the 
lenshcrrcr  were  instructed  to  send  their  contributions  directly  to 
Denmark.  ( )n  the  charge  of  malfeasance  in  office,  to  which  he  pleaded 
guilty,  Sehested  was  dismissed,  and  lost  all  his  possessions.  But, 
though  he  was  overthrown,  his  reform  plans  in  Norway  were 
destined  to  be  revived.  He  luul  given  the  kingdom  an  army; 
he  had  organized  a  centralized  administration  separate  from  that  of 
Denmark,  and  had  placed  autonomy  as  the  goal  towards  which  Nor- 
way shonhl  be  striving.  Such  a  lesson  in  self-government  couKl 
not  be  wholly  forgotten,  and  the  Norwegian  army  remained  as  a 
result  of  what  had  been  done,  as  a  new  repository  of  national  strength 
to  be  used  in  future  struggles. 


216  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

28.   Frederick  III 

King  Christian  IV.  died  at  Rosenborg  palace  in  Copenhagen, 
February  28,  1648,  and  as  the  elected  successor  to  the  throne,  Prince 
Christian,  had  passed  away  in  1647,  a  new  king  had  to  be  chosen. 
Prince  Frederick,  the  king's  next  oldest  son,  born  in  1609,  seemed 
to  be  the  logical  candidate.  He  was  statholder  of  the  duchies  of 
Schleswig-Holstein,  to  which  he  was  the  sole  heir.  During  his  broth- 
er's lingering  illness  both  he  and  his  ambitious  wife,  Sophia  Amalie 
of  Braunschweig-Liineburg,  had  made  it  their  aim  to  obtain  the 
throne,  if  a  vacancy  should  occur,  and  the  prince  styled  himself  in 
all  pubhc  documents  "Heir  to  the  throne  of  Norway."  But  the 
nobles  opposed  him,  because  of  his  pronounced  autocratic  ideas. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  that  if  placed  on  the  throne,  he  would  at- 
tempt to  strengthen  the  royal  power  to  the  greatest  extent  possible, 
but  as  he  was  the  king's  only  legitimate  son,  his  election  could  not 
be  prevented.  On  the  18th  of  April,  1648,  he  was  chosen  king  of 
the  united  realms,  and  on  August  24  he  received  the  homage  of  the 
Norwegian  people  in  Christiania.^ 

According  to  usage,  the  king  had  to  sign  a  charter  by  which  the 
nobility  safeguarded  their  privileges  and  powers.^  The  attempt  was 
made  to  introduce  a  stipulation  with  regard  to  Norway  which  would 
have  revived  the  long-forgotten  clause  in  the  charter  of  Christian  HI., 
and  would  have  once  for  all  reduced  that  kingdom  to  a  Danish  prov- 
ince. The  nobles  proposed  that  Norway  "shall  forever  remain 
an  inseparable  province  under  the  crown  of  Denmark,"  and  that 
the  king  "shall  have  no  rights  thereto  either  by  inheritance  or 
otherwise,"  but  to  this  the  king  would  not  subscribe.  The  charter, 
as  finally  signed,  created  restrictions  on  the  royal  power  which  had 
never  yet  been  imposed  on  a  Danish  king,  but  as  a  final  compromise 
Norway  was  not  mentioned.  The  charter  became  a  purely  Danish 
document.     But  while  the  Danish  nobles  would  regard  Norway  as 

^  Andreas  H0jer,  Jus  Publicum  eller  Stotsforfatning  og  Rettigheder  for 
Danmark,  Norge  og  Fyrstendfimmerne,  Christiania,  1783,  p.  32  f.  J.  E. 
Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  41. 

*  Samlinger  til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  vol.  I.,  p.  13  ff.  Yngvar 
Nielsen,  Frederik  Ills  Hylding  i  Christiania  1648,  Historisk  Tidsskrift, 
vol.  I.,  p.  23  ff. 


II  FREDERICK   III  217 

a  province  of  Denmark,  the  national  s[)irit  was  again  awakened 
amonj;  the  Norwegians.  Througli  the  development  of  the  Estates 
they  had  again  received  a  national  rej)resentation,  after  the  Nor- 
wegian Conneil  had  disaj)peared.'  It  is  true  that  the  Estates  num- 
bered many  Danish  nobles  and  officials,  i)Ut  it  was,  nevertheless,  a 
representation  which  could  speak  in  behalf  of  Norwegian  interests. 
This  they  had  done  cpiite  cfTectively  when  the  question  arose  of 
using  Norwegian  reveimes  in  tiie  kingdom  instead  of  i)aying  them 
into  the  general  treasurx ,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  Danish  govern- 
ment did  not  dare  to  disregard  Norway's  rights  as  a  separate  king- 
dom. Wiien  Frederick  111.  wa.s  to  be  hailed  in  Christiania,  the 
Danish  chancellor  in  a  speech  to  the  No^^vegian  Estates  asked  them 
to  swear  allegiance  to  the  new  king,  but  lie  did  not  mention  with  a 
word  the  clause  which  had  l)cen  inserted  in  the  "  Code  of  Christian 
IV."  that  "whatsoever  lord  or  prince  the  Danish  Council,  nobility, 
and  Estates  shall  choose  to  be  king  of  Deiunark  shall  also  be  king 
of  Norway."  lie  offered  an  apology  for  the  failure  to  summon  the 
Norwegian  Estates  to  take  part  in  the  election,  but  said  that  it  was 
owing  to  the  haste  with  which  the  election  had  to  be  made.  The 
native-born  Norwegian  chancellor,  Jens  Bjeike,  replied  that  the  Nor- 
wegian Estates  would  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  King  Frederick 
111.  as  heir  to  the  throne  of  Norway,  as  no  one  had  a  better  right  to 
the  throne  than  he.^  King  Frederick's  position  in  Norway  was  not 
made  clear,  but    the   Norwegians  had    fearlessly  maintained   that 

'  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norgcs  Ifintorir,  vol.  IV.,  2,  p.  260.  J.  E.  Sars, 
Udsigt  over  den  norskr  IfistoHr,  vol.  IV.,  p.  41  IT.  F.  Ilammerich,  Fire 
kj^b('nhai<nskc  liiysdayr,  Ni/I  hinlnrisk  Tidsskrift,  vol.  V.,  j).  .'JOti  f. 

*  Vngvar  Nielsen,  Fndcrik  Ills  llyldingi  Christiania  lb'.',S,  p.  40  f.,  Ilisto- 
risk  Tidsskrijl,  f0rste  rickko,  vol.  I.,  p.  23  ff.  T.  H.  AschehouK.  Slatsfor- 
fainingen  i  Norgr  og  Danmark  ituitil  1S14,  P-  301  f.  Vnpvar  Niel.son,  Jens 
Bjvlkc  til  Ostraat,  p.  3()").  I*rofessor  Alb.  Johnsen  shows  (hat  the  u."*e  by 
various  Danisii  kinns  of  the  title  "Heir  to  the  throne  of  Norway"  gave  them 
no  hereditary  rifjht  to  the  thron(>.  He  says  ooneerninjr  hereditary  kingship 
in  Norway:  "The  people  elunj;  to  the  hereditary  kingship  .so  long  as  it 
served  their  interests  and  tiie  country's  wi-lfare,  but  they  abandoninl  it  and 
opposed  tlu<  hereditary  kin^:shi|)  and  the  iuri'ditary  principle  when  in  the 
union  period  these  were  becoming  a  d:l^^rer  to  the  country  and  (he  nation; 
finally  they  ajjain  rec()^rui/.ed  the  king's  hcre<litary  rights  when,  under  altered 
conditions,  the  hereditary  principle  could  i)r()ni(»te  the  hontir  of  the  country 
and  the  people's  happiness.     When  in  1814  the  Norwegians  refused  to  recog- 


218  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

their  kingdom  was  an  hereditary  monarchy,  a  position  in  which  they 
were  supported  by  the  king  and  the  statholder,  Hannibal  Sehested. 
The  Danish  nobiUty  were  clearly  put  on  the  defensive  to  maintain 
the  old  elective  system  with  which  their  power  was  so  closely  identi- 
fied. The  rent  thus  made  in  the  antiquated  Danish  policy  was 
still  to  increase  until  the  system  itself  was  overthrown. 

King  Frederick  III.  was  very  unlike  his  father.  He  was  quiet 
and  given  to  reflection.  He  spoke  little  and  wrote  still  less.  He 
was  much  interested  in  literature,  art,  and  science,  and  especially 
in  alchemy,  to  which  he  devoted  special  attention.^  He  loved  power, 
and  felt  confident  that  his  future  success  was  preordained  by  des- 
tiny. He  possessed  a  liigh  degree  of  self-control ;  he  was  a  keen 
observer,  and  kept  impressions  well  in  mind;  but  his  anger  was 
often  of  the  vindictive  kind  which  might  prove  dangerous  to  those 
against  whom  it  chanced  to  be  directed.  When  he  ascended  the 
throne.  King  Christian's  sons-in-law  had  formed  a  political  party, 
and  had  gained  full  control  of  the  government.  The  leader  of  the 
party  was  Korfits  Ulfeld,  who  was  married  to  Christian's  daughter 
Leonora  Christina.  Much  more  gifted  and  scarcely  less  influential 
was  Hannibal  Sehested,  statholder  of  Norway.  Korfits  Ulfeld  rose 
to  the  highest  position  in  the  realm  through  royal  favor,  but  he  pos- 
sessed also  the  royal  favorite's  pride  and  arrogance,  and  became 
generally  hated  by  the  nobility.     Sehested's  overthrow  has  already 

nize  Christian  Frederick's  hereditary  right,  and  when  in  1905  they  refused 
to  retain  an  hereditary  king  who  had  become  unable  to  perform  his  duties 
as  ruling  sovereign,  they  acted  in  reality  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  policy 
of  their  forefathers."  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  femte  raekke,  vol.  II.,  p.  190  ff. 
Om  det  norske  Folks  Opfatning  av  Tronf^lgcn  f^r  1660.  G.  L.  Baden,  Oprin- 
delsen  til  de  Schleswig-Holstenske  Hertugers  Titel:  Arving  til  Norge,  Af hand- 
linger,  vol.  II.,  p.  61. 

1  King  Frederick  III.  wasted  large  sums  of  money  on  the  Italian  alchemist 
Burrhi,  who  instructed  him  in  alchemy.  He  gave  this  teacher  a  laboratory 
in  the  palace  gardens  at  Rosenborg.  To  what  degree  Burrhi  enjoyed  the 
king's  favor  can  be  seen  from  an  order  which  he  issued  to  General  Ahlefeldt : 
"It  is  our  most  gracious  will  and  command  that  you  hereafter  daily  let  300 
men  with  their  officers  accompany  Burrhi  to  work  in  our  gardens  at  Rosen- 
borg and  elsewhere  where  he  may  need  it  for  our  service,  and  that  to  this  end 
you  gradually  change  the  people  as  you  deem  it  necessary."  P.  Brock,  Den 
Oldetiborgnke  Kongeslegt,  isosr  under  Enevoelden,  belyst  ved  den  chronologiske 
Samling  paa  Rosenborg  Slot,  p.  55. 


II  FREDERICK   III  219 

been  mentioned,  hut  he  hinnlile<i  himself  hefore  the  king,  admitted 
his  faults,  received  purdc^n,  und  was  destined  to  rise  again  to  the 
hij^hest  influence  and  power.  Ulfcld,  who  wa.s  stiff-necked.  i)ur.-iUi'd 
another  course,  and  fell  to  rise  no  more 

The  relations  between  Korfits  Ulfeld  and  iVederick  III.  wt-re 
strained  from  the  outset.  The  king  well  knew  that  Ulfeld  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  restrictions  piace<i  upon  the  royal  power  by  the 
charter,  and  the  proud  nnignate  could  not  gracefully  submit  to  the 
authority  exercised  by  the  new  king.  The  ambitious  Queen  Sophia 
Amalie  also  looke<l  with  jealous  disfavor  (jii  tlie  gifted  and  beautiful 
Leonora  ('hristina,  whom  slie  regarde<l  as  a  rival.  Ulfcld  secretly 
left  Denmark,  and  went  to  Sweden,  where  he  was  well  received  by 
Queen  Christina.  King  Fre<lcrick  instituted  an  investigation  into 
the  way  in  which  lie  had  conducted  his  high  office  as  steward  of  the 
kingdom,  and  Ulfeld,  who  refused  to  return  to  answer  to  the  charges 
before  the  Danish  Council,  became  more  and  more  jin  open  enemy  of 
his  king  and  his  country.  His  foul  treason  and  the  long  imprison- 
ment of  his  iimocent  wife  cast  a  dark  shadow  U{)on  the  reign  of  Fre<i- 
erick  III.'  The  overthrow  of  such  powerful  magnates  as  Ulfeld 
and  Sehested  could  not  but  weaken  the  Danish  nobilit>',  and  render 
them  less  able  to  resist  the  king,  who  aimed  to  curtail  their  power, 
if  not  to  destroy  it.  In  IGot)  his  eldest  son,  Prince  Christian,  was 
elected  successor  to  the  throne,  but  the  election  was  made  t)nly  in 
behalf  of  Denmark,  and  when  the  royal  successor  was  to  be  haileil 
in  Christiania,  1G50,  the  question  again  arose  whether  he  was  to  be 
regarded  as  heir  to  the  throne,  or  as  elected  crown  prince.  On  this 
occasion  a  treatise  entitled  "Norges  Rige  Arve-Ilige,"  written  t*) 
prove  that  Norway  had  always  been  a  hercditar\'  monarchy,  was 
submitted  to  the  king.  The  author  is  thought  to  have  been  a  Dane, 
Jens  Dolmer.^  who  had  been  the  tutor  of  King  Christian's  ille- 
gitimate son  Ulrik  Christian  Gyldenl0ve,  and  who  at  the  time  of  tlie 

'  Lcuoro  rhristiiu'  rifcliit,  JnminrrH-mirKic,  puMishod  by  S.  Hirkot 
Smith.  CoponhiHJcn.  Lcnorc  Christine  Grcvinde  I'lfddt'a  Levned,  ('oi>en- 
hagen,  1870. 

*  GusUiv  Storm,  Om  Fnrfnttercn  til  dct  stntsrrtsligc  Skrift  fra  1656  "  \orgcs 
Rige  Arve-Rigc."  Hintorisk  Tidaakrift,  andeu  ra?kko,  vol.  IV.,  p.  114  ft. 
Dolmor  also  translated  tho  llirskni,  Ilird-Sfcrna  udi  det  gamU  I^'orskt 
Sprog  rcllcUgcn  ovcrsal  pan  Danske,  Cupculia^eu,  1606. 


220  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

festivities  was  granted  a  yearly  pension  from  the  royal  purse.  Pro- 
fessor Gustav  Storm  says :  "  When  the  document  was  submitted  to 
the  king  at  a  Norwegian  council  by  a  man  who  was  personally  so 
well  acquainted  with  him,  and  who  a  few  days  later  received  a  pen- 
sion from  the  royal  treasury,  it  is  evident  that  the  author  has  written 
it  at  the  instigation  of  the  king,  and  expresses  the  views  of  the  king 
and  his  surroundings.  The  treatise  is,  therefore,  a  link  in  the  chain 
of  utterances  by  the  king  regarding  the  hereditary  kingship  in  Nor- 
way, and  reveals  the  plans  which  were  maturing  at  the  court." 
That  King  Frederick  should  welcome  such  a  plan  to  increase  his 
power  is  quite  natural,  but  he  was  Jess  favorably  disposed  to  a  petition 
submitted  by  the  Norwegian  merchant  class,  or  third  estate,  aiming 
at  securing  new  improvements  and  privileges  for  Norway.  The 
petitioners  prayed  that  Norwegian  officers  might  be  employed  in 
the  army  instead  of  foreigners ;  that  Norway  might  get  a  chamber 
of  commerce,  a  superior  court,  and  a  university.^  These  were  all 
timely  and  useful  improvements,  but  no  attention  was  paid  to  the 
petition,  though  it  was  renewed  the  following  year.  Even  though 
hereditary  kingship  and  absolute  power  were  established,  Norway 
might  derive  but  slight  benefit  from  the  change. 

After  the  death  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  his  gifted  but  eccentric 
daughter  Christina  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Sweden,  after  a  regency 
had  conducted  the  government  during  her  minority.  She  became 
of  age  in  1644,  and  ruled  till  1654,  when  she  abdicated,  and  her  cousin, 
Charles  Gustavus,  became  king  of  Sweden  as  Charles  X.  King 
Frederick  III.  had  been  longing  for  an  opportunity  to  regain  the 
provinces  lost  in  the  late  war  with  Sweden,  and  when  Charles  X., 
shortly  after  his  accession  to  the  throne,  became  involved  in  a  war 
with  Poland,  he  thought  the  time  had  come  for  the  inevitable  con- 
test with  the  rival  power.  Without  much  preparation,  and  without 
weighing  carefully  the  possible  outcome,  the  king  signed  the  declara- 
tion of  war,  July  1, 1657.  "  Seldom  has  a  war  been  declared  more  from 
pure  motive  of  revenge,  and  the  feelings  associated  with  it,"  says 
Professor  Yngvar  Nielsen.^    In  his  work,  "  Adelsvseldens  sidste  Dage," 

*  Becker,  Samlinger  til  Danmarks  Historie  under  Fredrik  III.,  vol.  I.,  p. 
118.     Quoted  by  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  43. 

*  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  2,  p.  284. 


II  FREDERICK   III  221 

J.  A.  Fridericia  says:  "Weak  and  poor  was  the  kingdom  (Denmark) 
when  the  war  he^an,  disrniMiihered  and  ruined  when  it  endwl.  No 
single  man  can  be  made  responsible  for  its  weakness  and  poverty, 
the  reasons  for  which  he  deep  in  tiie  people's  history,  in  exterior  mis- 
fortunes, in  unfortunate  errors  made  by  kings  and  statesmen,  in 
the  absence  of  a  powerful  merchant  class;  but  especially  in  the  arro- 
gance, demoralization,  and  worthlessness  of  the  nobility.  Perhaps 
this  weakness  and  j)overty  would  sooner  or  later  have  led  to  the 
same  dismemberment  and  devastation  which  the  kingdom  now 
suffered,  but  for  the  misfortunes  lus  they  happened  in  these  years, 
that  prince  whose  will  was  the  war  of  1657  cannot  be  wholly  free 
from  blame."  '  The  Norwegian  army  was  able  to  render  able  service 
during  the  war.  Attacks  were  made  against  Sweden  both  from 
Tr0ndclagen  and  from  Boiuislen.  Peder  \'ibe  was  commandant 
of  Trondhjem,  but  the  expedition  against  Sweden  in  this  quarter 
was  to  be  led  by  J0rgen  Bjelke,  probably  the  ablest  officer  in  the 
Norwegian  army  at  that  moment.  His  forces  numbered  2()00  men, 
who  had  been  recruited  chiefly  in  Tr0ndelagen.  With  this  force 
he  invaded  Jremtland  and  Ilcrjedalen,  drove  out  the  Swedish  garri- 
sons, and  placed  the  two  provinces  once  more  under  Norwegian  ad- 
ministration. In  the  northern  districts,  Preben  von  Ahnen,  com- 
mandant of  Bod0gaard,  raised  a  small  force,  and  attacked  and 
destroyed  the  Sweflish  silver  mines  at  Nasafjall  and  Silbojocki. 
The  ex|)edition  from  Bohuslcn  was  led  by  Tver  Krabbe,  commandant 
of  Bohus.  He  was  successful  in  a  battle  at  Hjertrum,  but  failed  to 
effect  a  junction  with  the  Danish  army,  which  had  crossed  the  border 
further  .south. 

While  Swe<len  was  attacke<l  by  the  Norwegians  in  JaMntland  and 
Bohuslcn,  and  by  a  Danish  force  operating  from  Sk&ne,  the  prin- 
cipal Danish  army  was  assembler!  in  Holstein  to  march  against 
Sweden's  German  possessions.  But  King  Charles  X.  Gustavus  was, 
above  all,  a  warrior.  He  was  a  great  tactician  and  a  resolute  and 
energetic  general,  who  was  always  ready  for  new  military  exploits. 

'J.  A.  I*Yi(l(Tici;i,  Aildsrrcldcnfi  sidstc  Dagr,  p.  2tK).  ViiKvar  N'ioliwn, 
Kampcn  nm  Trondhjem,  Fcxlukrift,  Trondhjrma  900~anrx  Jubilcrum,  1897. 
Ynprvar  Nielsen,  Dc  nordcrifjddakc  Bcgivcnhcder  1667-1660,  Christiania, 
1868. 


222  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

When  the  declaration  of  war  reached  him  in  Thorn  in  Prussia,  he 
put  his  army  in  motion,  and  advanced  by  forced  marches  to  the 
borders  of  Holstein.  The  Danish  commander,  Anders  Bille,  had 
kept  his  forces  scattered,  and  the  unexpected  encounter  with  the 
Swedish  main  army  under  King  Charles's  own  command  created 
such  consternation  and  disorder  that  no  effective  resistance  could 
be  made.  Charles  Gustavus  did  not  stop  to  talve  the  scattered  for- 
tresses throughout  Holstein,  but  hastened  forward,  crossed  the 
border  of  Schleswig,  August  23,  and  pitched  his  headquarters  at 
Kolding,  as  it  was  found  necessary  to  lay  siege  to  the  important 
fortress  of  Fredriksodde.^ 

The  Danish  army  operating  in  Skane  under  Aksel  Urup  met  with 
no  success.  Urup  was  defeated  in  the  battle  of  Genevad  Bro,  and 
although  he  succeeded  in  defeating  the  Swedes  under  Gustav  Sten- 
bock  at  Kattorp,  the  advantage  gained  was  of  little  value,  as  he 
failed  to  make  a  junction  with  the  Norwegian  forces  in  Bohuslen. 
At  sea  Denmark  was  more  successful,  though  no  signal  victories 
were  won.  After  the  undecisive  naval  battles,  September  12-14, 
the  Swedish  fleet  withdrew  to  the  harbor  of  Wismar,  where  the  Danish 
admiral,  Henrik  Bjelke,  succeeded  in  keeping  it  shut  up  for  the  rest 
of  the  war. 

Denmark  had  already  been  placed  in  a  most  difficult  situation, 
but  new  hope  was  created  by  an  alliance  with  Poland.  Austria  also 
attacked  the  Swedish  forces  stationed  in  that  kingdom,  and  Branden- 
burg joined  the  enemies  of  Sweden.  King  Charles  succeeded  in  form- 
ing an  alliance  with  the  Duke  of  Gottorp,  but  the  situation  was,  never- 
theless, so  complicated  that  he  consented  to  attempt  peace  negotia- 
tions. Councilor  Sten  Bjelke,  and  the  traitor  Korfits  Ulfeld,  who 
was  now  in  the  service  of  Sweden,  were  empowered  to  treat  with 
Denmark,  but  it  could  scarcely  be  expected  that  the  Danish  govern- 
ment would  treat  with  the  traitorous  Ulfeld,  and  the  attempt  was 
abandoned.  Denmark  received  no  aid  worth  mentioning  from  her 
allies.  On  October  24  the  fortress  of  Fredriksodde  was  taken  by 
storm;  1000  Danish  officers  and  soldiers  fell,  and  over  4000  were 
made  prisoners,  a  defeat  so  crushing  that  it  filled  the  people  with 

^  PVedrik  Ferdinand  Carlson,  Sveriges  Historia  under  Konungarne  af 
pfalziska  Huset,  part  I.,  p.  270  ff. 


II  FREDEKICK    III  223 

(lespuir,  and  an)use<l  their  aiif^er  uKainst  the  nobles,  who  were  accused 
of  iru()in|)eteii('e  and  treason  to  tlie  country.  After  the  fall  of 
Fredriksodde  Kini;  Charles  erossed  the  Little  Ik-lt  on  the  ice  to 
Fyen,  defeated  and  (•ai)ture<l  tlie  Danish  anny  of  4(KX)-5000  men 
at  Tyi)rin^  W^,  and  seized  the  island.  lie  did  not  tarry,  but  rode 
across  the  (ireut  Belt  with  2()()()  hor>enien  to  Lan^eland,  which  sur- 
rendered without  resistance.  On  tiie  Nth  of  Fel)njar\'  he  entert^d 
Falster,  and  on  the  1  1th  he  stootl  in  Seeland,  where  Gustav  \V range! 
joined  him  with  the  rest  of  the  Swedish  army.  There  was  now  noth- 
ing left  for  Denmark  to  do  but  to  conclude  j)eace,  no  matter  how 
humiliating  the  terms.  Peace  negotiations  were  begun,  and  after 
a  preliminary  protocol  had  been  agreed  upon,  the  treaty  was  finally 
signed  at  Roskilde,  February  2(),  Kjo.S.  Denmark  had  to  cede  Skane, 
Ilalland,  Blekinge,  and  Bornholm  ;  Jjcmtland  and  ilerjedalen  had 
to  be  evacuated,  and  Bohuslen  and  Trondhjems  len  in  Norway 
were  given  to  Sweden.  King  Frederick  111.  was,  furthermore,  to 
give  King  Charles  2(100  horsemen;  he  had  to  agree  to  abrogate  all 
hostile  alliances  against  Sweden,  and  to  seek  to  prevent  any  foreign 
fleet,  hostile  to  either  of  the  two  realms,  from  passing  through  the 
Sound.'  F^)r  the  second  time  Norway  had  become  the  victim  of  a 
Danish  foreign  policy  aiming  solely  at  the  maintenance  of  the  power 
and  glory  of  Denmark.  Norway's  interest  had  never  been  consid- 
ered, and  the  peace  of  Roskilde  not  only  alienated  great  portions  of 
Norwegian  territory,  but  almost  destroyed  the  kingdom  by  dividing 
what  rcMuained  into  two  dissevered  halves.  But  in  those  days  war 
was  still  a  royal  sport,  and  IVederick  111.  did  not  ai)pear  to  be  very 
downcast  by  the  overwhelming  misfortunes  which  he  had  brought 
upon  his  realm.  He  invited  King  Charles  to  visit  him  at  Fredrik.s- 
borg  palace,  where  a  great  festival  was  arrangeil  in  his  honor.  For 
several  days  the  two  nionanhs  feasted,  drank,  chatte<l,  and  made 
merry;  and  when  Charles  departed  from  Demnark.  the  batteries 
of  the  Kronborg  gave  royal  salute  in  honor  of  the  viitor. 

'  Fredrik  Fordinaiid  Carlson,  Sverigen  Hislorin  under  Konungnrnf  og 
pfalziska  llusct,  part  2,  p.  324  IT.  J.  A.  Fridorifiia,  Adchvaldens  sidttr  Dagt, 
p.  311  ff.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Kumjuu  om  Trondhjnn  } (!.'>7-l (!i>0;  Fndtn  i 
Roskilde.  C.  F.  Allen,  tlaandbog  i  FiedrtlandtU  llititorie,  p.  4<)S  f.  Dan- 
marks  Rigcs  Hislorie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  304  Cf.  iSrerigcsltlistorie,  vol.  III.  Sorges 
Historic,  vol.  IV.,  2,  p.  283  ff. 


224  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Both  kings  were,  however,  dissatisfied  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
of  Roskilde.  King  Frederick  III.,  because  he  had  lost  so  much  terri- 
tory, and  Charles  Gustavus,  because  he  did  not  take  more  when  he 
had  the  opportunity.  With  regard  to  Trondhjems  len  the  treaty 
was  very  vague,  and  King  Charles  claimed  that  the  district  of  Romsdal 
as  well  as  Nordland  and  Finmarken  were  included  in  the  cession. 
Romsdal  was  recognized  to  be  a  part  of  Trondhjems  len,  but  King 
Charles  still  planned  to  renew  the  war.  In  July,  1658,  he  decided 
in  a  meeting  with  his  Council  at  Gottorp  to  attack  Denmark,  and  Gus- 
tav  Wrangel  was  instructed  to  begin  operations  against  Copenhagen.^ 
The  city  was  invested,  and  a  siege  begun.  Kronborg  was  surrendered 
to  General  Wrangel  without  much  resistance,  but  animated  by  the 
desperate  situation,  the  Danes  concentrated  their  forces  within  their 
capital,  which  they  were  resolved  to  defend  to  the  last  extremity. 
The  unprovoked  attack,  and  the  fear  that  Sweden  would  gain  abso- 
lute control  in  the  North,  soon  moved  other  powers  to  intervene 
in  behalf  of  Denmark.  Holland  sent  a  fleet  of  forty  vessels  and 
twenty-eight  transports  with  a  force  of  2200  men  under  Jakob  van 
Wassenaer  Opdam  to  Danish  waters.  This  fleet  passed  through 
the  Sound  in  spite  of  the  fire  from  the  fortresses  of  Kronborg  and 
Helsingborg,  defeated  the  Swedish  fleet,  joined  the  Danish  squadron, 
and  sent  the  transports  with  provisions  and  reenforcements  to  Copen- 
hagen. Brandenburg  and  Poland  also  commenced  war  against 
Sweden,  and  sent  an  army  into  Holstein,  which  forced  the  Duke  of 
Gottorp,  King  Charles's  ally,  to  remain  neutral. 

King  Charles  Gustavus  had  planned  this  time  to  take  possession 
of  all  Norway,  but  the  Norwegians  were  determined,  not  only  to 
defend  their  country,  but  to  recover  the  lost  possessions.  The  people 
of  Tr0ndelagen  regretted  bitterly  that  they  had  been  forced  under 
Sweden.  The  Swedish  commissioner,  Lorentz  Creutz,  who  acted 
as  governor  of  the  province,  was  ordered  by  King  Charles  to  raise 
a  force  of  3000  men  for  the  Swedish  army,  but  this  was  so  violently 
opposed  by  the  people  that  the  order  could  be  carried  out  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty.     Finally  2000  men  were  impressed  to  fight 

1  J.  A.  Fridericia,  Adelsvceldens  sidste  Dage,  p.  349  ff.  Fredrik  Ferdinand 
Carlson,  Sveriges  Historia  under  Konungarne  af  pfalziska  Huset,  part  1,  p. 
354  ff. 


II  FREDERIi  K    III  225 

ill  Sweden's  foreign  wars.  Tlu'v  were  (ordered  to  be  sent  U)  Livonia, 
and  till'  kin;;  wrott'  to  John  OxcMistjiTiia  to  watch  carefully  so  that 
the  Norwegians  did  not  desert.  Many  escai)ed,  hut  ahout  140()  were 
transported  to  Livonia,  few  of  whom  ever  saw  their  native  land  a^ain. 
The  Swedish  kinf;  did  notliiiiK  to  win  the  favor  of  the  Norwegians. 
His  only  tiiou^iit  had  Keen  to  raise  men  and  money  in  the  ecjiiquered 
provinces.  The  taxes  were  increased,  and  the  Tr0nders,  who  had 
hitherto  heen  well  disposed  towards  the  Swedes,  were  now  eager  to 
aid  in  any  undertaking  wliich  promise<l  freedom  from  the  foreign 
yoke.'  King  Charles  issued  a  manifesto  to  the  Norwegian  i)et)ple, 
asking  them  to  separate  from  Denmark  and  join  Swe<len,  hut  such 
a  thought  <li(i  not  exist  in  Norway  at  that  moment.  A  new  national 
feeling  had  been  awakened  ;  the  people  would  now  fight  for  freedom 
from  Swedish  o|)pression,  and  J0rgen  Bjeike,  who  had  been  [)laced 
at  the  head  of  the  Norwegian  army,  undertook  to  recover  Tr0nde- 
lagen.  As  soon  as  the  war  brcjke  out,  King  Frederick  IIL  sent  word 
to  Norway  to  statholder  Nils  Trolle  and  to  J0rgen  Bjeike  that  they 
should  resist  to  the  utmost.  Communications  with  Denmark  were 
soon  destroyed,  however,  and  Bjeike  became  the  leader  of  the  mili- 
tary operations.  His  father,  the  old  chancellor,  Jens  Bjeike,  en- 
couraged the  peojde  of  Tr0ndelagen  through  private  letters  to  break 
away  from  Sweden,  "in  which  they  also  succeeded,"  says  an  old 
writer.-  A  formal  manifesto  signed  by  the  stathulder,  the  chancel- 
lor, and  J0rgen  Bjeike,  addressed  to  the  Estates  of  the  lost  provinces, 
asking  them  to  renew  their  allegiance  to  the  old  government,  was 
also  published.  Bjeike  would  K'ail  the  campaign  in  southern  Norway, 
and  dispatched  George  von  Reichwein  to  Tr0ndelagen.  Reichwein's 
forces  increased  as  he  advance<l,  until  they  numbered  about  2(KK)  men, 
and  another  force  from  Bergen  under  Reinhold  von  Hoven  was 
dispatched  to  Troiidhjem  by  sea  to  coiiperate  with  Reichwein.  Nord- 
land  also  sent  a  detachment.  The  new  Swedish  governor,  C'laes 
Stjernskold.    felt   alarmed.     Everywhere   the    people   arose   against 

*  Yngvar  Ni»>Isen,  Knininn  om  Trondhjcin  tGo7-l6GO;  Trondhjema  Stad 
og  Leii  under  svcnsk  Shjrclsr. 

*  Yn^ar  Nielsen,  Jmt  lijdki  til  Ostnial,  p.  37.")  ff. ;  Kampfti  om  Trotidhjem 
1657-1660.  Om  Troudhjvms  Tilh(uj,l(nnls,  ,if  dr  Sorskc,  Savilingrr  tU  del 
norskr  Folkn  Sprog  mj  Hisloric,  vol.  VI.,  p.  lOo  (T.  H.  (J.  Ilejjglveit,  Trondhjem 
i  FoTlid  og  Siitid,  p.  187  fT. 

VOL.  II Q 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

the  Swedes,  and  the  detachments  which  he  sent  out  to  reconnoiter 
met  the  advancing  Norwegian  troops,  and  were  forced  to  fall  back 
on  Trondhjem.  King  Charles,  who  had  not  failed  to  understand 
the  gravity  of  the  situation  in  Tr0ndelagen,  speedily  sent  a  force 
of  500  men  to  reenforce  Stjernskold.  If  this  force  had  reached  the 
city,  the  Swedish  governor  might  have  been  able  to  successfully  de- 
fend it,  as  he  would  then  have  had  a  garrison  of  about  1200  men. 
But  Eilerik  Visborg,  who  had  been  sent  to  Vserdalen  with  a  part  of 
the  forces  from  Bergen,  met  and  defeated  the  Swedish  reenforcements,^ 
and  the  Norwegian  forces,  numbering  about  4000  men,  laid  siege 
to  Trondhjem.  The  garrison  of  the  city  numbered  about  750  men, 
but  as  many  of  these  were  Norwegians,  desertions  occurred  almost 
daily.  The  supply  of  provisions  and  war  material  in  the  city  was 
small,  and  after  a  siege  lasting  from  October  3rd  till  December  11th 
Stjernskold  capitulated,  and  Trondhjems  len  again  became  Norwe- 
gian territory. 

J0rgen  Bjelke  was  personally  leading  the  defense  of  the  southern 
districts,  where  he  had  raised  an  army  of  about  4000  men.  Sep- 
tember 13,  1658,  the  Swedish  general,  Harald  Stake,  crossed  the 
Swedish  border  with  a  force  of  about  1500  men,  and  marched  upon 
Halden  (Fredrikshald),  which  was  defended  by  900  men,  of  whom  the 
greater  part  were  volunteers.  This  force,  led  by  Peder  Nordmand 
and  Mathias  Bj0rn,  took  up  a  position  in  the  hills  east  of  the  town, 
where  they  resolutely  attacked  the  Swedes  when  they  arrived. 
After  a  battle  lasting  from  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  Swedish  general  was  forced  to  retreat, 
and  he  led  his  army  back  to  Sweden.  A  second  attack  was  com- 
menced in  February ;  this  time  by  an  army  of  4000  men,  also  com- 
manded by  Stake.  The  town  was  defended  by  a  force  of  1800  men 
under  J0rgen  Bjelke  and  T0nne  Huitfeldt,  who  defeated  the  Swedish 
general,  and  forced  him  to  retreat  to  Bohuslen.  After  the  attack 
had  been  repulsed,  Kuitfeldt  began  to  construct  more  efficient  forti- 
fications around  Halden,  and  Bjelke  advanced  into  Bohuslen  in 
the  fall  of  1659,  and  attempted  to  wrest  that  province  from  the  Swedes. 
But  a  Swedish  army  of  4500  men  under  Marshal  Kagg  was  advancing 

1  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Eilerik  Visborgs  Kamp  med  de  Svenske  1658,  Historisk 
Tidsskrift,  f0rste  rsekke,  vol.  IV.,  p.  286  ff. 


II  FREDERK  K    III  227 

to  renew  the  attack  on  the  small  XorwcKian  fortress,  and  Bjelke 
had  to  return.  lie  increased  the  garrison  of  the  place  to  2100  men, 
and  placed  Iluitfeldt  in  command.'  In  Jaiuiary,  !(>(>'),  the  Sweties 
attempted  to  take  the  fortress  l)y  storm,  hut  the  attack  was  success- 
fully repulsed.  In  tlie  meantime  Bjelke  had  raised  an  army  of 
3800  men,  with  wiiich  he  had  hoj)ed  to  reenforce  the  garrison  of 
Halden.  The  army  was  attacketl  hy  Kagg  at  IIun(ie!)UMderi,  and  a 
stubborn  battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  Norwegians  were  victori- 
ous. A  second  assault  on  the  fortress  on  February  l.'kJi  was  like- 
wise repulsed,  and  a  third  attack  on  tlie  2iJth  was  also  unsuccessful. 
On  Feljruary  -2d  the  siege  was  raised,  and  Kagg  led  his  forces 
back  to  Sweden,  where  he  received  the  news  that  the  warrior  king, 
Charles  X.  Gustavus,  had  died  in  Gottenborg.  February  13,  10(iO. 

The  defense  of  Halden  and  the  capture  of  Trondhjem  were  events 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  Norway,  Even  from  a  military  point 
of  view  they  were  great  achievements  which  awakened  the  people's 
self-confidence  and  national  pride.  Hitherto  the  Danes  had  looked 
upon  Norway  as  wholly  incompetent  in  military  affairs,  but  the  late 
events  had  awakened  such  admiration  of  the  bravery  of  the  NorAve- 
gians  that  when  Frederick  I\'.  \isited  Norway  al)out  forty  years 
later,  he  caused  a  coin  to  be  struck,  bearing  the  superscription: 
"  Courage,  loyalty,  bravery,  and  all  that  gives  honor,  the  whole  world 
among  the  rocks  of  Norway  can  learn."  This  was,  undoubtedly, 
done  by  the  king  to  flatter  the  Norwegians,  but  they  had  shown  in 
these  wars  with  Sweden  that  they  could  defend  tiieir  country,  and 
that  they  could  bring  victory  home  from  tlie  fields  of  battle,  even 
in  struggles  with  experienced  generals  and  the  best  troops  of  Europe- 
The  disasters  which  had  befallen  Norway  in  the  wars  between  Swe<len 
and  Demnark,  and  the  struggles  through  which  the  people  had  to 
pass  to  throw  off  the  Sweilish  yoke,  and  to  defend  their  country', 
were  instrumental  in  finally  rousing  them  from  flu-ir  national  letharg)'. 
They  had  now  regained  the  most  important  j)art  of  the  lost  terri- 
tory, and  hatl  become  animated  with  a  new  self-consciousness.  The 
Norwegian  borders  had  been  |)emKinently  fixed,  and  a  national 
aspiration,  born  of  the  people's  firm  resolve  to  lead  their  (»wn  free 

» IT.  J.  IIuitf*"l(lt-Kaas.  Tonne  HuUJddi  til  Thrond^tad,  ilisloritk  Tidstkrifl. 
trediu  riukko,  vol.  II.,  p.  l.">(i  ff. 


228  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  U 

existence,  had  become  deeply  rooted  in  all  hearts.  An  efficient  army 
had  been  developed,  and  able  and  patriotic  leaders  had  appeared. 
These  distinct  gains  were  doubly  important  since  they  would  con- 
stitute the  basis  for  a  new  national  development. 

The  war  was  still  continued,  but  the  end  was,  nevertheless,  in 
sight.  Copenhagen  resisted  bravely,  and  when  the  Swedes  attempted 
to  take  the  city  by  storm  they  were  repulsed  with  heavy  losses.  As 
England  and  France  as  well  as  Holland  were  interested  in  preserv- 
ing Denmark's  independence,  Sweden's  plan  of  subduing  the  whole 
kingdom  was  becoming  ever  more  hopeless.  Holland's  great  ad- 
miral, Michael  de  Ruyter,  was  dispatched  to  Danish  waters  with  a 
large  fleet,  and  when  the  Swedish  army  in  Fyen  was  defeated  and  cap- 
tured, the  three  western  powers,  Holland,  France,  and  England,  finally 
came  to  an  understanding  as  to  the  terms  of  peace  to  be  offered  the 
belligerents.  Norway  should  retain  Trondhjems  len  with  Romsdal ; 
Sweden  should  keep  Sk§,ne,  Halland,  and  Blekinge,  together  with 
Bohuslen ;  and  Bornholm,  where  the  Swedes  had  been  driven  out, 
should  be  returned  to  Denmark.  These  terms  were  at  length  agreed 
to,  and  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Copenhagen,  May  26,  1660. 

29.   Hereditary  Kingship.     The  Introduction  of  Absolutism 

The  peace  of  Copenhagen  was  hailed  with  joy,  but  the  people  both 
in  Denmark  and  Norway  had  been  brought  to  the  brink  of  ruin,  and 
suffering  was  intense  in  both  kingdoms.  An  Assembly  of  Estates 
met  in  Copenhagen,  September  10,  1660,  to  consider  the  difficult 
problems  confronting  the  Danish  people.  The  aristocracy  still 
insisted  on  retaining  the  privilege  of  freedom  from  taxation,  though 
the  feeling  against  them  had  become  very  bitter ;  but  the  clergy  and 
the  third  estate  united  and  demanded  equal  privileges.  When  the 
nobles  were  finally  forced  to  yield,  the  opposition  had  become  strong 
enough  to  control  the  situation.^  Under  the  leadership  of  Mayor 
Hans  Nansen  of  Copenhagen  and  Hans  Svane,  Bishop  of  Seeland, 
they  resolved  to  overthrow  the  rule  of  the  aristocracy  by  means  of 
a  coup  d'etat.  The  city  gates  were  closed,  the  harbor  was  blockaded, 
and  the  garrison  was  held  in  readiness ;   if  the  nobles  should  refuse 

*  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Statsforfatningen  i  Norge  og  Danmark  indtil  1814^, 
p.  464  ff. 


II  HEREDITARY    KIN^JSHIP.      INTRODUCTION   OF   ABSOLUTISM        229 

to  submit,  force  would  l»r  u.^nl.  Tlieir  resistance  was  soon  broken, 
and  on  October  i:ith  they  signed  a  declaration  that  they  would  join 
the  other  estates  in  ackiiowicdt^inj^  the  here<litary  |)rinciple.  The 
charter  was  returned  to  tiie  kiuj;  as  a  token  that  the  restrictions  on 
his  royal  power  therein  expresse<i  were  annulled,'  and  on  October  18, 
166(),  Frederick  III.  was  fonnally  hailed  as  hereditary  king  of  Den- 
mark. The  rif^ht  to  the  throne  was  vested  in  his  family,  both  in 
the  male  and  female  line.  I'nder  the  date  of  January  10,  HilJl,  a 
document  was  drawn  up  entitled  "  Instrument  eller  pragmatiskSank- 
tion  om  Kongens  Arveret  til  Danniarks  og  Xorges  Rige,"  which  made 
the  king  not  only  heir  to  the  throne,  but  granted  him  all  royal  prerog- 
atives and  .sovereign  privileges  as  ab.solute  hereditiiry  king.  This 
document  was  circulated  in  the  kingdom  to  be  signed  by  nobles, 
bishops,  chaj)ters,  j)riests,  and  cities,  in  order  that  formal  sanction 
might  be  given  to  the  introduction  of  absolutism  in  Demnark. 

In  accordance  with  the  power  which  had  been  granted  him  by 
the  assembled  Estates,  the  king  undertook  to  prepare  the  new  consti- 
tution, the  "Kongelov"  {lex  regia),  which  should  outline  in  detail 
the  various  powers  which  he  was  to  exercise.  This  document  bears 
the  date  of  November  14,  1G65.  The  author  of  the  law  was  Peder 
Schumacher  (OrifTenfeld).-  The  document,  which  was  long  kept 
secret,  was  finally  published,  and  remained  the  constitution  of  Den- 
mark and  Norway  till  1814.  According  to  this  document,  the  king 
had  the  right  to  change,  make,  and  annul  laws,  to  ap|)oint  all  higher 
officials,  to  disregard  all  establishecl  customs,  to  declare  war  and  make 
peace,  to  levy  taxes  and  coin  money.  He  is  declaretl  to  be  subject 
to  God  alone,  and  to  be  above  all  laws,  except  the  fundamental  laws 
of  the  realm.  The  second  article  states:  "The  king  has  the  highest 
and  most  unlimited  power,  for  he  is  the  supreme  heat!  here  on  earth, 

'  The  charters  subscribed  to  by  the  Danish  kings  had  long  since  ceased 
to  be  a  guarantee  for  the  people's  liberty.  Like  the  pacta  conrenta  of  the 
kings  of  Poland,  they  had  bi'como  documents  by  which  the  nobles  gradually 
destroyed  the  royal  power,  and  perfected  and  increa-stnl  their  own  privileges. 
Molesworth,  An  Account  of  Denmark  as  It  Wati  in  the  Year  1692,  p.  44  (T. 

'A.  D.  Jrtrgensen,  Pidir  Schumacher  Griffcufdd,  vol.  I.,  p.  10.")  ff.  Chr. 
Bruun,  Emvuldcn.^  I iidfdrclKf  i  Danmarh,  og  Kongrlorrns  TilUinUe,  p.  114. 
J.  A.  Fridericia.  Kntigdoven  og  dms  ForhiKlorir,  Dunsk  historiak  Tidsskrift, 
femte  rtpkke.  vol.  VI.  O.  .\.  Overland,  Xorgcn  Ilialoric,  vol.  VII.,  p.  107  ff., 
contains  thirty  of  the  forty  articles  of  the  Kongetov. 


230  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

elevated  above  all  human  laws,  and  he  recognizes  no  other  judge, 
either  in  secular  or  spiritual  matters,  than  God  Almighty."  The 
seventeenth  article  states  further  that  "  he  can  take  no  oath,  or  make 
any  declaration  of  any  kind  whatsoever,  either  orally  or  written,  as 
he,  being  a  free  and  unrestrained  absolute  monarch,  cannot  be  bound 
by  his  subjects  through  any  oath  or  obligation."  ^  The  Emperor  of 
ancient  China  could  possess  no  more  unlimited  autocratic  power. 

In  introducing  absolutism  and  the  principle  of  hereditary  kingship 
in  Demnark,  nothing  had  been  said  about  Norway,  but  the  king 
claimed  that  he  was  already  heir  to  the  throne  of  that  kingdom.  The 
Norwegian  Estates  were  summoned  to  meet  in  Christiania  in  order 
to  hail  him  as  hereditary  king,  May  27,  1661,  but  as  he  could  not  be 
present,  he  sent  the  crown  prince,  Christian,  together  with  Hannibal 
Sehested  ^  and  five  commissioners  to  act  as  his  representatives.  A 
draft  of  a  new  fundamental  law  for  the  kingdom  of  Norway  introduc- 
ing absolutism  was  submitted,  and  the  Estates  signed  the  same, 
August  7,  1661.  This  was  a  counterpart  to  the  Danish  act,  and 
granted  the  king  the  same  absolute  power  as  he  had  received  in  Den- 
mark. The  Norwegians  had  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  change. 
Hereditary  kingship  had  been  established,  and  Norway  was  freed 
from  the  rule  of  the  Danish  nobility,  which  had  treated  the  kingdom 
as  a  province  to  be  administered  by  the  Danish  Council  for  their 
benefit.  Norway  now  had  the  same  constitution  as  Denmark,  and 
was,  henceforth,  regarded  as  equal  in  rank  with  the  sister  kingdom, 
as  the  basis  for  Danish  supremacy,  the  usurped  power  of  the  Danish 
Council  to  choose  a  king  for  both  realms,  had  been  removed.^  The 
two  realms  were  usually  called  the  "Twin  Kingdoms,"  and  the  citi- 

^  Andreas  H0jer,  Jus  Publicum  eller  Statsforfatning  og  Reitigheder  for 
Danmark,  Norge  og  Fyrstend^mmerne  forklaret  ved  private  Forelcesninger, 
Christiania,  1783.  O.  A.  0verland  says  of  the  Kongelov  that  it  had  no  proto- 
type in  any  European  constitution.  It  was  based  chiefly  on  the  ideas  of 
Thomas  Hobbes,  expressed  in  his  works  De  Cive  and  Leviathan. 

^  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Stalsforfatningen  i  Danmark  og  Norge  indtil  1814,  P- 
464  ff.  Hannibal  Sehested  had  again  won  the  favor  of  the  king,  who  had 
appointed  him  royal  treasurer.  J.  A.  Friderieia,  Adelsvceldens  sidste  Dage, 
p.  164,  478  ff. 

'  E.  Holm,  Danmark-N orges  indre  Ilistorie  under  Enevcelden  fra  1660 
til  1720,  vol.  I.,  p.  71  flf.  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Stalsforfatningen  i  Norge  og 
Danmark  indtil  1814,  P-  579.     L.  M.  B.  Aubert,  Norges  folkeretslige  Stilling. 


II         nEREDiTAUY  Ki\<;srni'.     introduction'  of  absolutism      231 

zeiis  of  one  realm  mi^'lit  [loM  any  office  in  the  other.  Under  the 
rule  of  an  absolute  monarch  th*-  N'orwej^ians  could  liope  that  their 
affairs  would  he  more  fairl.\-  and  ini[)artially  dealt  with  than  under 
the  olil  rejjiine.  This  they  found  was  also  done  to  some  extent,  and 
it  would  possihly  have  heen  done  to  a  much  higher  deforce  if  the  abso- 
lute kings  of  the  House  of  Oldenburj;  had  been  j^ifted  men  and  able 
rulers.  Hut  their  incotn|)etence  and  lack  of  al)ility  often  rendennl 
them  unal)lc  to  exercise  a  power  in  any  nuuuicr  answering  to  the 
fullness  of  their  authority.  Professor  Sars  says  of  them:  "The 
most  gifted  Of  them  did  not  rise  above  mediocrity  ;  those  among  them 
who  devoted  themselves  most  diligently  to  administrative  duties 
became  absorbed  in  official  routine  and  trifles,  and  never  developed 
to  become  what  may  l)e  termed  independent  and  cai)able  rulers, 
howsoever  low  a  standard  we  may  estal>lish.  A  couple  of  them  were 
wholly  unfit  to  govern,  and  their  rule  was  purely  a  nominal  one. 
Among  those  who  formed  the  immediate  surroundings  of  these  kings 

—  their  favorites,  councilors,  and  ministers  in  a  more  special  sense 

—  only  two  attempted  to  assume  in  the  name  of  the  king  the  power 
which  according  to  the  constitution  belonged  to  him,  namely  (rrif- 
fenfeld  and  Struensee,  and  both  were  overthrown  after  a  short  rule." 
"  The  place  which  through  the  constitution  was  given  the  king  re- 
mained in  many  ways  vacant  throughout  the  period  here  mentioned. 
Contrary  to  what  might  have  been  exi)ected,  judging  from  the  prin- 
ciples expressed  in  the  new  constitution  (Kongeloven),  the  govern- 
ment became  of  a  very  staid  and  impersonal  character.  According 
to  the  letter  of  the  constitution,  the  government  should  have  been 
distinctly  monarchical,  but  in  reality  it  became  distinctly  bureau- 
cratic. Its  center  was  not  formed  by  the  kings  personally,  nor  by 
their  Council  (Geheimeraad,  Privy  Council),  or  their  ministers  in 
a  more  limitc<l  sense,  but  by  the  (^olleges.  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
admini.strative  dcpartnieuts.  The  I  )aiush-Xi)rwcgian  government 
in  the  period  HJliO-lSl  t  was.  with  the  exception  of  a  few  interrup- 
tions, es.sentially  a  govermnent  by  the  (Colleges  with  all  the  faults 
and  advantages  which  usually  characterize  such  a  rule."  ' 

1  J.  E.  Sars.  Udsigt  over  den  norskc  Ilistorir,  vol.  IV..  p.  40  f.  .1.  .\.  Kridr^- 
rioift.  AdiLwaldrns  sidstr  Dage,  p.  489  flf.  Oscar  .\n>.  .Johnsen.  Sorgcs  His- 
toric, vol.  v.,  1.  p.  3  fT. 


232  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Shortly  after  the  hereditary  kingship  had  been  established,  King 
Frederick  III.  created  five  Administrative  Colleges  (or  committees) 
by  the  ordinance  of  November  4,  1660,  among  which  the  various 
administrative  duties  were  divided.^  The  Geheimeconseil  (Privy 
Council)  was  also  created,  consisting  of  the  five  presidents  of  the 
Administrative  Colleges.  The  Council  convened  daily  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  king,  and  exercised,  quite  naturally,  a  great  influence 
upon  his  decisions.  In  his  "cabinet"  the  king  kept  protocols  and 
private  secretaries  for  receiving  petitions  and  communications.  These 
matters  would  either  be  passed  upon  by  the  king  personally,  or  he 
would  turn  them  over  to  the  Administrative  Colleges.^ 

A  new  judicial  tribunal,  the  H^iesteret,  was  also  created.  This  was 
a  court  of  final  jurisdiction  for  Norway,  the  Faroe  Islands,  and  Iceland, 
as  well  as  for  Denmark.  It  represents  a  very  marked  improvement 
over  the  old  method,  according  to  which  the  councils  of  magnates 
acted  as  a  higher  court.  But  it  was  an  essential  drawback  that  the 
new  court  was  a  purely  Danish  institution,  which  always  convened 
in  Denmark,  where  Norwegian  cases  could  not  be  properly  investi- 
gated. But  the  king,  who  exercised  as  absolute  power  in  judicial 
matters  as  in  other  affairs,  was  superior  even  to  this  court,  and  could 
act  as  supreme  judge. 

The  office  of  Statholder  of  Norway  was  retained  with  about  the 
same  powers  and  duties  as  before.  The  statholder  was  to  exercise 
supervision  over  all  subordinate  officials,  and  he  should  so  encourage 
the  economic  development  of  the  country  that  the  royal  revenues 
might  increase.  He  had  to  watch  the  relations  "with  Sweden,  keep 
army,  fortresses,  and  magazines  supplied  with  the  necessary  stores 
and  equipments,  and  guard  against  the  violation  of  treaties  with 
foreign  nations  touching  Norway's  commerce;  but  he  retained  no 
power  over  the  revenues  of  the  kingdom,  as  in  the  days  of  Hannibal 
Sehested. 

As  a  result  of  the  introduction  of  absolutism,  the  nobles  lost  their 
exclusive  right  to  the  lens,  and  these  might  now  be  granted  to  any 

*  The  five  departments  were :  admiralty,  war,  treasury,  commerce,  and 
state,  or  foreign  affairs. 

*  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Statsforfatningen  i  Norge  og  Danmark  indlil  1814, 
p.  582  ff. 


II  HEREDITARY   KINGSHIP.      INTRODUCTION   OF  ABSOLUTISM         233 

one  whomitlif  kiiij;  might  see  fit  to  appoint.  In  n>02  Fre<lerick  III. 
abolished  tlie  name  len,  wliich  still  remiii(le<i  him  of  ti»e  time  when 
the  king's  |)()\ver  was  limited,  and  substituted  the  German  name 
amt.  As  the  name  indicates,  the  amis  became  mere  administrative 
districts,  and  over  these  he  placed  officers  called  amtmcend,  wlu)  were 
not  always  of  noble  famil\'.  They  received  a  fixed  salary,  and  had 
to  render  strict  account  of  income  and  expenditures.  Under  Fred- 
erick's son  and  successor,  Christian  V.,  Norway  was  divided  into 
four  stijtsamter:  Akershus,  Christiansand,  Bergenhus,  and  Trond- 
hjem,  each  of  which  consistetl  of  one  principal  amt  and  two  of  subor- 
dinate rank,  except  in  the  case  of  Ik-rgenhus,  which  had  three  sub- 
ordinate aird^s.  The  power  of  tlu'  nminiaend  was  much  more  limited 
than  that  of  the  len.therrer,  who  ha<l  exercised  both  civil  and  mili- 
tary authority  within  their  len.  The  anUnurnd  were  only  civil 
officials,  and  their  power  was  much  curtailed,  as  they  could  not  ap- 
point subordinate  officials,  such  a>i  fogeds,  mayors,  and  councilmen, 
who  were  all  appointed  by  the  king.  Their  office  was,  nevertheless, 
one  of  great  dignity  and  power,  as  they  were  the  king's  deputies 
and  personal  representatives  in  the  local  administration.  The 
enforcement  of  the  laws,  the  management  of  pulilic  property,  and 
the  supervision  (jf  the  work  of  subordinate  officials  were  some  of 
the  more  important  executive  duties  delegated  to  them.  But  they 
should  also  act  as  the  guardians  of  the  common  people  in  protecting 
them  from  oppression  and  injustice.  They  were  to  be  watchful 
in  preventing  fogcd-t  from  collecting  excessive  taxes,  and  merchants 
from  cheating  the  hinder,  aiul  they  were  given  special  instruction 
to  see  to  it  that  the  renters  were  not  unjustly  treated  by  their  land- 
lords.' The  stiftsdminicpud  were  superior  to  the  others  in  rank,  and 
acted  as  superintendents  over  the  aintnupiid,  fognh,  and  .skrivere 
(judges)  within  their  ,'itift.s(iint.  The  office  of  Stiftsamtmand  of 
Akershus  was  connected  with  that  of  Statholder  of  Norway,  that  of 
Stiftsamtmand  of  Christiansand  with  the  ollice  of  \'icivst;itholder, 
create<l  in  IGO!),  and  in  Trondhjem  and  Bergenhus  the  .ttifLmmt' 
nurnd  were  respectively  chancellor  and  vice-chancellor  of  the  king- 
dom.    The  management  of  the  finances  was  left  to  new  fiscal  officials 

'  Edvard  Holm.  nniimiirk-Xon/rx  indrc  //«.s7onV  under  Enevtrlden  fra  1660 
til  1720,  vol.  1.,  p.  84  ff.     Ost-ar  Alb.  .Johnson,  Norges  Historir,  vol.  V.,  1. 


234  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

called  hammererer,  later  stiftsskrivere,  who  acted  as  local  treasurers, 
and  had  to  render  account  to  the  royal  treasury  in  Copenhagen. 
But  the  collection  of  the  taxes  was  left  to  the  fogeds,  as  before.^ 

In  conformity  with  the  principles  of  absolutism,  all  officials  of 
whatever  rank,  even  the  mayors  and  councilmen  in  the  cities,  now 
became  royal  officials,  deriving  their  authority  as  well  as  their  office 
from  the  king  liimself,  who  was  the  source  and  fountain  of  all  official 
power.  The  local  communities  lost  their  autonomy.  The  parishes 
could  no  longer  call  their  own  ministers,  and  the  University  of  Copen- 
hagen could  not  appoint  its  professors;  every  change,  in  fact  every 
public  act,  would  henceforth  depend  on  the  royal  will.^  Gradually 
the  central  government  left  more  freedom  and  power  to  the  local 
authorities,  especially  in  the  cities,  where  this  became  quite  necessary, 
but  the  fundamental  idea  that  the  king  was  the  source  of  all  power  and 
authority,  that  the  will  of  the  people  no  longer  existed  as  a  factor 
in  administration  and  government,  could  not  be  altered. 

The  transfer  of  political  power  from  the  aristocracy  to  the  king 
and  his  officials  resulted  also  in  a  new  alignment  of  social  classes, 
as  the  officials,  especially  in  Norway,  appeared  as  a  new  upper  class, 
a  bureaucracy.^  This  class  was  partly  recruited  from  the  aristocratic 
families,  who  possessed  learning  and  culture,  and  still  wielded  a  great 
social  influence;  but  as  rank  and  birth  were  no  longer  necessary 
qualifications,  many  wealthy  and  influential  men,  especially  from  the 
cities,  were  appointed  to  various  higher  offices.'*    As  the  power  and 

1  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  1,  p.  15  ff.  T.  H.  Asche- 
houg,  De  norske  Communers  Retsforfatning  f^r  1837,  p.  182  flf. 

'  Ludvig  Daae,  Trondhjems  Slifts  geistlige  Historie,  p.  113. 

'  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Slatsforfntningen  i  Norge  og  Danmark  indtil  181 4,  P-  601  £f. 

*  "Certain  it  is  that  all  sorts  of  places,  civil  and  military,  are  filled  more 
by  foreigners  than  by  gentlemen  of  the  country :  and  in  their  disposal  of 
of&ces  it  is  remarkable  that  such  as  are  of  ordinary  birth  and  fortunes 
are  much  sooner  preferred  than  tho  se  of  contrary  qualities :  so  that  there 
may  be  found  several  in  the  most  profitable  and  honorable  emploj^ments 
who  have  formerly  been  serving-men,  and  such  like ;  and  these  prove 
the  best  executors  of  the  will  and  pleasure  of  arbitrary  power,  and  therefore 
are  caressed  accordingly.  There  is  one  further  advantage  in  the  promotion 
of  these  kind  of  men ;  that  after  they  are  grown  rich  by  extortion,  and  have 
sucked  the  blood  of  the  poor,  when  clamors  grow  loud  against  them,  the 
court  can  with  ease  squeeze  these  leeches,  laying  all  the  blame  of  its  own 
oppression  at  their  doors;   and  this  without  the  danger  of  causing  the  dis- 


n  HEREDITARY   KINGSHIP.      INTRODUCTION   OF  ABSOLUTISM        235 

influence  of  this  new  class  depended  on  their  ofhce,  and  not  upon  their 
runk,  the  devclopiiieiit  of  a  new  aristocracy  was  arre^te<J,  and  ttie 
aristocratic  tan liiies  existing  in  Norway  at  tliat  time  were  too  few  to 
exercise  any  real  power.  Tlie  royal  officials  were  haughty  and 
arl)itrary  enough  in  their  dealings  with  the  cominoii  pcojiic,  hut  their 
origin  as  well  as  their  intercuts  hmnul  thcni  to  the  CDnmnui  classes, 
and  in  the  future  political  struggles  for  national  independence  and 
political  freedom  they  became  the  leaders  of  the  people,  and  showed 
a  devotion  to  their  cause  which  could  not  have  been  expected  of 
an  aristocracy. 

A  very  important  administrative  reform  in  Norway  introduced 
by  Frederick  III.  was  the  taking  of  a  census,  and  the  registration 
and  valuation  of  all  taxable  i)roperty,  which  should  constitute  a  new 
basis  for  the  levying  of  taxes.  Hitherto  the  various  taxes  —  land- 
tax,  ledlng,  faring,  tithes,  etc.  — were  levied  upon  each  gaard  (farm) 
\nth()ut  reference  to  its  value,  and  a  very  unjust  distribution  of 
public  burdens  resulted.  Some  property  was  taxed  too  low,  and 
some  too  high,  so  high  that  it  had  to  be  abandoned.  The  king 
ap})ointed  a  commission  of  fifty  members,  who  were  instructed  to 
list  every  farm,  its  value,  its  occupants,  and  all  notable  advantages, 
and  on  the  basis  of  this  census  new  tax  tables  were  to  be  prepareil. 
In  1009  the  work  was  finally  comj)leted,  and  it  was  decided  that  the 
taxes  should  be  based  on  tlic  xaiuatiDU  of  tlie  property  found  in  the 
new  tax-lists.  The  work  had  l)een  very  imperfectly  done,  however, 
owing  largely  to  the  unwillingness  of  the  people  to  give  the  necessary 
information,  as  they  feared  that  their  taxes  would  be  increased.* 
But  ta.xation  had,  finally,  been  based  on  a  correct  principle,  and  a 
great  advance  had  been  made  towards  an  equitable  distribution. 
The  total  income  from  all  sources  of  re\enue  in  the  kingdom  of  Nor- 
way at  this  time  has  been  estimated  to  be  about  ()50,(M)0  riksdaler 
($0")(),l)00).  Of  this  amount  about  2()().(I(U)  riksdaler  were  usetl  in 
Norway  for  tlie  maintenance  of  the  Norwegian  army,  and  tlie  pay- 
ment of  officials.  The  balance,  4r)(),()0()  rik.sdaler.  was  sent  to  Copen- 
hagen to  be  used  for  the  support  of  the  joint  court  aiul  navy. 

pontont  of  any  of  tho  nohlos  ui)on  tlio  score  of  kindred  or  alliance."     An 
Aceounl  of  Dm  mark  an  II  Was  in  the  Yrnr  ]f)9S,  p.  75  f. 
^  Hislorisk  Tidsskrifl,  vol.  IV.,  p.  '>07. 


236 


HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 


II 


Hannibal  Sehested's  successors  in  Norway,  Nils  Trolle  and  Iver 
Krabbe,  were  men  of  mediocre  talents,  who  showed  no  trace  of  orig- 
inality or  special  administrative  ability.  In  1664  King  Frederick's 
illegitimate  son,  Ulrik  Frederick  Gyldenl0ve,  was  appointed  stat- 
holder.  He  was  a  young  man,  accustomed  to  the  splendor  and  excit- 
ing social  life  of  the  higher 
circles  of  the  Danish  capital, 
and  people  feared  that  he 
would  be  wholly  unfit  to 
shoulder  the  irksome  bur- 
dens of  this  high  office.  But 
Gyldenl0ve,  who  possessed 
talents,  as  w^ell  as  will  and 
energy,  became  a  worthy 
successor  of  Hannibal 
Sehested.  He  studied  condi- 
tions in  Norway  very  closely, 
and  became  the  ardent  advo- 
cate of  many  important  re- 
forms. Some  of  these  had,  in- 
deed, already  been  suggested 
by  Sehested,  but  through 
Gyldenl0ve's  efforts  the  gov- 
ernment was  finally  persuaded  to  take  action.  He  advocated 
the  simplification  of  the  system  of  taxation,  and  the  valuation 
and  registration  of  taxable  property.  He  urged  the  creation  of 
a  Norwegian  fleet  of  smaller  war  vessels  for  coast  defense,  the 
improvement  of  Norwegian  fortresses,  the  creation  of  a  Norwegian 
superior  court,  from  which  an  appeal  could  be  made  to  the  king 
alone,  and,  finally,  the  revision  of  the  "  Code  of  Christian  IV."  After 
encountering  much  indifference  and  opposition,  he  finally  succeeded 
in  persuading  Frederick  III.  to  decide  in  favor  of  some  of  these  re- 
forms. By  royal  edicts  it  was  decreed  that  Norway  should  have  a 
separate  superior  court,  Overhofretten,  from  which,  however,  an  appeal 
could  be  made  to  the  Hdiesteret  in  Copenhagen.  It  was  also  decided 
to  revise  the  "Code  of  Christian  IV.,"  a  work  which  was  done  under 
Frederick's  successor  Christian  V.     Gyldenl0ve  became  very  popu- 


FiG.  4.  —  Ulrik  Frederick  Gyldenl0ve. 


II  UKREDITARY    KINOKIIIP.       INTRODUCTION   OF   ABSOLUTISM      237 

lar,  as  he  knew  how  to  win  the  people's  favor  hy  straiKhtforwanl 
manners  and  clieerfiil  pMxI-will.  Karl  Deichman  has  descnhed  his 
popuhirity  as  follows:  "The  Xorwej^iatis  regarded  Gyldenl0ve  as 
their  patron  saint,  and  tiu-y  had  a  pecnliar  veneration  for  this  lord, 
because  of  his  excellent  conduct,  democratic  spirit,  brave  leadership, 
and  gay  life.  lie  extended  his  j)rotection  to  all,  especially  to  the 
common  people,  whom  he  defended  against  seizures  and  unjust 
impositions.  He  could  jx-rsuade  the  nation  to  do  whatever  he  pleased. 
He  listened  to  the  people's  (•oini)laints,  and  seldom  did  he  leave  them 
unconsoled.  The  hofidcr  in  the  mountain  districts  always  addressed 
him  "tliou  (iyidenl0ve."  Many  stories  are  told  that  he  often  trav- 
eled about  in  disguise  in  order  to  learn  if  the  people's  love  for  him 
was  to  be  relied  upon."  '  Molesworth  says  of  him:  "He  is  about 
fifty-six  years  t)f  age,  has  been  one  of  the  handsomest,  and  continues 
one  of  the  finest  gentlemen  that  Denmark  has  produced."  ^ 

The  P^aroc  Islands  retained  their  old  judicial  system  of  six  syssel- 
things,  and  the  Lagthing  as  a  sii])erior  court.  But  appeal  could  be 
made  from  the  Lagthing  to  the  H^iesteret  in  Copenhagen.  Frederick 
III.  granted  these  islands  as  a  fief  to  his  favorite  Gabel  and  his  son 
Frederick.  Tiiese  lords  and  their  fogeds  oppressed  the  people  sorely, 
and  though  the  king  would  seek  to  redress  the  wrongs  when  the  com- 
plaints grew  loud,  no  marked  iini)rovement  was  nuide  in  the  i)Cople's 
conditions  till  after  the  death  of  Frederick  Gabel. 

Also  in  Iceland  the  old  system  of  syaaeWiings  and  lagthings  was 
suffered  to  remain;  but  here  as  in  Norway  and  the  Faroe  Islands  the 
H0iesteret  in  Copenhagen  became  the  highest  court  of  appeal,  while 
the  administrative  colleges  and  governmental  departments  in  Den- 
mark gradually"  assununl  the  functions  of  govermnent  for  the  island. 
In  lGS;i  a  Uvidjogcd  was  appointed  to  receive  the  tiixes  and  revenues, 
after  these  had  been  collected  by  the  sysselnurnd.  The  following 
year  a  stiftsaintmand  was  appointed,  and  two  years  later  an  amtiiuind 
was  added  to  the  list  of  crown  ofTicials.  an  indication  that  the  adminis- 
tration was  being  directi-d  from  Copenhagen.^     But  as  the  .tiiftsaint- 

*  Quoted  by  Ludvig  Daao  in  Del  gntnlc  Christiania,  j>.  113. 

*  Robert  M()lt>s\v»)rth,  An  Account  of  Drnmnrk  as  1 1  Wii.'>  in  the  Year  1692, 
p.  145.  Roar  Tank,  I'lrik  Fredcrik  Gyldcnlovr  og  Xordmrrniicnc,  Sprogligc  og 
hisloriske  Afhandlingcr  I'icdc  Sophus  liuggrs  Mindc,  Christiania,   lOOS. 

*  Edvard  Holm,  Dnnmark-.Worgcs  indrc  ffinloric  under  Encv(rldcn,  vol.  I., 
p.  88  fif.     J6n  Sigurdsson,  Om  Islands  statsrclsligc  Forhold,  Copenhagen,  1855. 


238  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

mand  never  visited  the  island,  the  royal  government  must  have  been 
limited  principally  to  the  collection  of  taxes  and  revenues,  while 
the  domestic  affairs  must  have  been  largely  left  to  the  local  authori- 
ties. 

30.   Foreign  Relations 

Of  the  powers  which  had  aided  Denmark-Norway  in  the  war  with 
Sweden,  only  Holland  maintained  the  alliance  until  peace  was  con- 
cluded. But  the  relations  had  grown  less  friendly  as  the  war  pro- 
ceeded, and  Denmark  began  to  look  around  for  other  allies.  In 
1663  a  treaty  was  formed  with  France,  and  Denmark  joined  the 
Rhenish  alliance  which  had  been  formed  between  France,  Sweden, 
and  some  of  the  German  states  for  the  defense  of  the  peace  of  West- 
phalia. This  step  was  taken  by  Frederick  III.  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  force  France  and  Sweden  apart.  In  this  he  failed,  but 
France  promised  to  pay  Denmark  a  subsidy  in  case  it  was  again 
attacked  by  Sw^eden.  In  1665  the  great  naval  war  for  commercial 
supremacy,  which  Holland  and  England  had  waged  with  such  fury 
in  1652-1654,  was  formally  renewed,  after  hostilities  had  already 
lasted  about  a  year.  England  was  jealous  of  Holland's  commercial 
superiority  and  extensive  carrying  trade,  which  she  had  sought  to 
harm  by  navigation  acts.^  Sweden  concluded  a  defensive  alliance 
with  England,  and  the  English  king,  Charles  II.,  sought  to  form  an 
alliance  with  Denmark-Norway  against  Holland,  but  Frederick  III. 
hesitated ;  different  opinions  prevailed  among  his  councilors,  and  no 
definite  step  was  taken,  though  he  secretly  favored  England  through- 

1  Molesworth  says :  ' '  The  exactest  computation  that  I  have  known  made 
of  the  English,  Dutch,  and  French  trades  to  these  parts  in  times  of  peace, 
ran  thus :  Of  English  there  passed  the  Sound  yearly,  from  two  hundred 
vessels  to  three  hundred ;  of  Dutch  from  one  thousand  to  eleven  hundred ; 
of  French  from  ten  to  twelve,  and  the  like  proportion  to  Norway."  An 
Account  of  Denmark  as  1 1  Was  in  the  Year  1G92,  p.  110.  In  1656  the  English 
trade  was  only  one-fifth  as  large  as  Holland's,  and  still  in  1696  Holland's 
merchant  marine  measiu"ed  900,000  tons,  England's  500,000  tons,  the  rest 
of  Europe  200,000  tons.  O.  A.  0verland,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  VII.,  p.  203. 
This  agrees  quite  well  with  the  figures  given  by  H.  von  Treitschke,  Die 
Republik  der  vereinigten  Niederlande,  in  Historisch  und  polilische  Aufsdtze, 
neue  Folge  II.,  Leipzig,  1870,  p.  608 ;  quoted  by  Ludvig  Daae  in  NordmcEnds 
Udvandringer  til  Holland  og  England  i  nyere  Tid,  p.  21  f. 


n        NORWEGIAN   EMIGRATION   IN  THE  BEVEN'TEENTH   CENTURY       239 

out  the  war.  'riii>  l'a\ or  lie  even  displayed  in  a  manner  wiiich  throws 
a  dark  stain  upon  his  character.  As  a  result  of  their  luival  \icUjries, 
tlic  Kn^hsh  hecarne  masters  of  tiie  North  Sea,  and  in  tlie  summer  of 
1605  a  hirge  fleet  of  IloUand  merchantmen  sou^,'ht  refuge  in  the 
neutral  harbor  of  Bergen.  Sir  (iilhcrt  Taihot.  tiie  English  amhas.sa- 
dor  in  Denmark,  su^^'iicsted  to  I'Vcdcrick  111.  tiiat  he  .Nhouid  cooperate 
with  an  Kiiglish  squadron  in  capturing  tiiis  merchant  fleet,  and  the 
booty  should  be  divided  between  the  two  kings.  Frederick  should 
publicly  protest  his  innocence,  and  Charles  II.  should  reprimand 
his  admirals  for  violating  the  neutrality  of  Denmark-Norway. 
King  Frederick  consented  to  this  plot,  and  ordered  his  general  Ahle- 
feld  at  Bergen  to  .seemingly  j)rotest,  but  to  do  nothing  to  hinder 
the  English  from  attacking  the  Iloiiandcrs.  But  Ahlefeld  receivi-d 
the  orders  too  late.  He  aided  the  llollauilcrs,  and  trained  the  can- 
nons of  the  forts  upon  the  Engli.sh  squadron,  which  was  defeated 
after  a  sanguinary  battle.  The  plan  had  miscarried,  and  Denmark's 
peace  was  greatly  endangered.  But  Frederick's  vacillating  foreign 
policy  again  changed.  In  1(»(>()  he  formed  an  alliance  with  Ilolland, 
but  the  hostilities  which  broke  out  with  p]ngland  in  con.sequence  of 
it  were  tenninatetl  by  the  peace  of  Breda,  1()()7. 

31.   Norwegian  Emigration  to  IIoli^vnd,  England.  Russia  and 
America  in  the  Seventeenth  CENTimv  and  Latkr 

The  great  development  of  commcne  and  iia\al  activity  in  Ilolland 
and  England  had  (Tcatcd  a  great  demand  for  seamen.  As  recruit- 
ing was  not  yet  i)roliibite<l,  sailors  were  cnli>te<l  in  large  numbers 
in  Norway,  espec-ially  for  the  fleets  of  Holland.'  So  great  was  the 
number  of  young  men  who  left  their  homes  in  the  .seacoast  districts 
that  it  amounted  to  a  veritable  emigration.  And  thougii  some  re- 
turned, by  far  the  grt^ater  number  scttle(l  j)ennanently  in  Holland, 
or  lost  their  lives  fighting  her  great  naval  \var>.-     Ivolu-rt    M<»les- 

'  J.  (\  de  Joii^o,  Gischiriirnii^  van  hct  \^rdi'rlau(lKchr  Zrrrprsen,  vol.  II.  ThlB 
traffic  was  prohibited  by  articlo  7.  oliapt(»r  4,  hook  (1  of  lh»<  (^ode  of  Chri«Han 
v.,  for  Norway,  KiST,  whi((h  impos«>«l  tho  jM-nalty  of  doatli  «»n  any  «»no  who 
undertook  to  onhst  soamon  in  Denmark  and  Norway  without  tho  kinc's 
perniiasion. 

*  \Mu>n  JiMis  Miink  mad«>  liis  voyajjo  to  (JnMiil.-iiid.  he  wiMit  to  Holland 
to  hire  seamen  for  tho  c.\-ptditioa ;    and  Christian  IV.  sought  to  persuade 


240  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

worth  says:  "The  best  seamen  belonging  to  the  king  of  Denmark 
are  the  Norwegians ;  but  most  of  them  are  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch ; 
and  have  their  famihes  estabUshed  in  Holland ;  from  whence  it  is 
scarce  likely  they  will  ever  return  home,  unless  the  Dutch  use  them 
worse,  or  the  Danes  better  than  hitherto  they  have  done;  for  the 
Danish  sea-provision  is  generally  very  bad."  In  1670  Markus 
Gj0e,  the  Danish-Norwegian  minister  to  The  Hague,  wrote  to  his 
government  that  a  great  number  of  the  king's  subjects  lived  in  Hol- 
land, and  that  most  of  them  were  Norwegians.  He  added  that 
they  were  sailors  and  officers  of  lower  rank,  as  the  Hollanders  were 
too  jealous  to  make  them  lieutenants  or  captains;  but  Admiral 
Nils  Juel,  who  had  been  in  the  Dutch  service  for  many  years,  stated 
a  few  years  later  that  the  officers  who  were  good  for  anything  were 
mostly  Norwegians  and  Englishmen  who  had  come  to  Holland  to 
enlist.^  Even  church  history  shows  that  many  Norwegians  and 
Danes  settled  in  Holland.  In  1634  King  Christian  IV.  gave  three 
hundred  riksdaler  to  a  Lutheran  church  in  Amsterdam,  and  in  1663 
a  Danish-Norwegian  congregation  was  organized  there,  whose  first 
clergyman.  Christian  Peders0n  Abel,  published  a  hymnbook  for 
his  congregation.^  Many  Norwegians  fled  to  Holland,  either 
to  escape  punishment  for  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  or  because  of 
religious  intolerance  at  home ;  in  time  of  war  also  to  avoid  military 
service.^  But  the  greater  number  had  emigrated  with  their  families 
because  of  the  higher  pay  and  better  opportunities  offered  in  the 
service  of  the  Dutch,  With  the  growth  of  Norwegian  lumber  export 
to  Holland,  the  communications  with  that  country  became  very 
active,  and  young  men  of  the  seacoast  districts  found  new  oppor- 

the  Norwegian  and  Danish  seamen  to  return  home.  For  this  pm-pose  he 
issued  a  general  pardon  for  those  who  had  committed  any  wrong,  except 
those  who  were  guilty  of  murder  and  incest.  In  1700  Jens  Juel  went  to 
Holland  and  hired  500  to  600  seamen,  e\'idently  Danes  and  Norwegians ;  and 
Peter  Tordenskjold  hired  150  sailors  in  Holland  in  1713.  Ludvig  Daae, 
Nordmcends  Udvandringer  til  Holland  og  England  i  nyere  Tid,  p.  22  ff. 

1  Ludvig  Daae,  Nordmcends  Udvandringer  til  Holland  og  England  i  nyere 
Tid,  p.  14.     Chr.  Bruun,  Curt  Sivertsen  Adelaer,  p.  215  f. 

*  Andreas  Faye,  Christiansands  Stifls  Bispe-  og  Stiftshislorie,  p.  255. 
Holger  Fr,  R0rdam,  Anders  Chrislensen  Arrebos  Levnet  og  Skrijter,  vol.  11. , 
p.  161. 

'  Andreas  Faye,  Christiansands  Stifts  Bispe-  og  Stiftshistorie,  p.  255  fif. 


II        VORWEOIANf   EMIORATION   IN   THE   SEVENTEENTH   CE>rrURY      241 

tunities  for  adventure  and  jjrofitable  emplojinent  as  Dutch  seamen.' 
Kvtm  in  the  early  part  of  tlie  seventeenth  century  many  Xorwc^jian 
sailors  had  ^one  to  Holland,  and  in  tiie  war  with  England  in  the 
time  of  Cromwell  (1052-1054)  the  Dutch  had  enliste<l  such  a  runn- 
hcr  of  Norwegian  seamen  that  Knj^land's  jealousy  was  aroused.  In 
the  war  of  KmS-IOOO  the  Hollanders  aided  Denmark-Norway  aj^ainst 
Sweden,  and  sought  to  persuade  Frederick  HI.  to  cede  to  them  Trond- 
hjem's  Icn ;  hut  the  English  protested,  because  they  saw  the  advan- 
tage which  Holland  would  thus  be  gaining.  In  an  official  English 
document,    the    following    comment    is    made    upon    this   attemi)t : 

"  If  ye  Kiiglish  siiould  suffer  ye  Hollanders  to  become  masters  of 
Dronthiem  there  would  thereby  accrue  to  ye  Hollanders  an  incredible 
strength  at  sea,  seeing  that  province  alone  by  ye  occasion  of  ye  great 
fishing,  that  is  uj)on  that  coast,  is  able  to  set  forth  in  short  time  some 
thousands  of  seamen,  whereof  ye  English  have  the  proof  in  ye  war 
between  ye  Hollanders  and  them,  at  which  time  they  had  only  ye 
King  of  Denmark's  leave  to  lea\y  seamen  there,  and  then  wee  may 
easily  guesse,  what  is  to  be  expected,  if  ye  Hollanders  should  come 
to  Iwe  wholly  masters  there."  ^ 

Also  in  the  Dutch  merchant  marine  a  large  number  of  Norwegian 
sailors  had  found  employment,  and  took  part  in  the  voyages  to 
the  Cape  Colony,  East  India,  Greenland,  and  other  distant  countries. 
The  same  relations  between  Norway  and  Holland  continue<|  to 
exist  also  in  the  eighteenth  century.  The  emigration  to  Holland 
continued,  but  the  Dutch,  nevertheless,  deplortnl  that  a  smaller 
number  of  Nor\vegian  and  German  saiK)rs  flockcni  to  their  country 
than  formerly,  and  recruiting  officers  were  sent  U)  Norway  in  spite 
of  the  drastic  measures  taken  by  the  Danish  government  to  stop 
the  traffic.  The  emigration  to  Holland  was  greatly  <le|)lore<l  by 
Norwegian  and  Danish  writers,  as  well  as  by  the  government  au- 
thorities. Gerhard  Sch0ning  (1758)  considered  this  emigration  one 
of   the  chief  hindrances  to  the    development    of    .Norwegian    agri- 

'  P.  Coueheron  in  Thcnlogimk-  Tidssknft,  puhlislu'd  hy  ('a.>jp}iri,  vol.  1.     Lud- 
vig  Daao,  Nnrilmcrnds  I'llvandringcr  til  Holland  og  England  i  nycrc  Tid.  p.  IS  f. 

*  The  passiiffe  is  quoted  by  Ludvig  Daae  in  Nordmandu  L'dvandringer  lU 
Holland   og    England   i    nyerc    Tid,    p.   13,   from   Saga,  ct    Fjcrdingsaarsskrift, 
published  by  J.  S.  Munch,  Christiania,  ISOti,  vol.  1. 
VOL.   II  —  u 


242  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

culture,  and  regarded  it  as  a  calamity  even  worse  than  the  Black 
Death.  As  to  the  number  of  emigrants  who  yearly  left  Norway 
but  few  and  incomplete  statistical  data  exist,  but  we  get  a  general 
idea  from  the  statements  of  contemporary  writers.  Erik  Pontoppidan 
(1698-1764)  states  that  when  the  merchant  fleets  returned  from 
the  East  Indies,  the  West  Indies,  Greenland,  and  other  countries, 
the  Norwegian,  Danish,  and  Holstein  sailors  assembled  in  Amster- 
dam numbered  8000  or  9000  "by  a  conservative  estimate."  ^  "Some 
of  these  visit  their  homes  about  every  three  years,  and  finally,  in 
their  old  age  remain  at  home  to  live  on  their  earnings,  but  a  great 
number  remain  abroad  all  their  lives,  not  to  speak  of  those  who  lose 
their  lives  in  the  service."  ^  L.  F.  R0mer,  who  was  born  in  Holland, 
says  :  "  We  have  aided  the  Dutch  in  that  many  thousand  Norwegian, 
Danish,  and  Holstein  seamen  and  officers  yearly  have  left  their  homes 
to  earn  something  abroad,  since  we  have  nothing  for  them  to  do." 
Such  yearly  losses  of  the  ablest  youth  of  the  country  would  naturally 
be  felt  as  a  calamity,  especially  in  the  districts  along  the  seacoast, 
which  were  most  directly  affected  by  the  emigration.  The  govern- 
ment bewailed  the  decrease  in  the  quota  of  army  recruits,  a  truly 
alarming  thing  for  the  Danish  kings,  who  "esteemed  soldiers  their 
only  true  riches, "  as  Molesworth  puts  it.  But  the  losses,  real  or 
apparent,  caused  by  the  emigration  were  probably  more  than  com- 
pensated for  in  other  ways.  What  the  Norwegians  needed  at  this 
time  was  stimulus  strong  enough  to  stir  them  to  mental  and  physical 
action ;  experiences  of  a  kind  which  could  invigorate  the  phlegmatic 
and  bloodless  national  organism.  Such  a  stimulus  was  given  by  the 
life  of  adventure  and  enterprise  in  the  Dutch  maritime  service. 
Many  private  accounts  show  that  it  was  a  hard  service.  Often  the 
Norwegian  sailors  in  the  cities  of  Holland  were  kidnapped  and 
brought  by  force  aboard  the  ships,  which  were  to  sail  around  Africa 
to  India,  across  the  Atlantic  to  the  West  Indies  or  distant  Green- 
land. The  life  on  board  was  hard,  and  the  punishments  inflicted 
for  offenses  were  barbarous.     Often  they  were  in  danger  of  attack 

*  Erik  Pontoppidan,  Menoza  en  asiatisk  Prinds;  and  Det  f^rste  Fors^g 
pan  Norges  naturlige  Historie,  vol.  II.,  p.  3S0. 

'  Ludvig  Daae,  Nordmrvnds  Udvandringer  til  Holland  og  England  i  nyere 
Tid,  p.  42  ff.  L.  F.  R0mer,  Tilforladelig  Efterretning  om  Kysten  aj  Guinea, 
p.   249  f.,  quoted  by  Ludvig  Daae. 


n        NORWEGIAN    EMIGIIATION    IN    TIIK   KEVENTEENTH   CENTIKV      243 

by  pirutt's,  «)r  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  Moorish  corsairs,  who  would 
carr>'  tlieiu  into  sla\ury.  iJut  this  liard  school  again  sliowwl  the 
Norwegians  tiie  path  to  greatness  —  tJie  sea.  Once  again,  as  of 
old,  tliey  iiecanu'  skillful  and  daring  navigators,  iruircd  to  the  hanl- 
ships  of  the  sea,  and  fascinated  with  its  free<l(»iii  and  ad\entures. 
New  ideas,  (•apal)le  seamen,  a  spirit  of  enterprise,  knowledge  of  the 
world  and  its  connnerce,  and  a  desire  to  go  ahroad  were  the  returns 
which  Norway  received  for  her  losses.  The  old  spirit  was  rekindled, 
and  the  Norwegian  merchant  marine  was  created,  largely  through 
this  new  imj)ulse.  Ludvig  Daae  says:  "Historical  research  rt"- 
garding  the  great,  yea  even  remarkahle  development  of  our  merehant 
marine  will  undoulitedly  j)r()\e  that  it  is  due  directly  t(j  the  rela- 
tions with  Holland,  which  I  have  here  trie<l  to  elucidate."  '  Hol- 
land's sea  power  was  declining,  and  in  the  war  with  England,  17S0, 
and,  finally,  in  the  French  Revolution  and  the  Naixjleonic  pericxJ 
it  was  crushed.  But  Denmark-Norway  rose  to  new  significance  as 
a  maritime  and  naval  power.  As  neutrals  at  the  time  of  the 
American  Revolutionary  War,  they  developed  a  great  carrying 
trade,^  and  in  course  of  the  next  century,  Nonvay  developed  a 
merchant  marine  of  which  Joh.  Dyring  says  that  it  is  "of  greater 
relative  importance  to  the  Norwegian  people,  even  when  we  con- 
sider its  size,  than  that  of  any  other  country  on  the  globe."'  In 
view  of  modern  development  we  are  able  to  see  the  question  of  the 
emigration  to  Holland  in  a  new  light,  and  to  put  the  proper  con- 
struction on  the  |)essimistic  views  of  old  writers. 

The  emigration  from  Norway  was  not  wholly  limited  to  Hollaml. 
Many  also  went  to  England,  especially  bei-au.se  of  the  flourishing 
lumber  trade  with  that  country.  Ludvig  Daae  cites  the  following 
interesting  pa.ssage  from  a  book  of  tra\'el  written  by  Judge  Christian 
Gram  of  Christiania,  who  visited  England  and  France  in  1757. 
While  he  was  staying  at  Dover,  says  the  judge,  "a  stninge  incident 
occurred.  .\  Dutch  shij)  was  brought  to  that  city  by  a  British  pri- 
vateer.    The  Dutch  republic  was  indeed   neutral  in  that  war,  but 

'  Ludvig  Djuio,  S^nrdmn-nds  I'drandringrr  til  llnllnnd  ng  Euijlund  i  nyrre 
Tid,  p.  (i3. 

*  Jacob  Aal,  Kriiulringcr,  p.  40  ff.  li.  E.  li«»ii(lixoii,  Et  Omridf  av  Norf^t 
Handihhistoric,  p.  ^  fl.  '  Joh.  Dyriiiif.  Konycrigci  tS'orgc,  p.  165. 


244  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  Dutch  refused  to  be  searched  by  the  EngHshmen,  and  a  combat 
followed  in  which  hard  blows  were  dealt  on  both  sides,  until  the 
English  privateer  was  finally  victorious."  "The  remarkable  thing 
in  connection  with  this  occurrence,"  he  continues,  "was  that  the 
captain  of  the  English  privateer,  as  well  as  of  the  Dutch  ship,  were 
both  native-born  Norwegians,  who  under  foreign  flags  had  given  each 
other  a  thorough  drubbing.  The  captain  of  the  Dutch  ship  was  a 
somewhat  old  man  from  the  west  coast  of  Norway,  who  had  estab- 
lished himself  in  Amsterdam  thirty  years  before.  .  .  .  The  captain 
of  the  English  privateer  was  a  young  man  from  Christiania."  ^ 
This  incident  illustrates  the  situation  in  a  striking  way.  The  Nor- 
wegians who  had  begun  to  seek  remunerative  employment  abroad 
were  also  found  in  the  English  service  in  considerable  numbers,  and 
in  these  wars  with  Holland  they  often  fought  against  their  own 
countrymen.  The  lumber  trade  also  brought  many  Norwegian  mer- 
chants to  England,  and  the  sons  of  rich  burghers  came  to  London 
to  study  commerce,  and  to  form  friendships,  which  might  be  of  value 
in  the  carrying  on  of  trade.  A  Norwegian-Danish  congregation 
was  organized,  and  in  1694-1696  a  Norwegian  Lutheran  church  was 
built  in  the  English  capital,  which  was  described  as  beautiful  by  a 
traveler  at  the  time  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Early  in  the  eight- 
eenth century  a  Norwegian-Danish  club  was  organized  in  Lon- 
don, and  towards  the  close  of  the  century  Del  nordiske  Selskab,  a 
truly  Scandinavian  society  with  members  from  all  three  Northern 
countries,  was  founded. 

The  war  between  England  and  France  during  the  reign  of  Napoleon 
put  a  sudden  stop  to  the  Norwegian  emigration  to  Holland  and 
England.  In  1806  Holland  was  made  a  feudatory  kingdom  by  the 
French  Emperor,  with  Louis  Bonaparte  as  king,  and  Holland's  mili- 
tary forces  had  to  join  the  French  armies.  Through  Napoleon's 
"Continental  System"  Holland's  commerce  was  destroyed,  and 
when  Louis  Bonaparte  abdicated  in  1810,  the  kingdom  of  Holland  was 
incorporated  in  the  French  Empire,  and  the  Norwegian  sailors  in 
Holland  were  forced  into  the  French  service.     The  Danish  diplomat 

^  Christian  Gram,  En  knrt  Journal  eller  Reise-Beskrivelse  forfattet  udi 
el  Brev  til  en  god  Ven,  Christiania,  ea.  1759 ;  quoted  by  Ludvig  Daae,  Nord- 
maends  Udvandringer  til  Holland  og  England  i  nyere  Tid,  p.  95  f. 


II         NOUWKGIAX    EMIGHATlo.N    IN    THE   SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY       245 

J.  (i.  lii.st  writes  tliat  the  trun.s{)<)rtjitioii  of  seamen  fn*iu  IIcjUuikI 
took  its  beKinniiiK  in  the  winter  1.S()9-1S1(),  and  that  at  Hamburg 
lie  turned  al)()ut  2()(M)  seamen  over  to  the  French  autlionties.  "It 
pained  me,"  lie  writes,  "  to  see  tliese  healthy  men,  of  whom  the  greater 
part  were  Norwegians,  carried  as  prisoners  to  the  unhealthy  Vliesingen. 
A  mutiny  broke  out  among  the  men,  because  of  the  bad  treatment 
accorded  them,  and  several  officers  who  were  implicated  were  sent 
home  as  |)risi>ners,  among  others  Hans  Ilolsten.  In  the  beginning 
of  ISII  the  crews  for  two  warships  were  again  sent,  and  these  sea- 
men remained  in  the  French  fleet  till  1815."  '  I^ngland's  atUick  on 
Denmark-Norway  K*d  to  a  war  which  terminated  all  intercourse 
with  (ireat  Britain.  When  peace  was  established  after  the  down- 
fall of  \ai)oIcoii,  tile  old  relations  were  not  reestiiblished  either 
with  Kngland  or  Holland  with  regard  to  emigration.  New  condi- 
tions had  been  created,  and  the  remarkable  development  of  the 
United  States  of  America  soon  offered  far  better  opportunities  to 
the  Norwegian  emigrants. 

Of  the  Norwegians  stjiying  in  Holland  not  a  few  went  to  the  Dutch 
colonies  in  America  during  the  seventeenth  century.  Mr.  Torstein 
Jahr  of  Washington,  D.C,  who  has  made  special  investigations 
of  the  Norwegian  emigration  to  the  Dutch  New  Netherland,  shows 
that  the  great  patroon  Van  Rensselaer,  received  a  large  tract  of 
land  near  the  present  city  of  Albany,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  on 
the  condition  that  he  should  bring  over  fifty  colonists  within  four 
years.  In  MV.M),  he  sent  nine  colonists,  of  whom  three  were  Norwe- 
gians. In  \V)'M  he  again  made  a  contract  with  nine  men  to  go  to  New 
Netherland.  lM)ur  of  these  were  Norwegians,  but  only  two  finally  went 
to  America.  In  MVM)  Van  Rensselaer  made  a  contract  with  .VIbert 
Andriessen  of  Fredrikshald,  Norway,  who  sailed  from  .Vinsterdam 
September  25  with  the  ship  "  Rensselaerwyck  "  and  thirty-<.'iglit  col- 
onists, of  wiioni  many  were  Norwegians.  Among  these  colonists 
were  six  women,  one  of  whom  was  Captain  .Vndriessen's  wife,  .\nnetje, 
who  on  the  voyage  gave  birth  to  a  child,  which  was  baptized  in  Kng- 
land, and  received  the  very  suggestive  name  of  Sturm  van  der  Zee. 
Tlie  colonists  arrived  safely  at  Manhattan.  March  \,  \(y\7,  and  many 

'.I.  O.  Ilist,  Lchcnscrinnmmgen  hcraiisgrgthin  von  G.  Pod,  Qotba,  ISSO. 
quotinl  by  Ludvig  Daao,  in  Nordmotnds  Udvandringer,  p.  123. 


246  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

of  Albert  Andriessen's  descendants  still  live  in  and  about  the  city 
of  Albany.  Among  the  pioneers  in  Schenectady,  New  York,  were 
also  many  Norwegians.  Jahr  says :  "  In  all  the  Dutch  settlements 
in  New  Netherland  one  can  find  more  or  less  distinct  traces  of  the 
Norwegians.  Those  about  whom  we  have  any  knowledge  were 
capable  and  honest  people,  who  have  done  their  share  and  deserve 
their  part  of  the  honor  for  the  colonization  of  the  new  land,  and  they 
fostered  strong  and  energetic  descendants  to  continue  the  work  of 
increasing  the  homesteads  of  their  fathers."  ^ 

Among  the  more  prominent  Norwegian  settlers  in  New  Nether- 
land the  same  author  mentions  especially  Anneke  Jans  (Jansen) 
and  her  husband,  Roelof  Jansen,  who  came  over  in  the  ship  "Een- 
dracht"  in  1630.  Roelof  became  overseer  of  Van  Rensselaer's  farm 
de  Laetsburg  in  1632,  and  in  1636  he  received  deed  to  a  sixty-two- 
acre  tract  of  land  now  included  between  Warren  and  Canal  streets, 
Broadway  and  the  Hudson  River,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  built 
a  house,  and  began  to  clear  and  cultivate  his  farm,  but  he  soon  died, 
and  his  widow,  Anneke,  married  Rev.  Eberhardus  Bogardus,  the 
first  regular  clergyman  in  the  colony.^  Her  mother,  Trina  Jonas, 
came  to  the  colony  in  1633  as  practicing  midwife  in  the  employ  of 
the  Dutch  East  India  Company.  She  received  deed  to  a  parcel  of 
land  near  the  foot  of  the  present  Pearl  Street,  where  she  built  a 
house.  Trina  Jonas  had  also  another  daughter,  Maritje,  who  also 
came  to  New  Netherland  with  her  husband,  Tymen  Jansen.  These 
people  became  wealthy  and  influential,  and  Jahr  observes  that  the 
New  York  families  De  Lancey,  De  Peyster,  Gouverneur,  Jay,  Knicker- 
bocker, Morris,  Schuyler,  Stuyvesant,  Van  Cortland,  and  Van  Rens- 
selaer became  related  to  them  through  marriage,  and  that  nearly  all 
the  old  families  in  New  York  state,  who  pride  themselves  on  being 
the  genuine  Knickerbockers,  can  trace  their  lineage  to  the  Norwe- 

^  Torstein  Jahr,  Nordmcend  i  Nieuw-Nederland,  Symra  (Deeorah,  la.), 
vol.  v.,  p.  65  ff. 

^  Torsteia  .Jahr,  Nordmcend  i  Ny-Nederland,  Anneke  Jans  fra  Marstrand, 
hennes  Farm  og  hennes  Slekt,  Symra,  vol.  IX.,  p.  9  ff.  Nordmcend  i  Ny- 
Nederland,  in  Dagsposten  (Norway),  November  19,  1905,  by  the  same  author. 
Torstein  Jahr,  Nordmcend  i  Nieuw-Nederland,  Ervingen  (Deeorah,  la.),  vol. 
II.,  p.  1  f.  I.  B.  Frieh,  Bidrag  til  de  Forenede  Staters  Kirkehistorie,  Evangelisk 
Luthersk  Kirketidende  (Deeorah,  la.),  1907,  p.  211  ff.,  237  ff.,  265  ff.,  321  ff., 
348  ff.,  403  ff.,  430  ff.,  459  ff.,  487  ff. 


U  THE    CLOSE    OF  THE    RFACS   OF    FREDERICK    HI  247 

gian  midwife  Trina  Jonas,  and  Iht  daughter  Anrieke  Jans  Bogardus. 
It  is  nott'wortliy  in  tliis  connection  that  on  April  7,  1!K)U,  Mrs. 
Mar>'  A.  Fonda  began  a  lawsuit  against  the  Trinity  corporation  of 
the  city  of  New  York  for  the  possession  of  a  part  of  the  Trinity 
church  iJHipcrty,  of  uliicli  she  claimed  she  was  the  rightful  owner. 
i)ecause  she  descended  dire<tly  from  Amieke  Jans  IJogardus.' 

The  new  dcxclopment  of  Russia  in  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great 
and  Catharine  II.  induced  many  Norwegians  to  enter  the  Russian 
service.  The  most  noted  of  these  is  the  Norwegian  naval  officer. 
Cornelius  Creutz,  formerly  employed  in  Holland,  who  was  engaged 
by  the  C/ar  to  organize  and  ('(piip  the  Russian  navy.  He  received 
the  rank  of  vice-admiral,  and  !)layed  a  similar  role  in  the  Russian 
fleet  as  Kort  Adelaer  did  in  the  navy  of  Denmark-Norway.  He  em- 
ployed so  many  foreign  naval  officers  that  a  reliable  writer  states 
in  1715:  "Most  of  the  Czar's  naval  officers  are  Hollanders,  Nor- 
wt'gians,  and  Danes."  Creutz  was  a  leader  of  the  Russian  fleet 
in  the  wars  with  Sweden,  1705-1713,  and  served  with  great  dis- 
tinctif)n.  In  the  Russian  army  as  well  as  in  the  navy  a  great  num- 
ber of  Norwegians  were  employed. - 

32.    The  Close  of  the  Reuin  of  Frederick  III.     Christian'  V. 
The  GvLDENLf^vE  War 

On  Fe])ruary  9,  HiTO,  King  Frederick  III.  died.  His  reign  had 
been  more  eventful  than  successful.  He  had  accomplished  inucli 
in  the  direction  of  increasing  his  own  power,  which  seems  to  have 
been  his  chief  aim,  as  it  was  the  i)assionate  ambition  of  his  proud  and 
pleasure-loving  queen,  Sophia  Amalic.  Rut  in  war  and  diplomacy 
he  had  been  unsuccessful,  and  he  did  not  attcmi)t  to  use  his  great 
power  to  improve  the  condition  of  his  poverty-stricken  subjects. 
If  any  reforms  were  institute<l,  they  were  wliolly  due  to  the  energy 
and  forethouglit  of  others.  He  basked  with  self-satisfaction  in 
the  glory  of  his  own  autocratic  power,  which  only  hardenwl  his  heart 
against  the  nnich-abused  common  jieople,  wliose  mis(Ty,  especially 
in  Denmark,  only  served  to  fill  him  with  unsympathetic  pride  and 

'  New  York  Amrrican,  .\pril  S,  1000,  cited  by  Torstein  Jalir,  Nordmand  i 
Ny-\'c(ltrlnnt{,  Si/mni,  vol.   IX.,  p.  34. 

'  Ludvig  Uiiao,  Nordmand  mj  Dariake  i  RusUirid  i  del  aUetuie  Aarhuiuirede. 


248  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

arrogant  disdain.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  he  devoted  him- 
self to  alchemy  and  fantastic  speculation  rather  than  to  the  care 
and  development  of  his  kingdom.  He  used  unnecessary  harsh 
methods  in  collecting  taxes  from  his  impoverished  subjects.  A 
sordid  love  of  gain  had  led  him  into  the  vile  bargain  with  Talbot, 
and  it  was  probably  avarice  and  superstition  rather  than  true  scien- 
tific interest  which  made  him  an  enthusiastic  alchemist.  Auto- 
cratic power  had  isolated  him  from  his  fellow  men,  and  he  developed 
symptoms  of  the  mental  eccentricity  and  the  suspicion  and  fear  of 
others  peculiar  to  autocrats.  His  people  ceased  to  love  him,  and 
though  they  continued  to  show  him  the  most  humble  courtesy,  his 
heart  must  have  felt  that  it  was  hollow  mockery,  empty  ceremony. 
He  would  probably  have  retired  more  and  more  from  the  world, 
but  the  queen  did  not  allow  it.  She  needed  him  to  grace  her  luxuri- 
ous carnivals,  which  were  arranged  with  gaudy  splendor.  Enormous 
sums  were  spent  in  royal  entertainments  and  other  like  wasteful 
and  unprofitable  ways.^  Some  nobleman  or  favorite  might  receive 
a  present  of  200,000  riksdaler,  while  taxes  were  wrung  from  the  peasants 
by  selling  their  bedclothes,  their  wooden  chairs,  and  the  very  coats 
on  their  backs  at  public  auction.  Molesworth  says :  "  Yet  upon 
the  occasion  of  the  late  poll  tax  I  heard  that  the  collectors  were  forced 
to  take  from  this  and  other  tow^ns  (in  lieu  of  money)  old  feather  beds, 
bedsteads,  brass,  pewter,  wooden  chairs,  etc.,  which  they  took  vio- 
lently from  the  poor  people,  who  were  unable  to  pay,  leaving  them 
destitute  of  all  manner  of  necessaries  for  the  use  of  living."  ^  But 
conditions  were  no  better  a  decade  or  two  earlier.  King  Frederick 
in.  and  his  proud  queen  seem  to  have  entertained  ideas  of  their 
duties  as  sovereigns  akin  to  those  of  their  younger  contemporary, 
Louis  XIV.  of  France,  that  the  state  existed  for  the  monarch,  not 
the  monarch  for  the  state.  The  common  people  had  ceased  to  be 
thought  of  except  as  soldiers,  taxpayers,  and  common  drudges. 

King  Christian  V.  was  born  in  1646,  and  was  twenty-four  years 
of  age  at  his  accession  to  the  throne.     In  character  and  tempera- 

^  ''Hannibal  Sehested  had  a  present  of  200,000  crowns,  Svan  (Svane), 
the  superintendent  or  bishop,  was  made  archbishop,  and  had  30,000  crowns. 
The  president  or  speaker  Nanson,  20,000  cro%\Tis."  Molesworth,  An  Account 
of  Denmark,  p.  68.     An  English  crown  was  a  little  more  than  a  riksdaler. 

^Molesworth,  An  Account  of   Denmark  as  It  Was  in  the  Year  1692,  p.  78. 


II  aiRISTIAN    V  2V.) 

ment  he  resembled  his  grandfather,  Christiun  IV.,  hut  he  was  less 
gifted,  and  lacked  liis  interest  f(»r  intelle<tiial  piirsnits.  He  was 
a  great  hunter,  a  fine  horseman,  lively  and  energetic,  and  though  he 
was  not  good-looking,  he  made  a  good  impression  by  his  fine  bearing. 
He  was  friendly  and  good-natured,  well  liked,  but  weak  in  character, 
and  easily  influenced  by  his  surroundings.  In  1G07  he  had  been  per- 
suaded to  marry  Charlotte  Anialie  of  Hesse-Cassel.  She  was  very 
devoted  to  him,  learned  to  speak  Danish,  and  sought  to  win  the  good- 
will of  all.  She  was  one  of  the  kindliest  and  most  pojjular  queens 
which  Denmark-Norway  ever  had,  but  her  wedded  life  became  an 
unhappy  one,  for  even  before  his  marriage  the  king  seems  to  have 
become  attached  to  a  young  lady,  Sophia  Amalie  Moth,  daughter  of 
his  former  teacher,  on  whom  he  bestowed  all  his  affection.  Her 
numerous  relatives,  who  all  sought  promotion  through  royal  favor, 
soon  came  to  exercise  great  influence  at  the  court.  His  mother, 
the  proud  and  imperious  Sophia  Amalie,  also  continuetl  to  wield 
a  great  influence,  especially  during  the  early  part  of  his  reign. 

As  a  prince  Christian  \.  had  visited  France,  England,  Holland, 
and  Germany,  where  he  had  become  acquainted  with  absolutism 
in  all  its  splendor,  and  it  became  his  aim  to  imitate  as  far  as  possible 
the  great  model  of  all  autocrats,  Louis  XIV.  of  France.  His  corona- 
tion was  celebrated  with  great  splendor,  and  with  all  the  devotional 
veneration  and  supplicant  obeisance  shown  monarchs  in  that  age 
of  autocracy.  Edward  Holm  says:  "A  new  crown  had  been  made, 
of  another  form  than  the  old  one,  as  a  sign  that  the  royal  power 
had  been  changed,  and  it  was  so  rich  and  elegant  that  it  was  at  first 
estimated  to  cost  7()(),()0()  to  8(K),()()()  riksdaler.  New  were  also  the 
scepter,  the  orb,  and  the  sword,  and  their  value  answered  to  that  of  the 
crown.  As  the  royal  power  was  the  gift  of  God,  and  not  of  men,  the 
king  could  not  receive  the  crown  and  the  symbols  of  royal  authority 
and  other  regalia  from  human  hantls.  He  therefore  placed  the 
crown  on  his  t)wn  head,  and  took  the  regalia  before  he  went  to  church 
to  be  anointed,  a  ceremony  which  he  said  he  regarded  as  an  act  of 
devotion  by  which  he  with  the  All-ruling  God  did  more  firmly  and 
closely  connect  and  unite  himself.  When  a  king  was  crowned  in 
days  past,  the  charter  was  read,  and  the  king  had  to  confirm  it  with 
an  oath,  but  now  the  *  Kongelov  '  with  its  recital  of  the  greatness  of 


250  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

royal  power  was  read.  The  one  of  the  bishops  present  who  took  it 
from  its  cover  made  a  deep  obeisance  before  it.  The  language  used 
by  Bishop  Vandel  of  Seeland  in  his  speech  in  connection  with  the 
anointing  was  keyed  in  a  lofty  tone  which  corresponded  to  that  used 
in  his  great  work  about  absolutism  written  a  few  years  earlier.  '  It 
is,'  he  said,  'the  king's  right  and  dominion,  and  the  people's  proper 
subjection,  that  the  king  shall  rule  over  the  persons  of  his  subjects  — 
likewise  that  he  shall  rule  over  their  goods  and  possessions,  their  fields 
and  vineyards,  their  best  oliveyards,  their  grain,  cattle,  and  asses.'  "  ^ 
With  such  phrases  of  cringing  flattery,  and  disavowal  of  every  right, 
the  people  welcomed  the  new  custodian  of  their  destiny  and  welfare. 

King  Christian  did  not  retain  his  predecessor's  advisers,  but  chose 
new  ones,  the  chief  of  whom  were  Ulrik  Frederick  Gyldenl0ve, 
Frederick  Alilefeld,  and  Peder  Schumacher,  the  author  of  the  "  Konge- 
lov,"  a  young  man  of  rare  ability,  who  soon  became  the  real  leader 
of  the  government.  He  was  later  raised  to  the  nobihty  under  the 
name  of  Grifl'enfeld,  by  which  name  he  is  generally  known.^  Through 
his  influence,  the  king  was  persuaded  to  organize  the  Order  of  the 
Danebrog  and  to  create  two  new  classes  of  nobles ;  the  counts 
(grever)  and  the  knights  (Jriherrer),  the  purpose  being  to  gradually 
destroy  the  old  nobility,  which  was  hostile  to  the  monarch,  and  to 
create  a  new  one  wholly  subservient  to  him.  The  new  nobility  was, 
therefore,  regarded  as  higher  in  rank  than  the  old.  A  number  of 
new  titles  were  also  introduced,  and  the  royal  ofl^cials  were  placed 
above  the  old  nobility  in  rank.  All  honor  and  distinction  was  to 
radiate  immediately  from  the  court,  as  in  France.  In  Norway  the 
new  court  nobility  never  became  very  numerous,  but  Ulrik  Frederick 
Gyldenl0ve  l)ecame  Count  of  Larvik,  and  Peder  Count  of  Griffen- 
feld  received  Lem,  near  Tunsberg,  later  also  the  barony  of  Rosendal 
in  Kvindherred. 

The  talented  and  popular  Gyldenl0ve  returned  to  Denmark  when 
Christian  V.  mounted  the  throne,  but  his  eagerness  to  suggest  vari- 
ous reforms  again  manifested  itself.     In  167U  he  was  commissioned, 

1  Edvard  Holm,  Danmark-N orges  indre  Historic  under  Enevcelden  fra 
1660  HI  1720,  vol.  I.,  p.  12  f.  R.  Meiborg,  Billeder  fra  Livet  ved  Christian 
den  femlcs  Hnf,  p.  11. 

*  A.  D.  j0rgensen,  Peder  Schumacher  Griffenfeld,  Copenhagen,  1893. 


ir  CIIRISTIVN    V  251 

together  with  Jorj;<'ii  Bjclkc,  to  jjropose  plans  for  tlif  betterment 
of  Norway,  and  the  two  suhinitted  a  (lonmimt  advocatinjj;  reforms 
in  Norway's  internal  administration,  in  its  defenses,  in  taxes  and 
revenues,  trade  and  commerce.  The  kinj;dom  should  henceforth 
(tinsist  of  four  .sti'ftM,  four  principal  amtft,  nine  subordinate  ajnty, 
fifty-six  fogdcricr,  and  nine  chartered  cities.  They  showed  that  Ity 
abolishing  many  uimcccssary  civil  offices,  and  reducinj^  the  salaries 
of  others,  3(I,(MM)  riksdaler  a  year  could  be  saved.  They  comi)laine<l 
of  the  excessive  burdens  which  had  been  placed  upon  the  people,  and 
advocated  a  reduction  of  taxes.  The  importance  of  commerce  was 
strongly  emphasizwl,  and  the  buildin<i  of  minor  warships  for  defen.se, 
which  could  also  be  used  as  nuTchant  vessels,  was  urginl.  It  was 
pointed  out  how  important  it  was  to  get  foreign  seamen  into  the 
kingdom,  and  esi)ecially  to  jjrevail  on  the  thousands  of  N«)rwegian 
seamen  in  foreign  service,  chiefly  in  that  of  Holland,  to  return  to 
their  own  country.  The  number  of  civil  officials  was  re<luced,  and 
the  ta.xes  were  lowered  from  L'iJii.diin  riksdaler  to  loli.OdO  a  year,  but 
many  of  the  more  important  suggestions  were  j^assed  by.  In  l()7i? 
Gyldenlove  again  returned  to  Norway  as  statholdcr} 

Griffenfeld's  ambition  led  him  to  snatch  for  ever  higher  power. 
The  system  of  administrative  departments  or  colleges  he  found  too 
cumbersome,  especially  since  they  checkcMl  his  will  and  limited  his 
influence.  He  persuaded  the  good-natured  king  that  it  would  be 
more  convenient  to  rule  with  the  assistance  of  one  "minister  of 
(jualitN"  than  with  the  Colleges,  and  in  lOTo  lie  was  made  count, 
and  chancellor  of  the  kiugdoiu.  In  this  high  office  he  exercised 
the  supreme  infliuMice  in  administrative  and  diplomatic  affairs, 
and  no  important  matters  could  be  decided  except  with  his  counsel. 
His  political  views,  wrought  into  a  permanent  system,  and  carrie<l 
out  in  (li[)lomacy  and  administration,  became  the  chief  feature  of 
the  reign  of  Christian  V.  .\s  author  of  the  "  Kongelov,"  (Iriffenfeld 
had  already  fonuulated  the  theory  on  which  the  new  absolutism  was 
based;  it  was  left  for  him  as  chancellor  and  virtual  head  both  of 
internal  and  foreign  alVairs  to  elaborate  it  into  a  fixeil  polic>',  which 

'A.  D.  J0rgonsen,  Ptdi-r  Schumacher  GriJJfmfeld.  vol.  I.,  p.  2SS  (T.  Roar 
Tank,  Ulrik  Frcdcrik  Gyldcnlove  og  Nordmcvndcne,  Sprogligp  og  historiske 
AfhandlingcrHcdeSophiis  Baggcs  Mindc.     Ffistorixk  Tidssk-rift,vo\.  II..  p.  337. 


252  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

permanently  effected  Denmark's  future  political  development. 
According  to  his  views  the  people  had  no  rights  either  as  individuals 
or  as  a  nation,  except  what  the  king  would  graciously  grant  them. 
To  the  king  belonged  all  the  power;  the  kingdom  and  all  its  posses- 
sions were  his.  But  how  these  possessions  were  originally  acquired, 
by  what  rights  they  were  held,  the  historical  reasons  for  existing 
conditions,  and  the  people's  right  as  a  nation  to  safeguard  their 
own  develo])ment  and  future  destiny  were  ideas  for  which  there 
was  no  place  in  the  system  of  political  science  formulated  by  this 
astute  politician,  this  keen  but  shortsighted  statesman.  He  worked 
for  the  interest  of  the  king ;  the  welfare  of  the  nation  and  the  realm 
he  never  clearly  understood.  For  the  future  development  of  the 
Danish  people  it  would  have  been  of  the  greatest  importance  to  join 
the  duchies  of  Schleswig-Holstein  more  closely  to  the  Danish  king- 
dom ;  but  he  did  not  attempt  it,  not  because  it  was  impossible,  but 
because  the  king  had  some  sort  of  title  to  them,  and  as  everything 
was  regarded  as  the  king's  personal  possessions,  it  made  no  differ- 
ence by  what  title  he  held  them.  Neither  do  we  find  that  Griff en- 
feld  with  his  great  talents  and  still  greater  power  attempted  to  insti- 
tute any  reforms  which  could  serve  to  develop  the  nation  socially 
and  economically.  He  devoted  his  attention  chiefly  to  diplomacy 
and  foreign  affairs,  in  which  he  had  gained  a  great  reputation  and 
exercised  great  influence,  but  so  far  as  Norway  especially  was  con- 
cerned, the  reforms  instituted  were  chiefly  due  to  the  initiative  of  Stat- 
holder  Gyldenl0ve. 

War  clouds  again  obscured  the  political  horizon  of  Europe.  Louis 
XIV.  was  preparing  to  seize  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  and  no  one 
could  doubt  that  an  attack  would  also  be  directed  against  Holland. 
The  danger  of  French  preponderance  had  for  some  time  alarmed  the 
statesmen,  and  a  triple  alliance  of  England,  Holland,  and  Sweden 
had  been  formed  in  1668  to  resist  the  ambitions  of  the  French  king. 
But  Louis  XIV.  used  his  excellent  diplomatic  service  and  his  treasury 
to  destroy  the  alliance,  an  effort  in  which  he  was  quite  successful,  as 
Charles  II.  of  England  was  induced  by  large  subsidies  to  join  France, 
and  Sweden  soon  followed  a  similar  course.  In  the  meanwhile  Wil- 
liam of  Orange,  Stadtholder  of  Holland,  the  most  sagacious  statesman 
of  his  time,  sought  to  form  a  new  coalition  against  France.     Frederick 


II  THF:    (JVLDLNLpVK   W Ml  253 

William  of  Hrandenhurg  ami  KnijxTor  LcopdM  of  (Jcrinariy  wcrt* 
|)ersuaded  to  form  an  alliance  witii  Ilollaiui,  and  Cliristiaii  \'.  of 
I  )eiiinark-Xorway  was  also  stroiij;ly  urKfd  to  join.  An  alliance  with 
Holland  under  these  circumstances  would  j)rol)al)Iy  mean  war  with 
Sweden,  the  ally  of  France,  hut  Christian  V.  nevertheless  favored 
this  course,  while  some  of  his  advisers,  notahly  (IrifFenfcId,  advocated 
neutrality.  The  war  party  ^'ained  the  u|)per  hand,  and  on  June 
;!(),  1G74,  Denmark  formed  an  alliance  with  Holland,  and  jiromised 
to  place  16,(MK)  men  in  the  field,  if  France  received  aid  from  any  other 
power.  As  Brandenhurj^  and  Spain  soon  he^an  war  against  Louis 
XIV.,  and  Sweden  rushed  troops  into  Brandenburg  to  aid  France, 
the  die  was  cast,  and  the  rival  Northern  jjowers  were  launched  upon 
a  new  struggle.  It  seems  that  this  war  ought  to  have  been  averted, 
especially  since  Deimiark  had  not  recovered  from  the  ravages  of 
the  wars  waged  in  the  previous  reign,  hut  the  hope  of  recovering 
Sk&ne  and  other  possessions  tempted  Christian  \'.  to  hazard  a  new 
armed  conflict. 

As  soon  as  circumstance  pointed  to  the  possil)ility  of  a  new  war, 
Gyldenl0ve  was  sent  as  statholdcr  to  Norway,  1G73,  to  organize 
the  military  forces,  and  strengthen  the  defenses  of  the  kingdom. 
He  made  a  tour  of  inspection  through  the  country,  and  found  that 
neither  the  army  nor  the  fortresses  were  in  so  good  a  condition  as 
they  ought  to  be,  but  the  reconmiendations  for  imj)rovements 
which  he  submitttnl  were  opposed,  esj^'cially  by  Griffenfeld,  until 
the  war  was  on  the  point  of  breaking  out,  when  some  concessions  had 
to  be  made.  Grilfenfeld  seems  to  have  feared  that  Gyldenlove  was 
becoming  too  powerful  in  Norway,  and  he  sent  a  truste<l  friend,  Jens 
Jucl.  to  assist  him,  and  to  watch  his  movements.  Hut  to  (lylden- 
love,  who  nee(led  help  in  his  many  duties,  Juel  was  not  unwelcome. 
Together  with  the  generals  Hussenstein  and  lAncnhjelm  the  two 
formed  a  council  of  war,  wliidi  henceforth  directed  all  militiiry 
preparations  in  Norway.  In  the  summer  of  lOT.j,  1S(K)  men  were 
kept  at  work  on  the  fortresses  of  Akershus,  Fre<lrikstiid,  and  Frtxi- 
rikshald,  and  the  king  authorized  the  creation  of  a  war  fund  of  lOO.OOO 
riksdaler  to  be  used  in  case  of  emergency.'     Instnictions  were  also 

'  I.     Oulowson,    Gyldenl^vefeiden  1675-1679,  Chrisliania     Vidcnskabs-Sel- 
skabs  Skriftcr,  1006. 


254  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

given  in  a  royal  proclamation  regarding  Bohuslen,  that  the  people 
of  that  province  should  be  induced  "by  fair  promises"  to  leave 
Sweden,  and  renew  their  allegiance  to  the  government  of  Denmark- 
Norway. 

However  faulty  the  mihtary  organization  might  be  in  minor  de- 
tails, Norway  was  much  better  prepared  for  the  war  at  this  time  than 
in  any  of  the  previous  conflicts  with  Sweden.  The  army  numbered 
about  12,000  men,  consisting  of  five  regiments  of  infantry,  six  com- 
panies (800)  of  cavalry,  and  an  artillery  division  of  seventy-six 
field  pieces.  A  sixth  regiment  of  infantry,  numbering  1000  men, 
had  been  sent  to  Denmark.  The  war  between  the  Scandinavian 
countries  was  fought  partly  in  Germany  and  partly  in  Skane  and 
along  the  Norwegian  border.  In  Danish  history  it  is  called  the  War 
in  Skane,  in  Norway  it  is  generally  known  as  the  Gyldenl0ve  War, 
because  the  statholder  was  commander  in  chief  of  the  Norwegian 
forces.^ 

Denmark  had,  especially,  been  making  progress  as  a  naval  power 
under  the  able  management  of  the  great  admiral  Kort  Sivertson 
Adelaer,  who  was  placed  in  supreme  command  of  the  Danish-Norwe- 
gian navy  by  Frederick  III.  in  1663.  Adelaer  was  a  Norwegian  by 
birth,  but  like  many  of  his  countrymen  he  had  gone  to  Holland, 
where  he  enlisted  in  the  navy,  and  became  an  able  seaman.  In 
time  he  became  the  owner  of  a  sliip  with  which  he  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Venetian  Senate,  and  upon  his  return  to  Holland  he  be- 
came very  prominent.  Frederick  III.  invited  him  to  Denmark, 
made  him  chief  admiral  of  the  Danish  navy,  granted  him  a  large 
salary,  and  finally  raised  him  to  the  nobility.  Adelaer  possessed 
great  administrative  ability,  and  brought  the  fleet  to  a  point  of  effi- 
ciency which  soon  made  Denmark-Norway  a  great  naval  power. 
He  died  shortly  after  the  war  broke  out,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Admiral  Nils  Juel,  the  great  Danish  naval  hero.^    Christian  V.  had 

1  Didrik  Schnitler,  Det  f^rste  Aarhundrede  af  den  norske  Hcers  Historie, 
p.  52  ff.  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Norgcs  Historie,  vol.  V.,  1.  I.  Gulowsen, 
Gyldenl^vefeiden,  Chrisiiania  Videnskabs-Selskabs  Skrifter,  1906.  C.  O. 
Munthe,  Fredrikshalds  og  Fredriksslens  Historie  indtil  1720,  p.  321  ff. 

*  Kort  Adelaer's  achievements  have  been  variously  estimated.  He  has 
had  his  enthusiastic  admirers  and  his  bitter  opponents  among  the  histori- 
ans.    See  A.   F.   Fabricius,    Minder  Jra   Nordens   Historie,   "Kort  Adeler." 


11  Tin;  (;vi.i<i.M.('»VK  \\  \\\  256 

planned  tn  direct  his  first  attack  a^'ainst  S\ve<le[i\->  (ierman  pmvincr^M,' 
and  war  he^Mn  in  Auj^ust,  lO?."),  when  a  Danisli  army  of  IG, ()()()  men 
marched  into  Meoklenhur^.  'I'he  main  i)art  of  this  force  advanced 
into  Pomerania,  while  some  minor  detaeliments  hesie^'cd  Wismar, 
which  was  taken  before  the  campaign  closed  for  the  year.  In  Bremen 
a  smaller  Danish  force  had  ctxiperated  with  the  allies,  and  a  greater 
part  of  the  hishopric  was  taken.  The  operations  along  the  Nor- 
wegian border  had  commence<i  with  minor  skirmishes  in  which 
the  combatants  tested  each  other's  strength.  The  Swedish  general 
A.sche!ierg  had  taken  a  position  at  Svarteborg  with  2000  men,  and 
a  similar  army  of  reserves  was  quartere<i  in  Vermland,  while  the 
Norwegians  concentrated  4000  men  at  Fredrikshald  nnder  General 
Rnssenstein.  arui  kept  the  mountain  passes  well  guarded.  No 
importjint  battle  was  fought  in  this  campaign.  Gyldenldve  sent 
a  force  of  1000  men  on  galleys  along  the  coast  of  Bohuslen  with  orders 
to  land  at  Saltkallan,  and  cut  off  Ascheberg's  retreat,  but  the  Swe- 
dish general  had  been  informed  of  the  plan,  and  both  Swedes  and 
Norwegians  went  into  winter  quarters  in  the  l)order  districts.  The 
success  gained  by  the  Danes  in  Germany  was  undoubtedly  due 
in  a  large  measure  to  the  superiority  of  the  Danish-Norwegian  fleet, 
which  under  Kort  Adelaer  had  gained  full  control  of  the  Baltic  Sea. 
At  this  time  the  Swedish  fleet  was  in  such  a  wretched  condition  that 
it  could  not  even  seriously  attempt  to  maintain  communications 
with  Germany,  which  had  bec-ome  tlie  theater  of  war,  and  where  its 
armies  were  in  need  of  reenforcements ;  a  situation  which  shows  that 
Sweden  was  ill  prepared  to  expose  her  scattered  dominions  to  the 
dangers  of  a  new  war.  A  young  and  untried  king,  Charles  XI., 
had  just  ascended  the  throne,  and  the  armies  in  the  field  had  bi»en 
hami)ertHl  in  their  operations  through  jealous  rivalry  among  the 
generals. 

The  success  gained  in  the  first  campaign  strengthened  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Danish  war  party.  Duke  John  Adolph  of  PIrten  was 
ch(^sen  commander-in-chief  of   the  arniw  and    a  vigorous  campaign 

Chr.  Rniuii,  Curl  Sirrrtscn  Adelaer.    Ax(*l  Larson,  Daiisk-Norskc  lleltehistoricr, 
"Curt  Sivortson  .\d(>laor,"  and  "Nils  .luel." 

*  By  the  treaty  of  Wes^tplialia,  U'AH,  Sweden  roorived  the  eity  of  Wi)«mar 
and  the  greater  part  of  Pomerania,  topoth«*r  with  Riigcn.  and  tho  bi^hoprioi 
of  Bremen  and  Verden,  but  not  the  city  of  Bremen. 


256  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

for  the  conquest  of  Sk§,ne,  supported  by  an  attack  on  the  Swedish 
border  provinces  by  the  Norwegian  army,  was  planned  for  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Griffenfeld,  being  an  advocate  of  peace,  not  only 
opposed  the  war,  but  he  sought  still  through  diplomatic  negotiations 
to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  France,  the  ally  of  Sweden. 
Great  power,  flattery,  and  royal  favor  had  made  him  very  arrogant, 
so  that  he  even  offended  the  king  himself,  and  aroused  the  hatred 
of  the  nobles.  He  continued  to  take  bribes  in  spite  of  continued 
warnings,  and  as  his  diplomacy  and  statesmanship  began  to  take  a 
course  ever  more  opposed  to  the  policy  of  the  king  and  his  generals, 
who  were  determined  to  push  the  war  with  vigor,  it  became  easy  for 
his  enemies  to  undermine  his  influence,  and  bring  about  his  over- 
throw. His  most  powerful  opponents  were  General  Frederick  Arens- 
torf  and  the  king's  mistress,  Sophia  Amalie  Moth,  who  was  created 
Countess  of  Sams0,  and  became  the  head  of  a  court  camarilla,  which 
virtually  controlled  the  king.  But  Griffenfeld  also  had  numerous 
personal  enemies,  especially  in  the  court  circles,  and  no  man  in  so 
exalted  a  position  possibly  ever  had  fewer  real  friends.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  March  11,  1676,  when  the  chancellor  arrived  at  the  palace  to 
lay  the  latest  letters  before  the  king,  he  was  accosted  by  General 
Arenstorf,  who  informed  him  that  he  had  been  ordered  by  the  king 
to  arrest  him.  His  house  was  placed  under  guard,  his  papers  were 
seized,  and  the  distinguished  prisoner  was  locked  up  in  the  citadel. 
After  being  tried  on  several  grave  charges,  among  others,  perjury, 
simony,  treason,  extortion,  and  the  taking  of  bribes,  he  was  sen- 
tenced to  be  executed,  and  to  have  forfeited  all  his  honors,  titles, 
and  possessions.  He  had  already  placed  his  head  on  the  block,  when 
he  was  pardoned  by  the  king,  and  his  sentence  was  changed  to  life 
imprisonment.  Griffenfeld  was  undoubtedly  innocent  of  many  of 
the  gravest  oflFenses  with  which  he  was  charged,  and  the  sentence 
was  manifest'y  unjust,  but  he  had  himself  created  the  conditions 
which  brought  about  his  fall,  and  by  his  conduct  in  his  high  office 
he  had  made  himself  justly  liable  to  severe  punishment.  For  twenty- 
two  years  he  remained  imprisoned.  In  1680  he  was  transferred  from 
Frederikshavn  to  the  castle  of  Munkholmen,  near  Trondhjem,  where 
he  stayed  till  1698,  when  he  was  liberated  from  prison,  and  allowed 
to  stay  in  the  city,  because  of  his  failing  health.     He  died  in  Trend- 


II  THE    (iYLDENL0VK    WAK  257 

hjein,  Maix'li  12,  Id!)!*,  iiiul  liis  hody  was  lirou^'lit,  lo  DL-nmark,  wliere 
it  rests  in  tlu'  ccinctcTy  of  N'atT  churcii  in  Jutland.' 

The  Swedisli  i<in^,  Charles  XI.,  exerted  hini.self  to  the  utnio.sl  iw 
bring  Sweden's  military  ft)rees,  both  on  sea  and  land,  to  the  highe.st 
state  of  efficiency  for  the  next  canij)aign.  He  would  send  a  fleet 
to  (icrmany  with  sufficient  rci-nforeenients  to  protect  his  German 
provinces,  while  an  army  should  attack  Seeland.  and  carry  the  war 
to  the  very  heart  of  the  Danish  kingdom.  But  Nils  Jucl,  who  had 
succeeded  Ivort  Adelaer  as  admiral  of  the  Danish-Xcjrwegian  fleet, 
seized  Gothland  and  concentrated  his  whole  fleet  of  twenty-six  shijis 
near  Bornholm.  The  Swedish  fleet  of  fift>'  ves.sels  carrying  IKM) 
guns  advanced  to  attack  liini,  hut  as  Jucl  had  strict  orders  not  to 
engage  in  battle  with  a  greatly  sujjerior  force,  he  retreated  towards 
the  coast  of  Sk&ne,  and  anchored  behind  Falsterbo  Reef,  followed 
closely  by  the  Swedes.  Here  he  received  reenforcements  of  five 
Danish  and  four  Dutch  shi|)s,  but  had  to  turn  o\er  the  chief  com- 
mand to  the  Hollander  Cornelius  Tromp.  After  some  maneuvering 
the  two  fleets  finally  joined  in  battle  oil"  Oland,  June  1,  107(3,  where 
the  Swedes  suffered  a  serious  defeat.  Both  flagships  were  destroyed, 
the  two  admirals,  Creutz  and  Ugga,  lost  their  lives,  and  many  shij)s 
were  captured.  This  defeat  so  crippled  the  Swerlish  fleet  that  the 
contemplated  invasion  of  SkS,ne  could  be  undertaken  without  fear  of 
serious  opposition.  Gyldenhne  fortified  the  pass  of  Kvistrum,  and 
seized  Uddevalla  without  encountering  much  opposition.  \'eners- 
borg  was  also  taken  after  a  sharp  engagement.  An  attempt  to 
seize  Gottenborg  was  unsuccessful,  but  Gyldenkne  turned  towards 
Bohus,  wliere  he  was  joined  by  reenforcements  under  Toime  Iluit- 
feldt,  which  increased  his  forces  to  SOOO  men.  In  their  operations  in 
Sk&ne  the  Danes  were  very  successful,  as  their  countrymen  in  that 
province  wclconied  them  as  liberators.  Helsingborg  opened  its 
portals  to  the  invaders,  Landskrona  was  tiiken  without  great  resist- 
ance, and  Kristianstad  was  forced  to  surrender  after  a  severe  engage- 
ment. .\s  tile  people  of  Skilne  also  rose  in  arms,  and  organize<l  bands 
of   guerillas   (Snaplianerne),    who   e\(T>  where   attacke<l  the   ."Swedes, 

'  A.  D.  .Uirt^enscii.   Peder   Schumacher   GriffenfcUi.     Paludan-Miiller,   GriJ- 
fenfdih  Stiytn  og   Fnhlru,  Coponhapon,    1,S70.     O.  Vaupol,   fiiijskatUslcr  Grcv 
Griffcnjdd,  ISSO.     O.  A.  Ovurlaad,  Gorges  llUlorie,  vol.  VII.,  p.  22G  ff.,  34S  ff. 
VOL.  H  —  a 


258  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Charles  XI.  was  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the  province.  Sweden 
had  been  placed  in  a  most  critical  position.  Its  German  provinces, 
with  the  exception  of  the  strongest  fortresses,  were  held  by  the  armies 
of  the  allies,  its  fleet  was  unable  to  render  efficient  service,  Gothland 
and  Sk&ne  had  been  seized  by  the  Danes,  and  Bohuslen  was  occupied 
by  the  Norwegians  under  Gyldenl0ve.  The  time  seemed  to  have 
come  when  Denmark  would  get  revenge  for  past  defeats  and  losses, 
but  Christian  V.,  who  appears  to  have  had  a  jealous  and  irritable 
temper,  threw  away  the  final  victory  at  the  moment  when  it  seemed 
to  be  within  reach.  Having  taken  offense  at  Duke  Pl0en's  haughty 
bearing,  he  lent  such  willing  ear  to  his  opponents  that  the  duke 
resigned  as  commander-in-cliief  of  the  Danish  armies.  The  king 
himself  assumed  command,  but  proved  to  be  wholly  incompetent, 
and  misfortunes  befell  the  Danish  arms  in  rapid  succession.  A  force 
wliich  had  been  sent  into  Halland  under  the  Scotch  general  Duncan 
was  destroyed  by  Charles  XI.  at  Fyllebro.  Duncan  fell,  and  only 
a  few  hundred  men  escaped  from  the  field.  This  victory,  wliich 
gave  the  Swedes  new  hope,  and  increased  their  confidence  in  their 
king,  was  of  no  slight  military  importance,  as  it  prevented  any  further 
cooperation  between  Gyldenl0ve  and  the  Danish  army  in  Sk^ne. 
When  he  heard  that  a  large  Swedish  army  was  approaching  to  attack 
him,  Gyldenl0ve  raised  the  siege  of  Bohus,  and  withdrew  from  Bohus- 
len. More  disastrous  still  was  the  battle  of  Lund,  December  4, 
1676.  When  Charles  XI.  learned  that  the  Norwegians  had  left 
Bohuslen,  he  advanced  into  SkA,ne,  and  sought  to  surprise  the  Danes 
in  their  winter  quarters.  His  movements  were  discovered  in  time, 
but  a  bloody  battle  ensued,  in  which  the  Danes  were  defeated  with  a 
loss  of  several  thousand  men,  together  with  artillery  and  baggage.^ 
This  victory  reestablished  the  self-confidence  and  reputation  of 
the  Swedes,  and  gave  the  Danes  a  stunning  blow  from  which  it  was 
difficult  to  recover.  The  people  of  Sk§,ne  submitted  to  King  Charles 
XI.,    and    Helsingborg    received   a    Swedish    garrison.     But    some 

*  O.  Vaupel,  Den  danske  og  norske  Hcers  Historic,  vol.  I.,  p.  136  ff.  Abra- 
ham Croaholm,  Skanes  poliiiske  Historia,  vol.  II.,  p.  181  ff.  Fredrik  Ferdi- 
nand Carlson,  Sveriges  Historia  under  Konungarne  af  pfalziska  Huset,  part  II. 
I.  Gulowsen,  Gyldenl^vefeiden.  G.  Bj0rlin,  Kriget  mot  Danmark  1675-1679, 
p.  Ill  ff. 


II  TIIE   GYLDENL0VE    WAR  259 

sinews  of  strength  still  remained  to  Christian  V.,  his  superior  fleet 
and  the  undefeated  Norwegian  army. 

King  Charles'  plan  for  the  campaif,'n  of  1()77  was  to  streiij^then 
his  fJeet  to  sueh  an  extent  that  lie  could  reestablish  coniniunieations 
with  his  army  in  Pomerania  under  Konigsniark,  and  hy  an  attack 
on  Seeland  force  the  Danes  to  withdraw  from  Sk&ne.  But  Chris- 
tian v.,  who  aimed  to  regain  what  had  been  lost  by  the  defeat  at 
Lund,  hurried  reenforcements  acn^ss  the  Sound  as  soon  a.s  the  cam- 
paign opened  in  the  spring.  During  the  winter  the  Norwegian  army 
had  been  increased  to  17.000  men.  In  July  Gyldenl0ve  with  a  small 
Norwegian  force  captured  the  fortress  of  Marstrand,  and  advanced 
to  join  General  Lovenhjelm,  who  was  marching  into  Bohuslen  with 
the  main  Norwegian  army.  At  Uddevalla  they  encountered  a 
.Swedish  army  of  8000  men  under  General  de  la  Gardie.  In  the 
battle  which  ensued  the  Swedish  general  was  outmaneuvered,  and 
ordered  a  retreat  which  soon  turned  into  a  disastrous  flight.  A  great 
part  of  his  force  were  made  prisoners  of  war ;  his  artillery  and  nine- 
teen standards  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Norwegians,  who  gained 
control  over  the  whole  of  Bohuslen  with  the  exception  of  Bohus 
castle.  This  defeat  also  affected  the  campaign  in  Sk&ne,  where 
the  S\ve<les  had  continued  to  make  progress.  The  siege  of  Kris- 
tianstad  was  raised,  and  Charles  XI.  hastened  into  Halland  to  fore- 
stall an  invasion  by  the  Norwegian  forces  in  Bohuslen.  In  August 
of  the  same  year  a  force  of  2000  men  from  TrOiidelagen  under  Rein- 
hold  von  Hoven  and  Christian  Schultz  marched  into  Jaemtlnnd, 
and  drove  out  the  Swedish  detachments  under  Count  Sparre.  But 
though  they  were  well  received  by  their  countrymen,  no  effort  was 
made  to  take  permanent  possession  of  this  old  Norwegian  province, 
as  General  von  Iloven  soon  withdrew  his  forces  in  obedience  to  an 
order  from  the  king. 

At  sea  the  united  forces  of  the  two  kingdoms  were  very  successful, 
and  won  some  of  the  greatest  victories  in  Danish-Norwegian  naval 
history.  In  the  battle  of  Rostock,  or  M^en.  Admiral  .Nils  Juel  almost 
annihilated  a  Swe<Jish  squadron  uudiT  .Vdniiral  .Sjobhid,  and  on  July  1 
he  fought  the  memorable  naval  battle  of  Kjdge  Bay  with  the  Swedish 
main  fleet  under  .Xdmiral  Horn.  The  Swedes  suffered  an  overwhelm- 
ing defeat.     Their  admiral  lost  twenty  ships  with  700  caimous,  and 


260  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

3000  men  were  killed  or  captured.  After  the  great  battle  many  of  the 
foreign  captains  who  served  under  the  great  admiral  were  court- 
martialed  for  incompetence  or  negligence.  Jan  Peppe  was  dismissed, 
Jan  Vogel  escaped  a  worse  fate  by  timely  flight,  and  three  others  were 
sentenced  to  pay  fines.  But  the  Norwegians  had  served  with  great 
distinction,  notably  Mickel  Tennissen,  Morten  Pedersen,  Hans 
Sch0nneb0l,  Thomas  Seerup,  and  Hans  Garstensen  Garde.^  These, 
and  many  other  brave  Norwegian  officers,  had  learned  their  seaman- 
ship in  Dutch  and  English  service,  and  their  bravery  and  compe- 
tence to  a  large  extent  made  these  victories  possible.  The  great  naval 
wars  between  Holland  and  England  had  been  a  severe  military  school, 
in  which  the  Norwegian  sailors  and  sea-captains  had  been  such  apt 
pupils  that  they  often  surpassed  their  teachers  in  bold  adventure  and 
clever  seamanship.^ 

The  success  gained  by  the  Norwegian  army  and  the  fleet  was, 
however,  neutralized  by  new  defeats  inflicted  on  the  Danish  land 
forces  in  Skane.  In  a  fruitless  attack  on  Malmo  Christian  V. 
sacrificed  4000  men,  and  after  a  crushing  defeat  at  Landskrona,  the 
plan  of  capturing  Skane  had  to  be  abandoned.  In  the  next  cam- 
paign confidence  would  chiefly  be  placed  in  the  Norwegian  army, 
which  was  reenforced  with  Danish  troops,  and  efforts  would  be  made 
to  occupy  new  Swedish  territory  in  Germany.  Already  in  September, 
1677,  Christian  V.  seized  the  island  of  Riigen  with  an  army  of  6000 

^  Ludvig  Daae,  Nordmoends  Udvandringer  til  Holland  og  England  i  nyere 
Tid,  p.  25  ff. 

'^  Attempts  were  repeatedly  made  to  induce  the  Norwegian  and  Danish 
seamen  in  Holland  to  return  home.  Daae  says:  "The  same  attempt  was 
repeated  during  the  war  in  Sk&ne,  and  from  among  those  who  returned,  the 
officers  for  the  fleet  were  chosen." 

In  1690  the  higher  officers  in  the  Danish-Norwegian  fleet,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  admirals,  schoutbynachts,  and  cadets,  numbered  sixty-seven  persons. 
In  Nils  Juel's  Conduiteliste  over  Marinens  Officerers  Personale,  Anno  1690 
four  commander-captains,  three  second-class  captains,  two  third-class  cap- 
tains, one  captain-lieutenant,  and  seven  lieutenants,  in  all  seventeen,  are 
especially  mentioned  as  Norwegians.  There  was  possibly  a  similar  number 
of  Danes ;  the  rest  were  foreigners.  Ludvig  Daae,  N ordmcsnds  Udvandringer 
til  Holland  og  Englmid  i  nyere  Tid,  p.  28.  J.  E.  Sars  says:  "The  Norwegian 
marines  constituted  throughout  one-half  of  the  total  complement  of  men  in 
the  fleet,  and  even  more,  and  it  is  certain  that  they  were  not  the  least  able 
and  respected  part."     Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  113. 


II  TllK    (iVLDKNL^VL    WAR  201 

iiit'ii,  l)Ut  (u'lunil  Koiiigsiiuirk  (itfciiUd  tla-  Duir-^,  and  recapturt-iJ 
the  island.  Gyldenl0ve  entered  Bohuslen,  and  laid  siege  to  Bohus 
castle.  All  the  outer  works  were  carried,  the  stronghold  would 
have  !)eeu  taken,  but  he  was  so  embarrassed  in  his  operations  by  orders 
from  the  Danish  Council  of  War,  and  by  the  disloyal  ctjiiduct  of  the 
generals  Giese  and  Degenfeld,  who  commanded  the  Danish  auxiliary 
forces,  that  the  oj)portunity  was  wasted,  and  when  a  large  Swedish 
army  under  Otto  Stenbock  ai)})roached,  he  raised  the  siege,  and  re- 
treated to  Uddevalla.  Hostilities  contiimed  also  during  the  ne.xt 
year,  but  no  imj)t)rtant  military  event  occurred.  The  two  powers 
still  held  the  same  territory  as  before  the  war,  but  the  border  districts 
of  Skdne  and  Boiuislen  had  been  severely  harried  by  the  plundering 
soldiers,  both  friend  and  foe.  The  hope  which  Christian  V.  had  en- 
tertained of  humbling  Sweden,  and  recovering  the  lost  provinces, 
gradually  i)ut  surely  vanished  with  the  breaking  up  of  the  coalition 
against  France.  The  i)eace  of  Nimwegen  between  Holland  and  Louis 
XI\'.  was  signed  July  1,  1678,  after  protracted  negotiations,  and  in 
Januarj'  of  the  next  year  the  German  Emj)eror  concluded  peace  with 
France  and  Sweden.  Only  Elector  Frederick  William  of  Brandenburg 
now  supported  Denmark-Norway  against  France  and  Sweden,  and 
it  was  certain  that  Louis  XIV.  would  subscribe  to  no  terms  of  peace 
derogatory  to  the  interests  of  his  ally.  When  Brandenburg  also 
concluded  peace  with  France,  and  a  French  army  tiireatened  the 
duchies  of  Schleswig-IIolstein,  the  situation  became  critical.  But 
the  war  sjiirit  had  finally  ebbed  away,  and  peace  between  Denmark 
and  France  was  signed  at  Fontainebleau,  August  23,  1079,  stipulating 
that  all  territory  taken  from  Sweden  should  be  retuineil,  and  that  the 
terms  of  the  peace  of  Roskilde  should  remain  in  force.  In  September, 
1079,  a  peace  between  Denmark-Norway  and  Sweden  was  signed  in 
Lunil,  reafHrniing  the  conditions  already  established  in  the  treaty  of 
Fontainebleau,  and  providing  also  for  a  defensive  alliance  between 
the  Northern  kingdoms,  which  should  remain  in  force  for  a  period  of 
ten  years.  The  unfortunate  war  had  ceased,  but  only  after  the  three 
Scandinavian  peoples  had  wasted  the  .strength  which  they  should 
have  employed  in  peaceful  development,  or  which  they  might  have 
preserved  for  resisting  more  dangerous  foreign  foes. 


262  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 


33.  Internal  and  Foreign  Affairs  in  the  Reign  of  Christian  V. 

In  civil  as  in  military  affairs  Cliristian  V.  sought  to  retain  all  power 
and  influence  in  his  own  hands  in  conformity  with  the  principles  of 
absolutism,  but  he  lacked  the  ability  to  develop  an  eflScient  personal 
rule.  He  hated  the  old  nobility,  as  he  suspected  that  they  would  use 
any  favorable  opportunity  to  reestablish  their  former  power,  and 
after  the  overthrow  of  Griffenfeld,  he  was  also  careful  lest  any  of  his 
councilors  should  become  too  powerful.  Among  his  advisers  were 
many  from  the  commons  whom  he  had  elevated  to  high  positions  be- 
sides the  prominent  men  of  noble  birth  like  Ahlefeld  and  Gyldenl0ve, 
but  no  one  enjoyed  his  full  confidence.  As  he  hated  any  restrictions 
upon  his  own  personal  influence,  the  Administrative  Colleges  were  not 
allowed  to  exercise  any  independent  activity,  but  in  all  matters  the 
decision  was  to  be  left  to  the  king.  In  military  affairs  he  demanded 
an  account  even  of  the  minutest  details  of  the  service,  not  even  the 
purchase  of  necessaries  for  the  fleet  exceeding  500  riksdaler  would  be 
valid  without  royal  sanction.  In  diplomacy  and  foreign  affairs  he 
was  equally  careful  to  centralize  all  influence  in  his  own  hands.  After 
the  fall  of  Griffenfeld  his  instructions  to  his  new  chancellor,  Frederick 
Ahlefeld,  were,  that  all  communications  with  representatives  of 
foreign  courts,  "how  insignificant  soever  the  matter  may  be,"  should 
bear  his  own  signature,  and  that  all  dispatches  from  abroad  should 
be  placed  before  him  without  delay. ^  The  creation  of  commissions 
which  gradually  absorbed  the  greater  part  of  the  duties  of  the  Admin- 
istrative Colleges  was  a  part  of  the  general  plan  to  strengthen  his 
own  influence,  as  these  commissions,  which  could  be  dissolved  at 
any  moment,  would  be  in  the  highest  possible  degree  subservient  to 
the  royal  will. 

King  Christian  had  a  jealous  dislike  for  those  who  could  win  popu- 
lar favor  and  exercise  great  influence.  He  would  not  only  wield  all 
power,  but  he  could  not  bear  any  one  who  towered  above  him  intel- 
lectually, a  weakness  not  uncommon  in  small  minds.  Of  Griffenfeld, 
the  special  object  of  his  hatred,  he  could  have  said  as  Macbeth  did  of 
Banquo : 

1  E.  Holm,  Danmark-Norges  indre  Historie  under  Enevodden,  p.  51. 


II  INTERNAL  AND   FOREIGN   AFFAIRS  263 

"He  hath  a  wisdom  that  doth  mjide  his  valour 
To  act  in  safety.     There  is  none  but  lie 
Whose  being  I  do  fear :   and  under  him 
My  Genius  is  rebuk'd,  as  it  is  said 
Mark  Antony's  was  by  Caesar." 

And  Griffenfeld,  the  only  statesman  who  possessed  sagacity  enough 
to  guide  the  state  through  this  stormy  period,  was  overthrown  at  a 
moment  when  his  ex])eri(MU'e  and  insiglit  was  most  indispcn-^ahle. 
Duke  Pl0en,  the  general  who  successfully  conducted  the  canij>aign 
in  Sk&ne,  was  dismissed,  because  the  king  did  not  like  him.  Chris- 
tian himself  would  be  chief  general,  a  position  for  which  he  was  as 
little  qualified  as  for  that  of  dijjlomat.  Armies  were  destroyed,  and 
opportunities  wasted  through  lack  of  competent  leadership,  until 
Louis  XIV.  could  dictate  the  terms  of  peace.  In  matters  of  internal 
administration,  his  efforts  to  play  autocrat  and  emulate  the  great 
French  king  only  brings  to  light  a  la<'k  of  ability  which  forms  a  glaring 
contra.st  to  his  unlimited  power.  During  a  long  reign  of  twenty-nine 
years  he  was  unable  to  develop  a  well-systematized  form  of  ad- 
ministration, and  we  look  in  vain  for  new  ideas,  or  an  effort  to  create 
better  economic  and  social  conditions.  By  the  wars  with  Sweilen, 
and  the  extravagance  of  the  court,  public  burdens  had  been  increased 
to  an  almost  unbearable  degree,  and  as  the  peasants  were  imable  to 
pay  the  taxes,  tlie  government  resorted  to  the  scheme  of  making  the 
larger  landowners  res|)()nsil)le  for  the  revenues,  in  return  for  which 
they  were  exempted  from  taxation.  The  German-born  nobles,  who 
had  emigrated  to  Denmark  in  large  numbers,  owned  a  great  jxirtion 
of  the  largest  estates,  but  they  resided  in  Copenhagen,  and  their  es- 
tates were  managed  by  overseers  iridefogedji) ,  whose  business  it 
became  to  extort  the  taxes  from  the  peasants.  The  wooden  horse 
and  other  instnmients  of  torture  were  invented  by  them,  and  the 
condition  of  the  jx'asants  grew  even  worse  under  the  rule  of  the 
nobles.  Agriculture  fell  into  decay,  and  no  i)rogress  was  made  by 
the  cities.  Rather  than  to  seek  to  ease  the  people's  burdens,  and  to 
further  economic  and  social  development,  he  would  inaintjiin  old  social 
conditions,  and  play  guardian  of  his  people  in  minor  domestic  af- 
fairs, where  his  meddlesome  interference  could  do  nought  but  harm. 
The  king  showed  no  interest  for  scientific  research,  but  his  solicitude 


264  HISTORY   OF   THE    l^ORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  11 

for  the  religious  and  moral  life  of  his  people  was  of  the  most  anxious 
kind.  He  ordered  that  the  daily  hours  of  devotion  in  the  city 
churches  should  be  better  attended,  and  that  in  the  country  districts 
the  people  with  their  children  and  servants  should  spend  some  time 
in  prayer  both  morning  and  evening.  If  people  did  not  go  to  church, 
it  was  to  be  regarded  as  sacrilege,  and  by  the  ritual  of  1685  the  deacons 
were  instructed  to  be  present  and  observe  who  went  to  communion, 
and  to  write  their  names  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose.  Against 
luxury  of  all  kinds  the  king  instituted  a  vigorous  campaign,^  and 
sought  to  regulate  in  detail  the  people's  daily  life.  Regulations  were 
issued  regarding  funerals,  describing  in  what  sort  of  coflBns  people 
of  the  various  classes  should  be  buried,  and  the  ceremonies  to  be  used 
for  each  class.  To  give  food  and  drink  to  those  who  carried  the 
coffin  to  the  grave  was  forbidden,  likewise  also  the  burning  of  candles, 
or  excessive  decorations  of  the  house  of  mourning.  Funeral  orations 
could  be  delivered  only  if  the  deceased  were  persons  of  quality,  and 
if  the  funeral  took  place  in  the  evening,  the  oration  should  not  last 
over  fifteen  minutes. 

Still  more  annoying  were  the  royal  orders  issued  by  Christian  V.  in 
1683  regarding  attire,  weddings,  parties,  etc.  In  a  solemn  introduc- 
tion the  king  declares  that  he  "perceives  how  the  extravagance  in 
attire  as  well  as  food  and  drink  at  weddings,  confinements,  and  parties 
is  carried  to  such  extremes  that  God  thereby  must  be  highly  offended, 
and  as  one  will  not  be  inferior  to  the  other  in  such  matters,  they 
waste  their  means  until  they  are  utterly  ruined."  He  then  proceeds 
to  lay  down  rules,  says  Holm,  as  to  "  who  are  to  be  allowed  to  wear 
gold  and  silver  embroidery,  precious  stones,  lace,  gold,  and  silver 
brocade,  flowered  velvet,  rings  above  a  certain  price,  etc.  Only 
those  belonging  to  the  highest  classes  were  numbered  among  these 
especially  favored  ones.     There  was  one  kind  of  attire ;  for  example, 

1  Efforts  to  limit  luxiiry  had  been  made  also  in  the  previous  century  both 
by  the  kings  and  the  clergy.  The  sixteenth  century  was  especially  the 
period  of  luxury-laws.  France  took  the  lead,  and  other  nations  followed  her 
example.  In  thirty  years,  from  1545  till  1575,  not  less  than  eight  statutes 
were  issued  against  luxury  in  France.  In  Denmark  Frederick  I.  began  to 
legislate  against  luxury  in  1528,  and  laws  on  this  subject  appeared  at  brief 
intervals,  but  usually  to  no  purpose.  See  Troels  Lund,  Dagligt  Liv  i  Norden, 
vol.  IV.,  p.  130  ff. 


II  INTEKNAL    AM)    FOREIGN    AFFAIRS  265 

Mark  or  plain  cnlorcMl  Ni-lvct,  which  all  persons  of  rank,  as  well  as  the 
nobles,  mi^ht  wear.  Rej^ulations  were  also  made  how  promoti  doc- 
lores  in  thrologia  and  promoti  doctores  in  other  faculties  should  he 
attired.  Those  who  had  studied  abroad,  the  princijjal  royal  officers 
\\\\o  were  not  of  'rank,'  the  thirty-two  members  of  the  city  council 
of  Copenhaj^en,  etc.,  were  regarded  as  equal  to  these.  Those  who 
f '('longed  to  this  class  might  wear  mantels  of  black  velvet  or  other 
iiitable  attire  of  silk,  grofgr^n,  tersonel,  ferandin,  taffeta,  and  other 
plain  silks  manufactured  in  this  country,  and  likewise,  also,  all  kinds 
«if  India  silks  which  are  brought  hither  with  the  Company's  ships, 
and  rings  to  the  value  of  a  hundred  riksdaler  ;  lynx,  martin,  and  stjuir- 
rtl,  and  other  lining  of  reasonable  price.  All  others  were  forbidden 
to  wear  silk,  nor  could  they  wear  any  rings  save  plain  gold  rings. 
Kcgulations  were  made  as  to  the  length  of  the  train  of  ladies'  dres.ses 
according  to  rank,  what  ornaments  they  should  wear,  what  kind  of 
l)raid  peo|)le  should  use  on  the  uniforms  of  their  lacqueys,  what  kind 
of  carriages  they  should  drive  in,  etc.  A  series  of  regulations  for 
weddings,  banquets,  and  childbirth  parties  were  made  to  correspond. 
It  was  stipulated  how  everything  was  to  be  done  at  engagement 
feasts  and  weddings,  according  to  people's  rank,  and  a  fixed  grada- 
tion was  established  regarding  the  decorations  of  the  bridal  bed,  from 
gold  and  silver  fringes  for  privy  councilors,  counts,  and  knights,  down 
to  craftsmen  and  servants,  who  were  i)ermitted  to  use  '  woolen  cloth 
which  can  be  made  in  this  country,  but  without  fringes,  tassels,  or 
braids.'  People  were  in  general  allowed  to  invite  twelve  coujiles  to 
a  wedding,  besides  their  nearest  relatives,  but  a  limit  was  placed  on 
the  miinber  of  meals  to  be  served,  and  it  was  ex'])ressly  forbidden  to 
offer  the  guests  more  than  eight  different  dishes,  and  no  |)yramids  of 
confectionery  were  allowed  to  l)e  placed  among  the  Nictuals.  Crafts- 
men and  servants  should  not  invite  more  than  six  couples,  and  they 
shoidd  serve  a  frugal  iiical  of  only  four  dishes.  Not  more  than  eight 
couples  should  be  iiiN  itcd  to  a  country-  wctlding,  and  not  above  six 
ordinary-  dishes  should  be  served.  .\  general  provision,  which  was 
nuule  binding  ujion  all.  specially  forbade  the  giving  or  receiving  of 
wedding  presents  by  a n\- one  whatsoever ;  but  parents  might  give 
tli(<ir  children  i)resents  according  to  their  means,  and  wedding  presents 
might  also  be  given  to  servants."  ' 

*  E.  Holm,  Danmark-Norges  indre  Historic  under  Enevaddcn,  vol.  1.,  p.  300. 


266  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

But  while  the  king  sought  to  limit  so  strictly  what  he  termed  the 
luxury  of  the  common  people,  he  would  not  in  any  way  curtail  his 
own  pleasures,  or  the  excessive  extravagance  of  the  nobility.  The 
old  hunting  laws  were  kept  in  force,  as  it  was  the  king's  chief  care  to 
preserve  the  game  and  maintain  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  Whether 
the  wild  animals  destroyed  the  people's  grain  fields,  or  the  fox  killed 
their  geese  and  chickens  was  a  matter  about  which  the  royal  con- 
science felt  no  compunction.  But  such  barbaric  punishments  were 
inflicted  on  all  poachers,  i.e.  any  one  outside  the  privileged  classes 
who  ventured  to  kill  a  bird  or  animal,  that  it  seemed  a  less  offense  to 
kill  a  human  being  than  a  deer  or  a  partridge.  Ordinary  poaching 
was  punished  by  flogging,  branding,  or  life  imprisonment.  If  a  land- 
owner who  possessed  the  right  to  hunt,  killed  a  deer  on  the  royal 
hunting  grounds,  the  fine  was  1000  riksdaler,  for  a  bird  200  riksdaler, 
but  if  the  offender  was  a  servant  he  would  be  punished  by  death  even 
for  shooting  a  snipe. 

In  order  to  carry  numerous  provisions  of  this  kind  into  effect  it 
was  necessary  also  to  increase  and  extend  the  police  service  of  the 
kingdom.  In  1682  Christian  V.  appointed  the  first  chief  of  poHce 
in  Copenhagen,  and  delegated  to  him  such  a  multitude  of  duties  that 
it  would  have  required  a  whole  army  of  police  officers  to  attend  to  all. 
He  was  not  only  to  maintain  general  order  in  the  city,  but  all  servants 
were  placed  under  his  special  supervision,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  pun- 
ish disobedience,  dishonesty,  and  carelessness  on  their  part.  The 
cleaning  and  fighting  of  the  streets,  the  waterworks,  and  the  fire 
department  were  also  placed  under  his  command.  It  was  his  duty 
to  prevent  strangers  from  staging  in  the  city  on  an  unlawful  errand, 
and  he  should  give  good  heed  that  no  cheating  was  done  with  coin, 
weight,  or  measure;  that  the  lawful  prices  were  maintained,  and 
that  the  rules  for  crafts  and  guilds  were  enforced.  He  should 
also  watch  over  the  Lutheran  Church,  so  that  no  writings  against  re- 
Hgion,  or  other  forbidden  books  were  offered  for  sale,  and  that  no 
lampoons  were  published ;  and  he  was  especially  delegated  to  insure 
the  proper  observance  of  the  royal  decrees  regarding  weddings, 
parties,  funerals,  rank,  and  wearing  apparel.  But  his  activity  should 
not  only  extend  to  the  city,  but  to  the  whole  kingdom  of  Denmark. 
He  should  watch  lest  any  unlawful  trade  was  carried  on  in  any  city 


n  INTERNAL   AND    FOREIGN    AFFAIRS  287 

in  the  kingdom,  tluit  tra\elers  were  carried  t'njm  place  to  place  at 
the  stipulated  rates,  that  inns  and  taverns  along  the  main  routes  were 
properly  equipped,  etc.  In  this  way  a  police  r6gime  was  created 
which  possessed  some  good  features,  but  which  in  many  respects 
would  have  been  intolerable  it"  it  had  been  in  any  degree  efficient. 
The  kind  of  administration  created  by  Christian  V.  shows  the  king's 
own  mental  caliber,  and  illustrates  in  general  the  character  of  the 
seventeenth  century  absolutism.  The  government  was  chiefly  oc- 
cupied with  a  multitude  of  trifles  which  ought  to  have  been  intrusted 
to  the  care  of  local  authorities,  if  they  could  not  be  left,  as  they  ought 
to  have  been,  to  the  good  judgment  of  the  private  citizen.  Not  only 
was  all  political  liberty'  destroyed,  but  the  most  private  domestic 
affairs  were  to  be  controlled  by  royal  decrees  to  an  extent  which  made 
the  state  resemble  a  well-regulated  home  for  orphans.  Society  was 
stratified  into  ever  more  sharply  demarcated  classes,  based  on  rank, 
titles,  and  special  ])rivileges,  and  as  no  encouragement  was  given  to 
individual  enterprise,  as  small  room  was  found  within  this  system  for 
originality  and  real  ability,  the  government  suffered  in  nearly  all 
departments  from  a  dull  incompetence  which  made  it  unable  to 
meet  a  crisis  with  resolute  energy.  Royal  favor  was  looked  upon  as 
the  source  of  promotion  rather  than  talent  and  energetic  individual 
effort.  Titles,  ])ensions,  or  even  a  smile  or  nod  from  the  absolute 
sovereign  was  esteemed  of  more  value  than  solid  achievements  in  art 
or  industry,  a  most  serious  impediment  to  true  social  progress.  Some 
improvements  might  occasionally  be  made,  but  they  were  happy 
accidents  rather  than  part  of  a  systematically  pursued  plan  of 
national  development. 

Among  such  improvements  must  especially  be  mentioned  the  "  Code 
of  Christian  V.,"  a  new  lawliook  jirei^ared  for  the  kingdom  of  Norway. 
The  "Code  of  Christian  IV."  of  Kid!  which,  as  already  stated,  was 
but  a  wretched  translation  of  the  "Code  of  Magnus  Lagab0ter" 
(Landsloven)  of  1270,  had  become  so  antiquated  that  it  had  become 
almost  useless,  and  the  ])lan  of  preparing  a  new  code  had  l)ecn  con- 
sidered even  by  Hannibal  Seiiested  and  Jens  Bjelke.  Many  changes 
had  also  resulted  from  the  introduction  of  absolutism,  and  the  need 
was  more  imperative  than  ever  of  bringing  the  laws  into  harmony 
with  the  new  condititMis.     In  Denmark  the  prejiaration  of  a  new  code, 


268  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

which  had  been  begun  in  1661,  was  finally  completed  in  1683.  After 
some  abortive  attempts  four  Norwegians,  among  whom  was  the  able 
and  learned  jurist  Christian  Stockfleth,  were  appointed  to  prepare  a 
new  lawbook  for  Norway.^  This  was  indeed  an  important  concession, 
as  the  judicial  affairs  of  the  two  kingdoms  would  thereby  remain 
separated,  and  special  attention  would  be  paid  to  local  social  en- 
viroimient  in  Norway.  The  work  submitted  by  this  commission  was 
naturally  based  on  the  laws  of  Norway,  but  the  king,  who  favored 
strongly  a  uniform  system  of  laws  for  both  kingdoms,  subjected  it  to 
revisions  w^hich  brought  it  into  close  harmony  with  Danish  juris- 
prudence. But  the  law  of  odel  and  other  laws  governing  the  tenure 
of  land  in  Norway  were,  nevertheless,  retained,  and  in  regard  to 
hunting  the  Norwegian  code  contains  few  and  very  liberal  provisions. 
The  code  was  completed  1687.  The  following  year  it  was  put  into 
use  in  Norway  and  the  Faroe  Islands  and  in  part,  also,  in  Iceland.  In 
conformity  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  it  prescribed  the  most  cruel 
punishments  for  crime.  A  long  list  of  offenses  was  punishable  by 
death,  while  maiming,  banishment,  and  life  imprisonment  were  fre- 
quently inflicted  for  no  very  grave  crimes.^  But  the  code  contains 
some  good  features.  It  attempts  especially  to  maintain  the  prin- 
ciple of  equality  before  the  law,  and  to  insure  a  degree  of  personal 
liberty  quite  uncommon  in  those  times.  The  code  was  received  in 
Norway  with  general  good-will,  as  it  met  a  long-felt  want,  but  much 
confusion  was  caused  by  the  introduction  of  Danish  laws  which  were 
not  adapted  to  Norwegian  local  conditions.  It  must  also  be  regarded 
as  a  distinct  national  loss  that  the  old  system  of  Norwegian  juris- 
prudence, the  codes  of  St.  Olav  and  Magnus  Lagab0ter,  had  been 
discarded,  and  the  Norwegian  code  had  been  based  on  principles 
largely  foreign  to  the  people. 

^  N.  Prebensen  og  Hj.  Smith,  Forarbeiderne  til  Kong  Christian  den  femtes 
norske  Lov. 

^  "Whosoever  is  engaged  to  one  and  afterward  marries  another  shall 
leave  the  king's  realms  and  domains."  Kong  Christian  den  femtes  norske 
Lov  (Code  of  Christian  V.),  Christiania,  1883,  book  vi.,  eh.  13,  article  23. 

"Whosoever  is  convicted  of  blasphemy  against  God  or  his  holy  name, 
word,  or  sacrament,  his  tongue  shall  be  cut  from  his  mouth  while  he  lives, 
his  head  shall  be  cut  off,  and  together  with  his  tongue  shall  be  placed  on  a 
stake."     Ibid.,  book  VI.,  ch.  I.,  article  vii. 


II  INTERNAL   AND    FOREION   AFFAIRS  269 

During  Kin^  ^"liristian's  rci^ii  the  Nonve^iari  ;iriii>-  and  defenses 
were  j,Teatly  strcnf^theiu-d.  At  the  outbreak  (tf  the  war  in  Sk&ne, 
Iii7"),  the  Xorwej^ian  army  iniinhcrcd  12,(H)()  nieii,  hy  KiS!')  it  had  l)een 
increased  to  1(>,;>(I(I,  and  in  17III)  it  liad  reached  a  total  of  21,()()()  men.' 

'l\\v  joint  I  )anish-.\()r\vcj,qan  fleet  experienced  an  even  greater 
development  under  the  efficient  leadership  of  Kort  Adelaer  and  Nils 
luel.  Throu^li  j)urcliase,  as  well  as  hy  the  building;  of  new  shijjs,  a 
relatively  strong  fleet  was  created  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
\\  ith  Sweden,  and  b\'  cncoura^MiiU  the  Xorwej^ian  merchants  to  con- 
Muct  ships  which  could  be  converted  into  war  vessels,  a  valuable 
.iuxiliary  squadron  of  "defense  siiij)s"  iiad  been  created,  which  was  to 
be  used  for  the  ])rotection  of  the  Norwegian  coast.  In  1G74  the  fleet, 
tdUether  with  the  "defense  ships."  numbered  sixty-three  vessels, 
(if  which  seventeen  carried  fift,\'  guns,  and  forty-six  were  "defense 
^liips."  By  1()7!)  the  fleet  had  been  increased  to  107  vessels,  of  which 
only  seventeen  were  "defense  ships."  In  17(10,  after  some  reduction 
had  been  made  in  the  niunber  of  vessels,  it  still  numbered  thirty-three 
-liij)s  of  the  line,  carrying  2778  guns.  Denmark-Norway  had  become 
one  of  the  leading  naval  powers.'^ 

The  fortresses  of  the  kingdom  were  much  improved,  and  new  forts 
were  built  under  the  direction  of  Gustav  Wilhelm  Wedel,  a  German 
by  birth,  who  was  nuide  commander-in-chief  in  Norway,  IGSl,  during 
the  absence  of  Statholder  GyIdenl0ve.  Frcdriksten  was  strengthened 
by  the  building  of  new  forts,  and  tlie  Glommen  River  was  made  a 
strong  line  of  defense  through  the  construction  of  several  fortresses 
and  redoubts,  a  work  which  proved  to  be  of  great  value  in  the  next 
war  with  .Sweden.  \'inger  was  completed  in  16.S2,  Kristiansfjeld, 
Blakja?r,  and  Hasmo  were  founded  the  following  year,  and  the  Kongs- 
vinger  and  Sj^onviken  fortifications  were  also  erected  at  this  time. 

In  1()S.')  Ghristian  V.  visited  Norvvay,  and  the  people  welcometl 
him  on  all  occasions  with  enthusiastic  loyalty.  I'Vom  Christiania 
he  journeyed  across  the  Hovre  Mountains  to  Trondhjcin,  and  after 

'J.  Clir.  Berp,  Aktstykk-vr  (il  den  stnarudi'  Ifdrs  llislorir,  Samlingrr  til 
del  norskr  Folkn  Sprog  ng  ffistorie,  vol.  IV.  Ditlrik  Schnitlor,  Dc(  fprste 
Aarhundrcdv  af  dm  nnrskc  Ifirrs  Ifislorie. 

'  Edviird  Holm.  Daiunnrk-Norgrs  indrc  Historic  under  Enevrrlden,  vol.  I., 
p.  4r)5  IT.  Rohort  Molrswortli,  .In  Acmtml  of  Denmark,  p.  131  (T.  Oscar 
Alb.  Johnson,  Norgcs  Ilisloric.  V,  1,  p.  127  IT. 


270  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

visiting  Bergen,  Stavanger,  and  the  towns  of  southern  Norway,  he 
returned  home. 

King  Christian  was  neither  broad-minded  nor  very  gifted,  but  he 
was  conscientious,  and  devoted  himself  with  great  diHgence  to  the 
numerous  routine  duties  which  devolved  upon  him  as  absolute  ruler. 
He  was  a  lover  of  moderation,  always  kind  and  good-natured,  and  by 
his  gentle  manners  he  won  the  hearts  of  the  people  to  quite  an  unusual 
degree.  Molesworth  speaks  of  him  as  a  prince  of  singular  ability 
and  good  nature,  but  adds  that  "he  is  often  overruled  by  those 
about  him,  to  whom  he  leaves  the  whole  management  of  affairs, 
because  he  neither  loves  nor  has  a  genius  for  business."  ^  He  died 
August  25,  1699,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three. 

Touching  his  policy  of  internal  administration  in  Norway  Professor 
Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen  says :  "  He  regarded  Norway  and  his  other  pos- 
sessions with  a  feeling  akin  to  that  with  which  a  landed  proprietor 
looks  upon  his  estates  and  his  subordinates.  Everything  existed  for 
the  benefit  of  himself  and  his  family,  and  was  to  be  administered  in 
such  a  way  that  it  yielded  him  and  his  family  the  greatest  and  most 
lasting  profit.  He  sought  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  binder, 
because  they  were  good  taxpayers.  He  was  interested  in  shipping, 
for  without  it  there  would  be  no  able  seamen  to  serve  in  the  wars. 
From  his  diary  it  is  clear  that  it  was  principally  the  more  elementary 
features  of  administration  which  interested  him,  —  the  defenses,  taxa- 
tion, and  economic  conditions."  ^ 

With  regard  to  Norway,  he  pursued  a  policy  of  political  amalgama- 
tion with  a  definite  aim  to  obliterate  as  far  as  possible  the  national 
existence  of  the  Norwegians,  and  to  reduce  the  two  kingdoms  to  one 
country.  This  policy  comes  to  view  especially  in  the  Norwegian 
code  of  laws,  which  is  based  almost  exclusively  on  the  laws  of  Den- 
mark. He  wished  to  introduce  a  uniform  code  for  both  kingdoms, 
and  the  same  laws  were  henceforth  made  to  apply  as  far  as  possible 
to  both  kingdoms,  even  when  they  were  not  adapted  to  Norwegian 
local  conditions.  In  the  administration  the  two  countries  were  also 
treated  as  one  estate,  and  the  specific  Norwegian  interests  were  often 
ignored  or  neglected.  Norway  received  no  university  or  central  ad- 
ministration, though  an  earnest  desire  for  these  very  necessary  im- 

^  An  Account  of  Denmark,  p.  139.         ^  Gorges  Historie,  vol.  V.,  1,  p.  130  f. 


II  INTERNAL    AND    FOREIGN    AFFAIRS  271 

provemeuts  liad  loii^'  been  expresiied,  neither  did  the  kingdom  liave 
;i  bank  or  a  eaijital  city,'  all  features  which  would  have  teiidinl  to 
unite  its  scattered  cities  and  separate  coinnuinities  into  a  more  firmly 
<t>nsolidated  state,  and  would  have  j^iven  a  new  impetus  to  the  de- 
velopment of  national  j)atriotisTn.  Hut  the  kin^s  of  tiie  period  of 
.I'Kolutism,  like  the  kin^s  during  the  union  {x'riod  from  the  time  of 
(^ueen  Marf^aret,  wanted  a  strong  Denmark,  not  a  strong  Norway. 
The  kingdom  united  with  Denmark  should  lose  its  own  individuality, 
in  the  hope  that  it  would  gradually  become  an  integral  part  of  that 
rtalm.  This  short-sighted  statesmanshij),  which  was  of  no  benefit 
t"  cither  kingdom,  often  resulted  in  a  wanton  neglect  of  Norway's 
iiic>~-t  \  ital  interests,  aiul  retarded,  though  it  could  not  wholly  arrest, 
tlic  national  develoj)ment  of  the  Norwegian  people.  The  absolute 
kings,  like  their  earlier  predecessors  in  the  union  period,  did  not 
atti'mpt  to  further  the  true  development  of  either  nation.  Their 
interests  were  personal,  dynastic,  and  wholly  self-centered,  which 
made  their  rule  a  monotonous  routine,  or  a  greedy  desire  for  lands 
and  revemies,  usually  barren  of  all  good  results. 

In  Sweden  the  late  wars  had  caused  great  losses.  The  fleet  had 
l"cn  destroyed,  cities  burned,  and  the  German  provinces,  as  well  as 
the  border  districts  of  the  kingdom,  had  been  devastated  by  repeated 
raids.  A  great  public  debt  had  been  created,  and  the  burdens  upon 
the  common  ])eople  were  excessively  heavy,  while  the  nobles  were 
still  exempted  from  paxing  taxes.  A  change  had  also  taken  place 
in  the  gf)vernnient.  Though  the  old  forms  were  to  all  appearances 
maintained,  the  Council  had  been  pushed  into  the  background,  and 
the  king  had  begun  to  act  with  more  independence  than  before,  partly 
because  the  stress  of  circumstances  had  made  it  necessary,  but  partly 
also  because  his  growing  |)opularity  enabled  him  to  assume  more 
direct  control  of  the  affairs  of  government.  In  order  to  meet  as  well 
as  possible  the  exigencies  of  the  situation,  the  Est^ites  were  assembled 
at  Stockholm  in  IGSO.  Thecommons  demanded  that  the  crown-lands 
which  had  been  gi\en  or  sold  to  the  noiilcs  should  be  conliscattHl  and 
that  the  ro>'al  power  shoidd  be  .strengtheiUMl.  Th(>  Council  and  the 
nobles  had  to  yield,  and  the  king  became  virtually  absolute  also  in 
Sweden. 

*  J.  E.  Stirs,  Uusloriak  Indlednin^  til  Grundloven,  p.  78  f. 


272  history  of  the  norwegian  people  ii 

34.   Economic  and  Social  Conditions  in  Norway  in  the 
Seventeenth  Century 

After  the  overthrow  of  the  Hanseatic  merchants,  the  Norwegian 
cities  found  new  opportunities  to  develop,  and  they  gradually  as- 
sumed a  character  very  different  from  the  surrounding  rural  com- 
munities, from  which  they  had  at  first  been  but  slightly  diflFerentiated 
as  to  economic  interests  and  mode  of  life.^  The  development  once 
begun  struck  a  rapid  pace,  and  soon  wrought  an  important  change  in 
the  social  as  well  as  the  economic  life  of  the  nation.  At  the  assembly 
of  the  Estates  in  Oslo,  1591,  the  burghers  and  the  binder  appeared 
for  the  first  time  as  two  distinct  estates,^  and  this  division  of  the 
commons  into  two  separate  classes  with  diverging  social  tendencies 
and  economic  interests  grew  even  more  distinct,  until  it  developed  into 
a  social  struggle  of  far-reaching  importance.^ 

The  cities  had  been  regarded  from  the  outset  as  a  part  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  they  were  situated,  and  the  rural  communities  had 
been  the  local  units  of  government  and  religious  life.^  In  course  of 
time  the  new  urban  development  inverted  the  order,  and  the  cities 
through  their  growing  influence  and  power  became  commercial,  social, 
and  cultural  centers  to  which  the  rural  districts  were  attached  as 
tributary  territories.  The  burghers  were  rapidly  rising,  and  the 
binder  were  correspondingly  depressed  in  the  social  scale.  The 
growth  of  the  cities  was  favored,  not  only  by  an  increasing  com- 
merce, but  especially  through  privileges  granted  by  the  kings,  who 
became  their  special  patrons,  and  sought  to  force  their  development. 
Limited  privileges  had  been  granted  the  cities  by  various  statutes  from 
quite  early  times,  and  from  1299  the  right  of  the  rural  districts  to  carry 
on  trade  was  restricted  in  favor  of  the  cities.^  But  more  radical 
measures  were  taken  by  Christian  IV.,  who,  among  other  things, 

1  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  De  norske  Communers  Reisforfatning  f0r  18S7,  p.  19  f. 

^  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  De  norske  Stoender,  p.  112,  115  f. 

^  Halvdan  Koht,  Bonde  mot  Borgar  i  nynorsk  Historic,  Historisk  Tids- 
skrift,  femte  raekke,  vol.  I.,  p.  29  ff. 

*  Absalon  Taranger,  Oslos  celdste  Byprivilegium,  Historiske  Afhandlinger 
tilegnet  J.  E.  Sars.  Alexander  Bugge,  Studier  over  de  norske  Byers  Selvstyre 
og  Handel.     L.  J.  Vogt,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  anden  rsekke,  vol.  V.,  p.  80  ff., 

273  ff. 

^  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  De  norske  Communers  Retsforfatning  f^r  1837,  p.  19. 


II  ECONOMIC    AND    SOCIAL   C(JNDITIONS  273 

i>>iK'(l  a  royal  (iccrcf  coiiiiiiaiKliii^  the  j^coplc  of  tlu'  nci^hljoriiif; 
towns  to  move  into  the  new  cities  of  Christiania  and  riiristiansand, 
which  he  liad  foiiiuU-d.'  Mach  city  was  to  have  its  own  fixed  district, 
inside  of  which  it  luul  a  trade  monopoly,  and  all  harbors  within  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-one  miles  shonld  be  abandoned.  Christiansand 
was  especially  favored,  as  the  kin^s  were  determine<l  to  make  it  a 
nu'tro[)olis  in  southern  Norway.  The  l)ishoj)'s  seat,  the  Latin 
school,  and  the  .stifLmintnuuid  were  moved  from  Stavanj^er  U)  Chris- 
tiansand by  royal  decree;  all  the  smaller  towns  in  its  neighborhood 
except  Mandal,  Arendal,  0sterris0r,  and  Flekkefjord  were  abandoned, 
and  Stavanger's  city  charter  was  revoked.  In  IGSo  Christian  \. 
even  decreed  that  all  inhabitants  in  Mandal,  Arendal,  0sterris0r,  and 
Flekkefjord  who  did  not  nioxe  to  Christiansand  before  New  Year 
should  j)ay  a  (loui)li'  amount  of  taxes.  "It  was  manifestly  the  plan 
of  the  government,"  says  Holm,  "that  the  Umr  stiff  cities  {i.e.  Chris- 
tiania, Christiansand,  Bergen,  and  Trondhjem)  should  be  the  trade 
centers  of  the  kingdom.  Bergen  occupied  the  same  privileged  posi- 
tion in  Bergens  siift  as  Christiansand  did  in  its  stiff,  and  farther 
to  the  north  the  four  so-called  "sj0-len"  (naval  districts)  {i.e. 
Uomsdal,  Xordm0r,  Fosen,  and  Xamdalen)  as  well  as  the  coast 
along  the  Trondhjemsfjord  belonged  to  the  trade  district  of  Trond- 
hjem.- In  the  privileges  granted  this  city  IMarch  7,  1GS2,  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  thriving  towns  of  Molde  and 
Fosen  (Christiansund),  who  lived  as  burghers,  should  either  move  to 
Trondhjem,  or  build  within  that  city  in  a  year  a  home  as  good  as 
the  one  in  which  they  were  living.  The  villagers  and  those  who 
dwelt  by  the  harbors  in  the  neighborhood  were  also  ordered  to 
move  to  the  city."  But  although  towns  were  not  allowed  except  at 
a  certain  distance  from  the  chief  cities,  the  burghers  were  instructtxl 
to  erect  trading  posts  at  convenient  j)laces  within  their  district,  in 
order  to  facilitate  trade  and  to  enable  the  people  to  reach  a  market. 
The  government  also  issued  regulations  regarding  the  importa- 
tion of  goods  and  the  carrying  on  of  trade.     The  wares  should  be 

■  Edvard  Holm,  Danmark-N orges  indre  HistoHe  under  Encvalden,  vol.  I,, 
p.  24r)  fT. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  I.,  p.  2.");?.      I.  Chr.  WoT\i,  Ventilationcr  angaaendc  den  nordlandske 
Ifaiulcl,  Samliufjer  til  drl  iiortike  Folks  Sprog  og  Historic,  vol.   V..  p.  655.      A. 
Sebwcigaard.  Xorges  Statistik,  p.  126  ff. 
VOL.  11  —  T 


274  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  11 

bought  directly  from  the  producers,  or  where  it  was  most  natural 
and  convenient  to  obtain  them.  Wine  should  be  imported  from 
Spain  and  Portugal,  French  wines  and  salt  from  France,  Rhenish 
wine  from  Holland,  iron  and  steel  from  Sweden  and  Prussia,  etc. 
Any  one  could  engage  in  wholesale  trade  who  could  handle  the  re- 
quired amount  of  goods,  but  the  retail  trade  was  governed  in  detail 
by  a  multitude  of  regulations  aiming  at  the  prevention  of  encroach- 
ment by  one  kind  of  merchants  upon  the  other.  In  most  cities  the 
merchants  were  divided  into  classes  having  exclusive  right  to  deal  in 
certain  specified  commodities.  The  merchants  of  Trondhjem  agreed 
to  organize  into  fourteen  classes.  In  Christiania  a  similar  arrange- 
ment was  made,  but  not  in  Bergen.  This  classification  and  close 
supervision  was  in  harmony  with  the  activity  of  the  absolute  govern- 
ment in  all  other  lines,  and  coincided  in  general  with  the  spirit  of 
the  cities  where  guilds  and  crafts  still  flourished ;  but  it  did  not 
prevent  the  development  of  a  powerful  class  of  merchant  princes, 
who  sought  to  gain  full  control  of  all  lucrative  trade.  In  Christiania 
the  complaint  was  made  as  early  as  1643  that  "there  was  not  thirty 
solvent  merchants  who  without  debt  could  carry  on  their  small 
trade,"  and  in  1653  the  cry  was  raised  that  "  some  of  the  rich  burghers 
had  usurped  all  the  trade  with  feathers,  elk  skins,  goatskin,  butter, 
tallow,  and  caraway,  by  purchasing  these  articles  in  the  country," 
and  the  city  magistrate  proposed  that  such  purchasing  in  the  coun- 
try districts  should  be  stopped.^  It  is  natural  that  the  more  opulent 
merchant  class,  whose  influence  was  increasing  with  their  wealth, 
would  not  rest  satisfied  until  they  had  gained  control  of  the  more 
important  branches  of  trade.  In  1656  and  1661  they  formulated 
special  demands  for  the  whole  burgher  class  of  the  kingdom,  and  as 
a  result,  a  series  of  privileges  were  granted  in  1662  to  all  Norwegian 
cities,  which  marks  a  new  epoch  in  Norwegian  commercial  juris- 
prudence.^ The  two  chief  articles  of  export  on  which  Norwegian 
commerce  largely  depended  were :  the  fish  trade  in  the  northern  and 
western  districts,  and  the  lumber  trade  in  the  southern  and  eastern 
districts.     The  lumber  trade  with  England  was  rapidly  increasing 

^  Ludvig  Daae,  Det  gamle  Christiania,  p.  51. 

*  Halvdan  Koht,  Bonde  mot  Borgar  i  nynorsk  Historie,  Historisk  Tids- 
skrift,  femte  raekke,  vol.  I.,  p.  31.     Ludvig  Daae,  Det  gamle  Christiania,  p.  55. 


11  ECONOMIC    AND   SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  275 

tt  this  time,  as  Xorwc^imi  pine  IiiimIxt  wiis  in  ^reat  demand  for  shi{>- 
i»iiilding.  Even  Milton  alludes  to  it  in  lii.s  "Paradise  Lost"  (1058- 
l(iG5),  where  he  says: 

His  spear  to  rrnial  wliich  the  largest  pine 
Hewi)  on  the  Norwi-f^ian  hills,  to  be  the  mast 
Of  some  great  ammirul,  were  hut  a  wand.^ 

A  new  stimulus  was  ^iven  this  trade  hy  the  great  fire  in  London, 
September  3,  IGGG,  which  destroyed  eighty-nine  churches  and  1.3,(X)() 
houses.  Three  hundred  streets,  alxiut  two-thirds  of  the  city,  were 
laid  in  ashes.  Luinl)er  for  the  rel)uilding  of  the  city  was  eagerly 
ought,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  was  imported  from  Xorway,  Bishop 
fens  Birehcrod  writes  in  liis  diary  March  7,  1G67 :  "  I  heard  a  cap- 
tain, who  had  come  from  Xorway,  tell  of  the  great  pnjfit  wliich  the 
iiihahitants  of  X'orway  had  of  the  great  fire  which  occurred  in  L<m- 
don  last  fall,  and  that  tiieir  timber,  which  was  needed  for  the  re- 
building of  the  city,  was  constantly  exj)f)rted  in  unusual  large  quan- 
tities, so  that  the  people  could  ask  as  high  a  price  as  they  wished  to 
demand.  For  although  there  should  at  present  be  war  between  us 
and  England,  our  king,  nevertheless,  permitted  such  export  of  timber 
from  Xorway,  because  of  the  good  money  wliich  was  l)rought  to  the 
country.  And  it  had  already  become  a  j)roverb  among  the  Xor- 
wegians  that  the  Norsemen  have  warmed  themselves  well  at  the 
London  fire."  "This  communication  with  England,"  says  Daae, 
"did  not  cease  with  the  rebuilding  of  London,  but  continucil  unin- 
terrupted through  ages,  and  became  an  important  factor  in  the 
development  of  .Xorway." 

By  the  i)rivileges  of  1GG2  the  merchants  of  the  cities  received 
exclusive  right  to  carry  on  lumber  trade,  and  clergymen,  fogcds,  and 
judges  (fforemkriver)  were  forbidden  to  carry  on  trade.  This  tended 
to  concentrate  the  lumber  trade  in  the  cities,  and  to  gi\e  the  mer- 
chant class  greater  soli(iit\'  and  strength.- 

In  order  to  gain  still  greater  advantage,  the  merchants  demandinl 
that  the  hinder  should  bring  the  timber  to  the  city,  where  they  again 

>  Paradise  Lost,  book  1..  v.  202  ff. 

*  Ludvii;  Daao,  Nordrmrtuls  Udvaridringrr  (il  JToUnnd  ng  England  i  nycre 
Tid,  p,  100  ff.     P.  E.  Beudi.xon,  El  Omrids  av  Norgcs  Ilanddshistoru,  p.  23  ff. 


276  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

used  the  opportunity  to  pay  a  very  low  price.  In  order  to  protect 
the  binder  from  this  crying  injustice,  the  king  gave  them  permission 
to  sell  their  timber  to  foreign  buyers,  if  the  merchants  would  not  pay 
the  full  value,  and  receive  it  at  the  customary  places  of  delivery. 
Later  fixed  prices  were  established,  but  with  the  proviso  that  the 
right  to  the  lumber  trade  should  remain  with  the  cities  and  their 
inhabitants,  and  the  attempts  to  regulate  the  trade  were  generally 
lame  and  unsuccessful. 

In  the  northern  districts  the  situation  was  still  more  unfavorable 
to  the  binder.  We  have  already  seen  how  the  Hanseatic  merchants 
of  Bergen  had  gradually  reduced  the  small  native  traders,  the  Nord- 
farer,  who  brought  fish  from  Nordland  to  Bergen,  to  a  sort  of  com- 
mercial serfdom  by  keeping  them  continually  in  debt,  and  these 
conditions  were  not  improved  when  the  native  merchants  gained 
control.  They  had  learned  from  the  German  merchants  how  to 
take  advantage  of  the  fishermen  from  Nordland,  who  every  year 
brought  their  catch  to  the  great  central  market  of  Bergen,  where 
they  also  bought  their  supplies  for  the  coming  year.  In  Peter  Dass' 
descriptive  poem  of  Nordland,  the  "Nordlands  Trompet,"  from  about 
1700,  the  swindle  and  extortion  practiced  by  the  Bergen  merchants 
in  their  dealings  with  the  fishermen  of  Nordland  are  described  with 
great  vividness,  sometimes  with  humor,  but  always  with  characteristic 
sympathy  for  the  oppressed.^  Occasionally  the  king  sought  to  put  a 
stop  to  their  cheating  and  extortion.  He  even  reduced  the  amount 
of  indebtedness  of  the  binder, ^  and  sometimes  even  cancelled  their 
old  debts,  but  these  attempts  at  regulation  did  not  alter  the  general 
relation  between  the  burgher  class  and  the  binder. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  until  the  loss  of 
Bohuslen,  Norway  had  ten  chartered  cities  {kj^bstceder) ,  ranking  as 
follows,  according  to  a  tax  levied  in  1599  to  pay  the  bridal  outfit 

^  Halvdan  Koth,  Bonde  mot  Borgar  i  nynorsk  Historie.  A.  E.  Erichsen, 
Peter  Dass'  Sarrlede  Skrifter,  vol.  I.,  p.  11  ff.  Alexander  Bugge,  Nordlands 
skiftende  Skjcebne,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  f jerde  rsekke,  vol.  V.,  p.  423  ff.  Amund 
Helland,  Nordlands  Amt,  p.  210  ff.,  Norges  Land  og  Folk.  Erik  Hansen 
Sch0nneb0l,  Lofotens  og  Vesteraalens  Beskrivelse,  Historisk-topografiske 
Skrifter  om  Norge  og  norske  Landsdele,  edited  by  Gustav  Storm. 

^  I.  Chr.  Berg,  V entilationer  angaaende  den  nordlandske  Handel,  Samlinger 
til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historie,  vol.  V.,  p.  659  ff.  Edvard  Holm, 
Danmark-Norges  indre  Historie  under  Enevcelden,  vol.  I.,  p.  168  f. 


II  ECONO\nC   AND   SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  277 

ior  one  of  tlic  i)rinces.ses :  Bergen  (250  riksdaler),  Chriitiania  (125), 
Trondhjcm  (100),  Marsirand  (100),  Fredrihtud  CU^),  Tumbcj^  (25), 
>tavanger  (25),  Kongelv  (25),  Skien  (12|),  Oddevald  or  Udrlevalla  (12J). 
With  th<'  loss  of  Bohusieii  in  KiOO  the  nuinlHT  was  n'diiccd  to  seven, 
IS  Marstriind,  Kongelv,  and  Uddevalla  were  located  in  that  province  ; 
lit  before  the  close  of  the  century  the  number  had  been  increased  to 
•  leven,  the  new  cities  being:  Fredrikshald,  Krageri,  Drammen,  and 
Larvik.  Of  the  more  important  towns  Moss,  Ilolmestrand,  0sterris^r, 
Arendal,  Mulde,  Lille-Fosen  {Christiansurid),  and  Trdnisfi  became 
'  ities  in  the  eighteenth  century.^  The  population  of  the  cities  at  this 
time  cannot  be  determined  with  any  degree  of  accuracy.  J.  E.  Sars 
has  estimated  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 
( 'hristiania  had  between  3000  and  35(XJ  inhabitants,'^  but  Ludvig  Daae 
considers  this  estimate  too  low.'  Roar  Tank  holds  that  the  popula- 
tion of  Christiaiiia  in  IG83  was  about  4000,^  which  agrees  in  the  main 
with  the  estimate  of  A.  CoUett,  who  thinks  that  the  populatitm  of 
the  city  in  1654  was  about  4000.^  The  population  of  Fredrikstad  is 
t '^timated  by  Tank  to  have  been  900  in  1683.'  According  to  the  tax 
levied  in  1599,  Bergen  would  have  8000  to  Christiania's  4000,  and 
Trondhjem  and  Stavanger  would  have  3500  and  800,  respectively. 
Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen  estimates  that  before  1660  Marstrand  had  14(K) 
inhabitants,  Kongelv  500,  and  Uddevalla  less,  probably  about  400.^ 
Skien  probably  had  a  similar  number.     It  is  clear,  however,  that  the 

'  I.  Clir.  Berg,  VerUilalioner  angaaeruie  den  nordlandske  Handel,  Samlinger 
til  del  norskc  Fulks  Sprog  og  Ilislorie,  vol.  V.,  p.  G13  ft.  Ludvig  Daat>.  Bidrag 
til  Chrislianxdnds  Historie  indtil  181U  Iliatorisk  Tidsskrift,  tredio  nvkke, 
vol.  II.,  p.  293  (T.  Molde  and  Lillo-Fosen  were  chartered  as  cities  in 
1742,  and  Lillo-Foson  was  called  Christiansund.  In  1701  Lilk'-Fosen  is 
estimated  to  have  had  000  inhabitants.  O.  C.  Bull,  Adskilligt  ufn  Kjpb- 
ataden  Molde,  Topografisk-statisliske  Samlinger  luigivtt  av  SeUkabet  for 
Norges  Vel,  vol.  I.,  p.  73  ff. 

*  Norge  under  Forcningen  med  Danmark,  p.  99. 

*  Del  gamlc  C hristiania,  2d  edition,  p.  51. 

*  Sludier  i  Chrisliania  Byx  Folkemxngde  i  del  syttende  Aarhundrede,  Hi»- 
torvsk  Tid.ssk-rifl,  fjerdo  ra-kke,  vol.  V.,  p.  478  S. 

*  Gamlc  Chriiytiaiiia  Bilkder,  p.  98. 

*  Fredrikstad  1660-1699,  Hislorisk  Tidsskrijt,  fjerde  rffikke.  vol.  V.,  p. 
284  fif. 

'  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Befolkningsforholdene  i  Bohuslen  /#r  AfalaacUeih 
Historuik  Tidaskrifl,  fjordo  roikku,  vol.  III.,  p.  247. 


278  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

burgher  class  was  rapidly  growing  in  number,  not  only  through  the 
increase  of  the  population  of  the  old  cities,  but  also  through  the  rise 
of  new  ones.^ 

A  danger  to  the  independence  of  the  binder,  greater  than  any 
other,  was  the  practice  of  the  wealthy  burghers  to  buy  land  in  the 
country  districts.  After  they  had  gained  control  of  the  lucrative 
lumber  trade,  their  next  attempt  was  to  get  possession  of  the  forests, 
and  when  crown-lands  were  sold,  they  were  the  heaviest  buyers.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  number  of  large  private 
estates  (proprietcergods)  were  created,  and  the  areas  of  land  owned 
by  the  burgher  class  was  rapidly  increasing.  Lorens  Berg  has  shown 
that  in  Brunla  len  they  owned  fourteen  per  cent  of  the  land  in  1661, 
and  eighteen  per  cent  in  1703,  while  the  holdings  of  the  hinder  did 
not  increase.^  At  this  time  not  above  one-third  of  the  hinder  were 
freeholders,  the  rest  were  renters.  A  large  part  of  the  soil  was 
owned  by  the  crown,  which  had  gradually  acquired  possession  of  the 
estates  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  of  the  old  noble  families  who  be- 
came extinct.^  The  crown  finally  owned  about  one- third  of  all  the 
land  in  the  kingdom,  while  the  rest  belonged  to  the  noblemen,  officials, 
burghers,  and  rich  landowners  among  the  hinder}  During  the  wars 
with  Sweden  these  opulent  classes  had  loaned  money  to  the  crown, 
and  the  kings,  who  were  generally  short  of  funds,  hit  upon  the  idea 
of  paying  their  creditors  with  lands.  What  remained  after  these 
debts  were  liquidated,  they  sold  in  order  to  replenish  their  treasury. 
From  1660  till  1670  crown-lands  were  thus  disposed  of  for  the  amount  of 
1,300,000  riksdaler,  mostly  to  rich  burghers,  officials,  and  noblemen.^ 

^  Many  towns  which  have  later  become  cities  arose  at  this  time  along  the 
southern  coast.  Fredrikshald,  Moss,  Soon,  Dr0bak,  Bragernes,  Holmestrand, 
Larvik,  Brevik,  Krager0,  Ris0r,  and  Arendal  owe  their  existence  to  the  flour- 
ishing lumber  trade.     A.  Schweigaard,  Norges  Slatislik,  p.  126. 

2  Lorens  Berg,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  f jerde  rsekke,  vol.  V.,  p.  202  f.  Ibid. 
Andabu,  p.  56,  276,  327  ff.,  336  ff. 

2  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Fraa  Leilending  HI  Sjplveigar,  Syn  og  Segn,  1910, 
p.  349  ff.  L.  J.  Vogt,  Om  Norges  Udffirsel  og  Trcelast  i  mldre  Tider,  Historisk 
Tidsskrift,  anden  rajkke,  vol.  V.,  p.  306  ff. 

*  Henrik  Holiesen,  Udsigt  over  Bel0bet  af  offentlig  Jordegods  i  Begyndelsen 
af  del  17de  Aarhundrcde,  Norske  Samlinger,  vol.  I.,  p.  513  ff. 

*  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Fraa  Leilending  til  Sjfilveigar,  Syn  og  Segn,  1910, 
p.  281  ff. 


II  ECONOMIC   AND   SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  279 

A  class  of  rich  Jiuidowners  thus  sprang  into  existence,  and  the 
hdiuier,  who  were  forced  to  rctit  lands  from  them,  soon  found  that 
they  were  worse  oft"  under  these  greedy  masters  than  they  had  been 
as  tenants  under  tlie  crown.  In  order  to  make  their  investments  as 
prolitahlc  as  possible,  tliese  hmdiords  increased  the  rents,  and  intro- 
duced methods  of  oppression  resembHnp  those  in  vogue  in  Denmark, 
and  the  bitterest  resentment  was  awakened  among  the  Norwegian 
hondcr,  who  understood  that  they  were  tiireatened  with  complete 
subjugation.  Their  spirit  of  resi.stance  was  aroused,  and  according 
to  old  custom  they  brought  their  complaints  directly  to  the  king- 
Deputations  were  sent  to  (^)penhagen  to  ask  for  redress  of  grievances, 
but  as  the  recpiest  involved  the  redemption  of  the  alienated  lands, 
the  kiui;  neither  woultl  nor  could  grant  the  relief  sought.  Finally 
Statholder  Gyldenl0ve,  who  foresaw  that  serious  troubles  might 
arise,  esj)oused  the  cause  of  the  bonder,  and  urged  the  king  to  grant 
them  relief  by  curbing  the  greed  of  the  landowners.  "In  Norway," 
he  said  on  a  later  occasion,  "the  goverimient  differs  so  much  from 
that  of  other  lands  that  there  it  consists  of  the  bdndrr,  and  is  main- 
tained by  them."  —  "The  prosperity  of  the  bonder  is  the  main  thing, 
the  root  and  basis  for  the  preservation  of  the  whole  kingdom,"  '  a 
statement  pregnant  with  a  fundamental  truth,  which  had  been  clearly 
perceived  by  the  statholder.  So  long  as  Griffcnfeld  remained  in 
power,  Gyldcnl0vc's  advice  remained  unheeded,  as  he  was  opposed 
by  the  powerful  chancellor,  but  after  the  king  assumed  more  direct 
control  of  affairs,  he  took  steps  to  iiLsure  the  Norwegian  hinder  against 
oppression  by  the  landlords.  In  KiSt-lOSo  regulati(Mis  were  pub- 
lished fixing  the  rate  of  rent  to  be  charged,  and  limiting  the  amount 
of  free  service  to  l)e  rendered  by  the  peasants.-  The  farm  had  to  be 
leased  with  all  its  comcniences  to  th«'  leaseholder  for  his  whole  life- 
time, the  rent  had  to  be  stipulated  by  nnitual  contract,  and  fixeil 
prices  were  established  for  the  products  by  which  the  farmer  paid  his 
rent.     The  jurisdiction   exercised   by    Danish    landlords  over  their 

*  !^orslxr  SninlitK/ir,  vol.  I.,  p'.  ."SIO,  Forshuj  oij  Bi  tunkniuo  angnacndc 
LeUelser  for  den  norskc  Ahnuc,  Statholder  Guldcnloirs  For»lag  af  Sdcn  Januar 
1693. 

*  These  luws  remained  in  force  only  a  sliort  time,  as  thoy  were  roplacod 
by  the  laws  for  tenants  in  the  Code  of  Christian  V.,  of  1687,  book  III., 
oh.  14. 


280  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

peasants  was  not  allowed  in  Norway.  Heavy  fines  were  imposed  on 
any  landlord  who  charged  excessive  rents,  or  in  any  way  wronged  or 
abused  the  leaseholders,  and  the  main  provisions  of  these  laws  could 
not  be  abrogated  even  by  contract.  Some  features  of  these  laws 
were  so  favorable  to  the  leaseholders  that  they  could  not  be  en- 
forced at  once,  but  they  served  to  insure  the  renters  fair  treatment. 
Under  these  conditions  the  landowners  found  it  little  profitable  to 
own  extensive  areas,  and  they  sold  the  greater  part  of  their  holdings 
in  smaller  portions  to  their  renters,  thereby  increasing  the  number  of 
freeholders. 

"The  struggle  with  the  landlords  had  in  general  a  wholesome 
effect  upon  the  renters,"  says  Professor  Johnsen.  "It  roused  them 
from  their  slumber.  Now  for  the  first  time  they  understood  the 
importance  of  owning  their  own  farms,  and  they  saved  money  so 
that  they  could  buy  land.  After  1680  the  king  again  began  to  sell 
land,  but  what  he  now  sold  was  mostly  separate  farms,  small  places, 
and  parts  of  farms,  and  the  binder  bought  the  greater  share." 

The  laws  of  1684-1685  were  also  intended  to  protect  the  binder 
against  extortion  and  injustice  practiced  by  the  royal  oflficials.  After 
the  lensherrer  had  been  replaced  by  amtmoBnd,  who  could  exercise 
but  slight  control  over  their  subordinates,  who  also  ranked  as  royal 
officials,  abuses  of  that  sort  had  been  increasing.^  In  order  to  right 
these  wrongs  the  laws  established  fixed  rates  of  charges  for  clergy- 
men and  other  officials,  and  imposed  other  necessary  restrictions. 
But  as  the  laws  were  to  be  enforced  by  the  selfsame  oflBcials  whom 
they  were  supposed  to  govern,  it  is  natural  that  in  too  many  instances 
they  were  allowed  to  remain  inoperative.  The  binder  were  hard 
pressed  both  by  the  officials  and  by  the  burgher  class.  They  were 
not  only  reduced  to  a  worse  situation  socially  and  economically  than 
in  any  earUer  period,  as  the  burghers  and  officials  gradually  intrenched 
themselves  in  a  position  of  power  such  as  no  class  outside  of  the  old 
nobility  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  but  they  were  also  forced  into  the 
background  politically,  after  absolutism  had  eliminated  all  partici- 

^  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Aktstykker  om  Finmarken  i  Aaret  1667,  Norske  Sam- 
linger,  vol.  I.,  p.  120  ff.  L.  Daae,  Fern  Dokumenter  til  Oplysning  om  Avgift- 
ernes  Bel0b  i  del  sytlende  Aarhundrede,  Samlinger  til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog 
og  Historic,  vol.  V.,  p.  485  ff.  These  documents  consist  of  supplications  and 
complaints  of  the  people  of  various  districts  in  the  kingdom. 


M  ECONOMIC    AND    SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  281 

I'iitioii  of  the  people  in  airairs  of  administration  and  government. 
But  the  hinder  had  awakened  to  the  realization  of  the  situation,  and 
:i  deteniiiiied  striigj;le  he^aii,  which  c<)nstuntly  increased  in  bitterness.' 
Scattered  uprisinj^s  grew  more  frequent,  able  popular  leaders  appeare<J 
in  various  districts,  and  the  growing  social  conflict  stirred  the  people's 
love  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  not  to  a  momentary  enthusiasm,  but 
into  a  j)erinanent  attitude  of  mind,  which  was  destined  to  sha[)e  all 
future  national  development  in  Norway.  This  school  of  adversity 
made  the  Norwegian  hinder  vigilant  patriots,  and  their  national 
independence  was  cradled  in  these  bitter  local  struggles  against 
oppression  and  injustice  which  were  wagtnl  with  ever  increasing  in- 
tensity, especially  throughout  the  eighteenth  century. 

Tiie  struggle  between  the  binder  and  the  new  upper  classes  was 
;iggravated,  also,  by  the  fact  that  the  burghers,  as  well  as  the  officials, 
con.sisted  largely  of  foreigners,  who  came  to  Norway  to  seek  new 
opportunities.  They  felt  in  no  direct  touch  with  the  common  people, 
and  treated  them  with  an  offensive  haughtiness,  and  not  infrequently 
with  an  insolent  arrogance  which  engendered  the  most  innate  class 
iiatred.  J.  E.  Sars  says:  "The  Norwegian  burgher  class,  which 
arose  under  the  union  with  Denmark,  was  to  a  large  extent  of  foreign 
origin.  Danes,  and  still  more  frequently  Germans  and  merchants 
from  Schleswig-IIolstein,  moved  to  the  Norwegian  cities,  and  because 
of  their  good  connections  they  were  often  able  to  play  a  leading  role. 
Danish  had  become  the  spoken  language  in  the  cities  after  the  Refor- 
mation, and  thereby  the  burgher  class,  whether  they  were  foreigners 
or  native-l)orn,  became  separated  from  the  rest  of  society  by  a  deep 
chasm,  so  that  they  stood  over  against  the  rest  of  the  people  as  half 
foreigners. 

"The  same  was  true,  even  in  a  higher  degree,  of  the  official  class. 
In  the  period  innnediately  following  the  Reformation  the  lack  of 
higher  schools  in  Norway,  and  the  generally  neglecte<l  and  beiunnbe<l 
intellectual  conditions,  resulted  in  the  fre(pient  ap|)ointments  of 
Danes  to  office  in  the  kingdom.  Afterwanls  when  .Norway  was 
better  able  to  shift  for  herself  in  this  respwt,  it  continuwi  to  be  a 
general  ])ractice  to  gi\e  the  Nor\vegian  offices  to  Danes,  while  Nor- 

'  Nedencs  Lens  Opscetsighed  mod  Qvrigheden  1658-1659,  Norake  Samiinger, 
vol.  II.,  p.  81. 


282  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

wegians  were  frequently  appointed  to  office  in  Denmark.  The 
government  liad  a  fixed  purpose,  which  was  constantly  becoming 
more  clearly  defined,  of  commingling  as  far  as  possible  the  two 
peoples  so  that  they  might  learn  to  feel  as  one.  At  every  period  of 
the  union  with  Denmark  the  Norwegian  official  class  was,  therefore, 
strongly  mixed  with  Danish  elements,  especially  in  the  higher  and 
leading  circles.  Of  the  Norwegian  members  of  this  class,  as  well  as 
the  Danish,  it  was  true  that  they  had  studied  at  the  University  of 
Copenhagen;  that  they  had  spent  their  happiest  and  most  im- 
portant years  in  the  Danish  capital,  and  had  often  formed  friend- 
ships there  which  lasted  through  their  whole  lifetime.  The  higher 
they  rose  intellectually,  the  stronger  they  must  have  felt  attracted 
by  the  memories  of  their  youth  spent  among  friends,  both  Danes 
and  Norwegians,  in  study  and  in  the  intellectual  pastime  of  the 
clubs,  while  they  must  have  felt  almost  as  strangers,  as  exiles,  when 
they  became  established  at  home  as  officials  in  the  lonely  country 
districts,  or  in  a  small  Norwegian  town,  where  the  people's  minds 
were  occupied  with  freight  rates  and  lumber  prices."  ^ 

The  new  classes  were,  nevertheless,  of  great  importance  to  the 
future  development  of  the  Norwegian  people.  They  gradually  came 
to  represent  the  economic  strength  of  the  nation,  and  as  they  estab- 
lished close  relations  with  the  outside  world,  not  only  commercially 
but  also  intellectually,  they  were  in  position  to  transplant  to  Nor- 
wegian soil  new  ideas  from  abroad,  elements  of  higher  culture,  intel- 
lectual interests,  and  taste  for  art  and  elegance  which  had  an  elevating 
and  stimulating  influence  on  the  otherwise  so  democratic  Norwegian 
society.  After  a  generation  or  two  those  who  were  of  foreign 
descent  learned  to  feel  as  native-born  citizens,  and  were  ready  to 
bear  their  full  share  in  defending  the  kingdom,  and  in  building  its 
institutions;  but  the  social  conditions  which  have  been  outhned 
made  them  unable  to  deal  justly  with  the  binder,  nor  were  they  able 
to  realize  what  secret  strength  lay  hidden  in  the  ardent  love  of  free- 
dom and  the  unsubdued  will  of  the  common  people. 

The  commercial  activity  was  chiefly  controlled  by  three  principal 
cities :  Bergen,  Trondhjem,  and  Christiania.  Bergen  especially  had 
developed  a  considerable  commerce  and  a  strong  class  of  merchants, 
^  J.  E.  Sars,  Historisk  Indledning  til  Grundloven,  p.  88  f . 


ir  ECONOMIC    AND   .SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  283 

who  maiiituiiied  trade-  with  all  western  countries  of  lOurope.  They 
even  ventured  into  the  Mediterranean  Sea  in  spite  of  the  Barhary 
l)irates,  and  attempts  were  made  to  carry  on  trade  with  the  West 
Indies,  Greenland,  America,  and  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  Trond- 
lijeni  retained  the  rij,dit  to  trade  in  the  four  "sjulen,"  Xamdalen, 
I'osen,  Nordmcir,  and  Rnmsrlal.  hut  the  trade  with  Nordland  was 
iipen  to  the  merchants  of  both  cities.  Bergen  received  the  trade 
monopoly  and  tlie  control  of  the  local  administration  in  Finmarken, 
l>ut  this  great  power  was  so  abused  by  the  Bergen  merchants  that 
after  six  years  of  systematic  extortion  an  amtinand  was  again  ap- 
pointed for  the  province.' 

In  the  southern  towns  and  cities  the  luml)er  trade  was  gro^\'ing 
rapidly.  In  the  last  decade  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  Eng- 
land and  Holland  were  carrying  on  war  with  France,  the  commerce 
nf  these  powers  decreased,  and  Norwegian  trade  received  an  impetus 
which  marks  a  new  ej)och  in  the  de\elopment  of  Norway's  merchant 
marine.  The  trade  with  France  increased  steadily,  as  the  Norwegian 
articles  of  export,  tar,  lumber,  masts,  iron,  and  fisli,-  were  in  great 
demand.  England  and  Holland  sought  to  stop  this  trade,  but  in 
1091  the  Northern  kingdoms  formed  an  alliance  in  defense  of  neutral 
trade,  and  l)oth  powers  had  to  abandon  their  attempts  at  interference 
with  the  trade  of  neutral  nations.  Home  industry  was  encouraged 
thnnigh  protective  tariff  or  the  exclusion  of  foreign  wares,  and  the 
high  duties  placed  on  goods  imported  in  foreign  vessels  also  favored 
Norwegian  trade.  Christiania  had  a  fleet  of  twetity-three  merchant 
vessels  in  IbOO.  Bergen's  merchant  fleet  rose  from  forty-six  ships 
in  lOSO  to  140  in  KiOO,  and  similar  progress  was  made  by  other  cities 
and  towns.  In  1707  the  Norwegian  merchant  marine  lunnbered 
oOS  shij)s,'  a  remarkable  increase  from  fifty  merchant  vessels  in  UVIS. 

Also    in  the  fisheries  considerable   progress   is   noticeable  in  this 

*  Amtmand  Prodorik  Sohort  of  Finmarken  wrote  in  1007  that  besides  the 
profit  mado  in  sc^IIiiiK  the  fish,  the  Bergen  mort'hants  made  'M\  imt  cent  in 
buyiuK  it  from  tlie  hontlcr;  that  lht<y  al.so  cheated  them  on  the  wei^jht,  and 
that  for  thcsf  reasons  the  boii<icr  could  not  pay  their  taxes.  Aktsykker  ovi 
Finmarken,  Xorskc  Samlinger,  vol.  I.,  p.  120. 

*  Robert  Molesworth.  An  Account  of  Denmark  as  It  Was  in  1692,  p.  63. 
B.  E.  Bendi.xen,  El  Omrids  nf  Xorges  Handelshu^torie,  p.  23  ff. 

»  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Norgcs  Historic,  vol.  V.,  1,  p.  100.  A.  Schweigaard 
Norges  Statistik,  p.  127  f. 


284  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

period.  The  catching  of  Hng  and  halibut  on  the  Storeggen  banks, 
about  a  hundred  and  ten  miles  from  the  coast,  was  begun  at  this 
time,  the  gill  net  and  other  implements  for  the  cod-fisheries  were 
invented,  and  the  export  of  lobster,  especially  to  Holland,  was  begun. 
The  whale-fisheries  near  the  coast  of  Greenland  and  Iceland  were 
encouraged,  and  stations  for  the  manufacture  of  train-oil  were  built. 
The  commerce  with  the  East  Indies,  which  had  long  been  inter- 
rupted, was  again  revived  through  the  organization  of  a  new  East 
India  Company,  and  a  West  India  Company  was  also  organized. 

Industry  was  making  slow  progress  for  want  of  the  necessary 
capital  and  experience,  but  some  attempts  were  made  which  show  a 
growing  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  the  influx  of  new  ideas.  J0rgen 
thor  M0hlen  of  Bergen  was  especially  active  in  originating  new  indus- 
trial enterprises  in  his  home  city.  In  1684  he  was  also  instrumental 
in  founding  the  Bergen  chamber  of  commerce.  He  erected  rope, 
salt,  soap,  and  train-oil  factories  in  Bergen  and  neighborhood,  canvas 
and  woolen  mills,  tanneries  and  cooper  shops,  powder  mills,  and  nail 
factories.  He  managed  the  trade  with  Finmarken  and  Greenland, 
and  carried  on  commerce  with  Guinea  and  the  West  Indies.  These 
attempts  were  in  complete  harmony  with  the  mercantile  economic 
ideas  of  the  times,  and  he  was  generously  encouraged  by  the  govern- 
ment in  the  hope  that  factories  might  soon  be  erected  in  different 
cities  to  supply  the  demand  for  manufactured  articles.  But  M0hlen 
engaged  in  too  hazardous  ventures.  Before  the  end  of  the  century 
he  was  financially  ruined,  and  the  enterprises  which  he  established 
soon  proved  unsuccessful.  Some  lasting  progress  was,  nevertheless, 
made.  About  1700  the  first  oil  mill  was  built  in  Norway,  and  about 
the  same  time  the  first  paper  mill  was  also  erected.  This  marks  the 
beginning  of  the  paper  industry,  which  was  destined  in  time  to  be- 
come one  of  the  best  paying  branches  of  Norwegian  manufacture. 
In  full  accord  with  the  mercantile  spirit  was  also  the  encouragement 
of  mining,  as  well  as  the  restrictions  placed  upon  the  number  of  saw- 
mills in  the  interest  of  the  preservation  of  the  forests.  These  restric- 
tions would,  naturally,  tend  to  eliminate  the  small  producers.  Lum- 
bering became  a  monopoly  controlled  by  rich  dealers  and  mill  owners, 
who  grew  to  be  a  class  of  capitalists.^ 

*  A.  Schweigaard,  Norges  Statistik,  p.  118  fif.     Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Norges 
Historie,  vol.  V.,  1,  p.  117  ff. 


II        NORWEGIAN    LITERATURE    IN   THE   SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY       28.5 

35.    XoRw?:(;iA\  Litekaii  ui;  i\  the  Seventeenth  Century 

The  scvoritcrritli  cciitiiry  or,  uuirv  corrcftly,  the  period  from  1020 
till  1720  was  a  century  of  lifeless  formalism  and  unproductive  learneil 
pedantry  in  .\or\ve<;ian  literature  as  well  as  in  that  of  many  other 
iduntries  of  Flurope.  In  (lermany  the  literary  and  intellectual  life 
which  had  begun  to  flourish  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  was 
crushed  by  the  ravages  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  poetry  became 
the  servantmaid  of  Latin  learning  and  Protestant  theology.  German 
had,  indeed,  replaced  Latin  as  the  literary  language,  but  Latin  learn- 
ing and  classical  mythology  still  constituted  the  chief  contents  of 
most  of  the  poetry  written.  The  pedantic  metric  laws  formulated 
by  Martin  Opitz  had  gained  an  absolute  authority,'  which  checked 
all  development  of  verse  and  meter,  and  the  poets  imitated,  as  well 
as  the\-  could,  the  empty  bombast  of  the  Italian  poet  Marino,  and 
the  hollow  pathos  of  the  Frenchman  Ronsard,  and  the  French 
tragedy,  fostered  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  court  of  Louis  XIV.  A 
fine  literature  of  hymns  and  religious  songs  was  produced  by  poets 
like  Spec,  Sclieffler,  Gerhardt,  Tersteegen,  Ri.st,  Dach,  and  others. 
Religious  prose  writers  like  Arnd,  Spener,  and  Scriver  wrote  works 
which  have  exercised  a  lasting  influence  upon  religious  life  and 
thought  also  in  the  North,  but  the  secular  poetry  consisted  largely 
of  so!igs  for  birthday  parties,  weddings,  funerals,  or  in  congratulaticm 
of  princes  and  persons  of  wealth  and  quality,  whose  favor  was 
sought  through  the  most  servile  flatterx-.  At  the  same  time  the  poet 
considered  it  essential  to  make  a  boastful  display  of  his  own  learning 
through  frequent  classic  allusions,  the  use  of  mythological  elements, 
and  phrases  and  expressions  borrowed  from  classic  authors.  The 
drama  was  represented  by  traveling  companies  of  entertainers  who 
adopted  to  their  own  use  selections  from  Italian,  French,  Spanish, 
Dutch,  English,  and  Latin  writers. 

In  the  North  the  German  literature  exercised  a  great  infliiencci 
and  in  Sweden,  especially,  Martin  Opitz  was  accepted  as  the  great 
pattern  and  authority.  In  Norway  local  conditions  did  not  favor  a 
systematic  adherence  to  foreign  patterns,  but  German  influence 
made  itself  felt  both  directly  and  indirtx-tly.  and  the  literary  taste 
1  Martiu  Opitz,  Biich  von  der  dcutschen  Poeterey,  1624. 


286  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

and  sjiirit  of  the  age  gained  full  control.  In  1664  sixteen  German 
comedians  came  to  Bergen  and  acted  almost  daily  near  the  custom- 
house, "and  the  students  of  the  cathedral  school  played  'heathen 
histories'  in  the  New  Church."  ^  During  Lent  mysteries  and  miracle 
plays  were  also  presented  in  the  churches.  But  the  German  literary 
influence  was  principally  exerted  indirectly  through  Denmark,  where 
the  Norwegian  students  received  their  higher  school  training  at  the 
University  of  Copenhagen,  and  where  German  intellectual  culture 
had  made  a  profound  impression,  especially  after  the  introduction 
of  the  Reformation.  We  find,  accordingly,  also  in  Norwegian  litera- 
ture of  this  period  the  customary  varieties  of  poetic  productions  — 
didactic  poems,  lamentations,  rehgious  poems,  songs  for  various 
occasions,  and  rhjined  descriptions  of  different  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, much  of  it  almost  wholly  devoid  of  poetic  merit.  By  contem- 
poraries this  kind  of  poetry  must  have  been  received  with  favor, 
possibly  even  with  generous  praise,  but  the  interest  which  it  awakened 
was  transient,  and  a  literary  historian  has  aptly  characterized  it  as 
"the  forgotten  literature,"^  as  most  of  it  has  long  since  been  rele- 
gated to  oblivion.  Few  really  gifted  poets  graced  literature  at  this 
time.  Most  of  those  who  devoted  themselves  to  poetic  production 
were  mere  rhymers,  who  might  weave  their  couplets  deftly  enough 
into  light  verses  for  a  festive  occasion,  or  who,  with  infinite  patience, 
tortured  their  muse  in  the  vain  effort  to  produce  a  great  epic  on  a 
subject  which  could  better  be  dealt  with  in  a  prose  treatise;  but  in 
most  of  these  efforts  we  discover  the  author's  erroneous  idea  that 
poetry  is  the  art  of  making  rhjuie  according  to  an  acknowledged 
system  of  metric  rules. 

But  the  "forgotten  literature"  of  the  seventeenth  century  repre- 
sents the  first  faltering  steps  in  modern  poesy,  aside  from  the  popular 
ballads  and  folk-tales,  and  it  is  not  without  its  interest  and  value  to 
the  modern  student  who  would  understand  the  intellectual  culture 
and  social  life  of  this  period. 

The  first  poet  of  this  period,  and,  in  a  sense,  the  originator  of  this 
class  of  poetry  in  Norway,  was,  characteristically  enough,  a  Dane, 

'  L.  Dietrichson,  Omrids  af  den  norske  Poesis  Historic,  p.  58. 
*Ibid.,  p.  .51  ff.     Peter  Friedrich  Suhm,  Samlede  Skrifter,  part  VII.,  Om  de 
Norskcs  Fortjenesler  i  Henseende  til  Videnskaberne. 


n       NORWEGIAN    LITERATURE    IN   TUE  8E\'ENTEENTH   CENTURY        287 

Aiulers  Christenscii  Arroho  (1587-1637),  a  gifted  and  dashiriK  youiiK 
scholar,  a  iavoriti-  of  King  Christian  IV.,  who  had  Ixen  made  Bishop 
of  Troiidhjciii,  and  accordin}^  to  J.  II.  ScliU-f^cI  "deserves  to  l)e  eoin- 
pared  with  his  contenij)orary  Opitz."  '  Arreho  could  not  at  the  out- 
set have  been  influenced  by  Ojjitz,  as  his  "Kong  Davids  Psalter,"  a 
paraphrase  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  was  completed  in  1(323,  a  year 
before  the  "Buch  von  der  deutschen  Poeterey"  was  published,  but 
R0rdam  says  that  "  it  is  clear  enouj,'h  that  Opitz'  useful  elfort  to 
purify  his  countrymen's  taste  and  their  poetic  style  has  exerted  a 
beneficial  influence  upon  him  towards  the  close  of  his  career."  - 
The  socially  inclined  bishop  with  the  poetic  temperament  mixed  with 
unrestrained  mirth  in  the  frolicsome  merry-makings  which  in  those 
days  were  the  chief  features  of  weddings  and  social  gatherings.  He 
was  guilty  of  no  moral  wrongdoing,  but  his  powerful  enemies  Tage 
Thott,  royal  leiismand  of  Trondiijeni,  and  Peder  Lauritsen,  the  city 
foged,  found  an  opportunity  to  accuse  him  of  conduct  unbecoming  a 
bishop,  and  he  was  dismissed  from  his  high  office,  1022.  After  a 
few  years  he  became  clergyman  in  Vordingborg  in  Denmark,  where 
he  died  in  1037,  fifty  years  of  age.  The  disgrace  and  sorrow  which 
had  thus  darkened  Arrebo's  life  brought  his  poetic  gifts  to  full  ma- 
turity, lie  completed  his  paraphrase  of  the  Psalms  of  David  in 
1023,  and  after  1029  he  was  persuaded  to  undertake  a  translation  of 
Guillaume  Barat's  epic  poem  "  La  premiere  Sepmaine."  Arrebo  did 
not  translate  the  poem,  but  gave  a  free  elaboration  of  its  theme  and 
thoughts  in  his  "  Ilexaemeron,"  a  poem  about  the  creation,  in  Alex- 
andrine verse,  which  be<ame  very  popular,  and  contiiuied  to  be  held 
in  high  esteem  even  in  the  following  century.  Tlie  j)oem  was  not 
published  till  twenty-four  years  after  the  author's  death,  but  it 
gained  for  him  a  great  rej)utation,  especially  among  younger  contem- 
poraries. 

Through  .VrreI)o's  works,  especially  his  paraphrase  of  the  Psalms, 
which  was  first  published,  a  gri>at  stimulus  was  given  to  poetry.  He 
found  many  imitators  in  Denmark,  and  in  Norway  numerous  versi- 
fiers appearetl.     Michel  Mogenss0n  (1590-1054),  clerg\Tnan  at  NperO 

1  J.  II.  Schlegol's  W'erkc,  vol.  V.,  p.  207. 

*  HolRor  Fr.  R0rdam,  Anders  Christensen  Arrebos  Levnel  og  Skrifter,  part 
I.,  p.  244. 


288  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

in  Namdalen,  wrote  a  lamentation  over  a  storm  which  caused  great 
loss  of  lives  and  property  along  the  seacoast/  and  poems  of  that 
type  continued  to  grow  in  number.  Hans  Mortensen  Maschius, 
engraver  and  clergjTnan  at  J0lster,  has  left  an  engraving  of  the 
Trondiijom  cathedral,  to  which  he  has  added  a  poem  lamenting  the 
ruin  of  the  great  church.-  Claus  Hansen  Gantzius,  or  Gaas,  clergy- 
man at  Ulvsteen  in  S0ndm0r,  wrote  a  lamentation  about  a  great 
avalanche,^  and  Dorothea  Engelbrechtsdatter  of  Bergen  wrote  poems 
about  the  great  fire  in  that  city. 

Samuel  Bugge  (1605-1663),  and  Roland  Knudson,  city  foged  in 
Krager0,  wrote  didactic  poems,  and  religious  songs  were  written, 
especially  by  Samuel  Olsen  Bruun ''  and  Dorothea  Engelbrechts- 
datter ^  (1635-1716).  By  contemporaries  Dorothea  was  lauded  in  the 
most  extravagant  terms.  She  was  called  the  tenth  muse,  the  wonder 
of  the  North,  etc.,  but  her  productions  are  mostly  dull  and  trivial 
rhymes  expressing  a  fervent  religious  feeling,  but  lacking  the  qualities 
of  great  art.  Only  a  few  songs,  or,  rather,  fragments  of  songs,  in 
which  she  has  succeeded  in  striking  deep  and  true  chords  of  religious 
sentiment,  still  continue  to  be  numbered  among  the  cherished  Lu- 
theran hjTnns.  Dorothea  Engelbrechtsdatter  was  the  daughter  of 
a  Bergen  clerg\Tnan.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  she  married  her  father's 
successor,  Ambrosius  Hardenbech,  with  whom  she  became  the 
mother  of  nine  children.  But  she  experienced  many  sorrows,  as  she 
survived  her  husband  and  all  her  children.  She  died  at  Bergen  in 
1716,  eighty-one  years  of  age. 

The  barren  monotony  of  the  seventeenth  century  as  to  literary 

'  Threnologia  Numdalensis  eller  Numdal,  Tenck  derpaa.  Det  er  el  s^r- 
geligt  Klagemaal  om  den  store  Haffsn^d  oc  S^skade  i  Numdals  Len  udi  Thrond- 
hjems  Stift,  Copenhagen,  1627. 

*  Norwegia  religiosa  eller  Norrig  gudelig  tildreven  beseer  og  beklager  sin  Herrens 
IIuus,  Christiania,  1G61. 

•  En  Klage  Dichl  offuer  det  Tilfald  i  Bergenshuus  Lehn  paa  Sundm^er  d. 
6  Februar,  1679,  Copenhagen,  1681. 

«  Samuel  Olsen  Bruun,  Siungende  Tidsfordriv  eller  Korsets  Frugt,  1695. 
The  work  appeared  in  many  new  editions  in  Copenhagen. 

»  Dorothea  Engelbrechtsdatter,  Sjcelens  Sangoffer,  1678;  Taar coffer  for 
bodJ(KTdige  Syndere,  1685,  together  wnth  a  new  edition  of  Sjcelens  Sangoffer; 
El  christeligl  Valet  fra  Verden  og  Lcengsel  efter  Himmelen,  1698,  united  with 
the  two  first  works  in  a  new  edition,  1699.  See  Nordahl  Rolfsen,  Norske 
Diglere,  and  Henrik  Jaeger,  Norsk  Liter aturhistorie,  vol.  I.,  p.  204  £f. 


II         NORWEGIAN    LITERATUUK    IN   THK   SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY      289 

life  is,  nevertlu'k'ss,  rt'lievi'd  hy  one  distiiij^iiislR-d  name,  IVtter  Dass, 
the  first  truly  ^rcat  poet  in  modern  XorweKiaii  literature.  His 
father,  Peter  Dnndas,  fled  from  Seotland  to  Norway  durinj^  the  re- 
lif^ious  persecutions  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.,  and  settled  in  Bergen, 
where  he  became  a  merchant.  After  his  marriage  to  Maren  Falcli, 
a  daughter  of  the  fog ed  Peter  l-'iijcii  in  Ilcl;,M'laiid.  he  moved  to  his 
father-in-law  in  Xord-IT(T0,  where  his  son  i'etter  Dass  was  horn  in 
H>47.  Petter  attended  the  Latin  school  at  Bergen,  and  in  lOGo  he 
entered  the  University  of  Copenhagen.  His  father  died,  and  as  his 
mother  was  left  with  five  children  in  straitened  circumstances,  he 
could  continue  his  studies  only  two  years,  whereupon  he  received 
holy  orders,  and  after  serving  for  si.vteen  years  as  curate,  he  was 
appointed  rector  of  the  church  of  Alstahaug  in  Xordlaiid  in  KiS'J.' 
His  whole  life  work  both  as  rector  and  poet  is  inseparably  coimected 
with  this  part  of  the  country.  He  was  a  born  leader,  a  man  of 
unique  talents,  who  through  his  powerful  personality  and  amiable 
traits  of  character  became,  not  only  the  favorite  poet,  but  the  per- 
sonified ideal  of  the  people  of  Xordland.  He  was  a  dignified  and 
earnest  rector,  strong  in  faith,  firm  in  convictions,  uul)ending  in 
authority',  and  exercised  a  powerful  influence  as  spiritual  adviser  and 
moral  teacher.  He  was  also  an  eminently  capable  man  in  all  prac- 
tical affairs,  to  whom  the  j^eoplc  could  always  turn  for  advice.  The 
inij)ressi()n  became  general  among  his  parishioners  that  he  could  con- 
trol even  the  powers  of  evil,  and  numerous  tales  were  told  of  his 
struggles  with  the  devil,  in  which  he  was  always  victorious.  The 
custom  still  j)revalent  among  the  Xordlantl  fishermen  of  fastening 
pieces  of  black  cloth  to  their  sails  as  a  token  that  they  mourn  the  loss 
of  Petter  Dass  shows  to  what  extent  he  had  become  the  hero  of  the 
common  ])eoj)le.-  .Vs  rector  of  th<>  largest  pari>ii  in  .\orway.  an 
extensive  region  which  at  present  embraces  eight  j)arishes  with  over 
30,000  inhabitants,  he  had  many  assistants  and  was  in  fact  a  real 

'  His  bioKTaphy   has  hct'ii   writti'ti   by   liis  >n*ivnds()n,  .Vlltfrt   Dass,  in  the 
introdiu'tion  to  liis  edition  of  the  XonJlandu  Trompct,  Copt'iihaet'ii,  ITG^l. 

'Potter  Dass,  Samhilc  Skrifter,  edited  hy  A.  E.  Krii'lisen.  intrmluetion, 
p.  i-lxxv.  J.  S.  Wi'lliavcii,  I)i<ilircn  fra  Ahtnhnun,  I'lttcr  Dass;  Samlede 
Skrifter,  vol.  VI.,  p.  109  (T.  Dr.  A.  Chr.  Banc,  Kirk;hisloriskc  Smaastykker, 
p.  232  S.  L.  Dietriohson.  Den  norske  Poesis  Historic,  p.  7G  ff.  Heurik  Jaiger, 
Norsk  Literal urhistoric,  vol.  I.,  p.  24()  S. 
VOL.  II  —  u 


290  HISTORY    OF   THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

chieftain.  But  in  this  large  district,  where  all  travel  had  to  be  done 
by  boat  among  the  shoals  and  breakers  of  a  storm-swept  seacoast, 
he  had  to  lead  a  life  full  of  hardships  and  hazards  which  taxed  his 
strength  and  courage  to  the  utmost,  and  he  refers  to  it  ironically  by 
saying  that  "  the  clergymen  of  Nordland  do  not  dance  on  violets  and 
roses."  He  was  always  of  good  cheer,  social  and  full  of  sparkling 
humor,  but  the  constant  struggles  with  the  angry  sea  he  describes 
in  many  places  with  touching  pathos  and  powerful  realism.  He 
shows  how  the  fishermen  sail  through  the  roaring  breakers  until  their 
boats  are  upset,  the  usually  unsuccessful  attempts  to  ride  the  up- 
turned boat  to  safety,  how  the  people  gather  on  the  shore  where  the 
empty  boats  have  stranded,  and  count  the  knives  which  their  dying 
fathers,  husbands,  and  brothers  have  plunged  into  the  upturned  boat 
to  learn  how  many  have  found  a  grave  on  the  stormy  deep.  So 
clearly  and  truthfully  are  the  social  conditions,  the  environment, 
life,  and  character  of  the  people  of  Nordland  reflected  in  the  poetry 
of  Fetter  Dass,  that  it  becomes  true  of  liim  in  a  very  special  sense 
that  he  who  wishes  to  understand  the  poet  must  know  the  land 
which  fostered  him.  But  the  converse  is  no  less  true,  that  he  who 
wishes  to  become  acquainted  with  Nordland  and  its  people  as  they 
were  in  the  seventeenth  century  must  study  Fetter  Dass.^ 

His  pastoral  duties  and  the  religious  instruction  of  his  parishioners 
were  always  his  chief  care,  and  he  wrote  several  collections  of  re- 
ligious songs  in  order  to  give  the  Christian  doctrines  a  pleasing  and 
striking  form,^  The  most  popular  of  these  works  are  his  "  Kate- 
kismus  Sange,"  i.e.  Luther's  Catechism  turned  into  songs,  which 
have  remained  the  cherished  reading  of  the  common  people.  But 
his  principal  work,  and  the  one  on  which  his  reputation  as  a  poet 
chiefly  rests,  is  the  "Nordlands  Trompet,"  which  retains  its  place 

^  Bj0rnstjerne  Bj0mson  wrote  after  a  visit  in  Nordland :  "Every  traveler 
in  Nordland  must  own  the  'Nordlands  Trompet,'  but  it  should  not  be  read 
until  one  is  on  the  return  voyage,  and  knows  how  incomparably  true  it  is." 
Petter  Dass,  Savilede  Skrijler,  edited  by  A.  E.  Eriehsen,  introduction,  p.  LV. 

*  His  principal  works  of  this  kind  are :  Aandelig  Tidsjordriv  eller  bibelsk 
Vise-Bog;  Dr.  Morten  Lulhers  lille  Katekismus  forfattel  i  hekvemme  Sange 
under  f0ielige  Melodier;  Epistler  og  Evangelier  sangvis  forfnttet  udi  bekvemme 
Melodier;  Trende  bibelske  B^ger,  nemlig  Ruth,  Ester,  og  Judith,  udi  dansk 
Rim  forfattet. 


ri        NORWEOIA.V    LITERATUltK    IN   THE   SEVENTEENTH    CENTI'HY       291 

amoriK  the  c-lassic  pro<Iurtioris  in  XonvcRian  literature.    Although  it 

a  description  of  N))rillaiiil  and  its  |)eople  ulii<li  pietiires  witli  the 

Miinuteness  of  a  ^eo^rapiiy  the  nature  and  tiie  eliinate,  tlie  econoinie 

and  soeial  conditions  of  tlic  ]Jcoplc,  it  is  written  uitii  a  taste  and 

-kill  whicii  makes  it  a  true  work  of  art.     "  It  is  u  l)o()k  more  popuhir 

I  lian  any  other  secular  work  in  our  Hterature,"  writes  A.  E.   Erieh- 

•n ;    and    Just    Bin^    says    tluit    "tiie    people's   life  and   work    has 

iseinated  Petter  Dass,  and  his  description  of  nature  turiLs  into  a 

ii-turing  of  the  Hfe  of  tiie  people.     It  WDuld  Ix-  futilr  to  attempt  to 

ii.-tinpuish  between  nature  and  the  pcojjje  in  his  w(;rks,  as  he  has 

lewed  them  together,  not  apart.     Yes,  it  is  when  nature  bears  a 

direct  relation  to  human  life  that  it  becomes  interesting,  according 

to  his  opinion,  and  their  point  of  contact  is,  so  to  speak,  the  basis  of 

pcration   in   his   nature-description.      At  the   point   where   nature 

begins  to  influence  tiie  li\'es  and  ileeds  of  man,  I'etter  Dass  dwells 

upon  natural  phenomena,  and  the  reatler  gets  the  full  impression  of 

tiie  great  might  of  nature,  its  activity  and  power.     At  tliis  point, 

also,  the  reader's  imagination  forms  a  clear  picture.     It  is  not  the 

descrij)tion  of  nature  itself  wiiich  makes  us  shudder,  however  strong 

expressions  the  author  might  use,  —  but  when  we  hear  how  the  storm 

has  caused  death  and  sorrow  in  many  families;    when  we  see  that 

ail  human  power,  as  compared  with  the  storm,  is  a  mere  nullity  which 

is  swept  away ;  when  we  see  men's  vain  efforts  to  save  their  lives, 

how  they  strive  convulsively  to  gain  the  bottom  of  the  upturniMl 

i»oat,  to  cling  fast  to  it,  and  that  the  waves,  nevertheless,  carr\'  them 

away  ;    when  we  see  corpses  and  wreckage  drifting  in  the  sea,  the 

picture  becomes  powerful.     W  r  fed  the  great  might  of  the  clctncnts, 

we  see  them  overwhelm  men  irresistibly',  destro\  ing  the  ha|)})iness 

of  one  generation  after  the  other.     In  other  words,  the  description 

of  nature  becomes  impressive  when  we   .see   the   power  of   nature 

pictured  in  its  efTect  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  country."  '     Some 

of  IVttiT  Dass'  minor  poems  have  become  favorite  folk-songs;  as, 

"Norsk  Dalevi.-<e"  and  "Je])htu'  Lofte." - 

Of  other  poets  who  flourished  towards  the  end  of  the  period  may 
be   mentioned    especially    Po\cI    .luul,    an    eeeentrie   i)iTson   of   real 

'Just  Biii^;.  Xiirahr  Diqlc  og  l)ui(<rr.  p.  \'A  ff. 

«  J.  S.  Wellmven,  SanUaie  ^krifler.  vol.  VI.,  p.  147  ff. 


292  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

poetic  talent,  who  wrote  "Et  lyksaligt  Liv"  and  "En  god  Bonde 
og  hans  Gjerning";  and  Ole  Camstrup,  who  became  known  as  the 
writer  of  humorous  verses  for  various  festive  occasions.  His  most 
typical  poem  is  a  song  written  in  the  Norwegian  dialect  about  a 
wedding.  This  song  was  later  imitated  very  successfully  by  Nils 
Heyberg  in  the  very  popular  ditty,  "Bonden  i  Bryllaupsgarden," 
written  in  1734.^ 

Norse  history,  literature,  and  runic  inscriptions  were  diligently 
studied  by  the  Danish  scholar  Ole  Wormius,  who  in  1643  published 
his  "  Monumenta  Danica,"  a  large  work  on  the  runic  inscriptions.  In 
his  study  of  old  Norse  literature  he  was  ably  assisted  by  Bishop 
Brynjulf  Sveinsson  of  Skalholt,  and  the  learned  Icelander  Arngrim 
Jonsson,  "the  Restorer  of  Icelandic  Literature."  In  Sweden  Olof 
Verelius  (1618-1682),  and  Olof  Rudbeck,  the  author  of  "Atlanticas. 
Manheim  Japheti  Sedes  et  Patria,"  were  emphasizing  with  one-sided 
enthusiasm  the  importance  of  the  Scandinavian  countries  in  history. 
This  revival  of  interest  in  Northern  studies  led  to  the  creation  of  a 
new  historical  school  in  the  North,  whose  most  prominent  members 
were  the  Icelanders  Arni  Magnusson,  the  originator  of  the  great 
collection  of  Icelandic  manuscripts  which  bears  his  name,  and  Thor- 
mod  Torfseus,  the  most  distinguished  name  in  the  prose  literature 
of  this  period.  In  1662  Torfseus  was  sent  by  Frederick  III.  to  Ice- 
land to  collect  manuscripts,  a  work  in  which  he  was  very  successful. 
In  1682  he  was  made  royal  historiographer,  and  in  1711  he  published 
his  large  and  in  many  respects  important  work  "  Historia  Rerum  Nor- 
wegicarum,"  a  history  of  Norway  from  the  earliest  times  till  1387. 
The  Dane  Arnoldus  de  Fine  also  undertook  to  write  a  history  of 
Norway  in  Latin,  but  left  the  work  unfinished.  Of  great  value  to 
modern  scholars  are  the  historical  typographical  writings  and  shorter 
annals  of  this  period,  works  which  were  left  unpublished  at  the  time, 
but  which  of  late  years  have  been  edited  and  published  in  the  interest 
of  historical  research.  Edvard  Edvardss0n,  conrector  of  the  Bergen 
Latin  school,  wrote  an  elaborate  history  and  description  of  the  city 
of  Bergen.^  INIelchior  Augustinuss0n  wrote  annals  of  Trondhjem 
and  Tr0ndelagen,  1670-1705,  and  Hans  Lillienskjold  (1703)  wrote  a 

^  L.  Dietrichson,  Den  norske  Poesis  Hislorie,  p.  95  f. 

*  Norske  Samlinger,  vol.  I.,  Uddrag  af  Edvardss^ns  Bergens  Beskrivelse. 


II        NORWEGIAN    LITEKATIKK    I\    THE   SEVENTEENTH    CENTUKV        293 

liirge  uiid  still  iinpul)li.slK-(l  work  "Speculum  Borcule  "  uu  liisti^rical- 
f^eograpliical  description  of  I'iniiiarkcii.  Gert  Heiiriksen  Miitzow  is 
the  author  of  several  local  personal-historical  works  dealing  with  Ber- 
i^'cns  ,itift,  hut  most  of  his  writings  have  been  lost ;  and  I  )idcri(h  Brincli 
in  Nordland  puhlishcd  in  KJSii  "  Discriptio  Laccfodie  Xorwcgia." 
Hans  Noble's  "  Indberctning  til  Kongen  om  Forholdene  i  1710," 
"  Aktstykker  om  Fimnarkcn  l('»(i7,"  by  Frederik  Schort,  and  Johan 
\'ilhclm  Kliiver's  "Bcrctning  om  den  Xorske  Users  Indfald  i  Sverige 
1 719"  may  be  classified  as  pul)lic  documents.'  An  extensive  religious 
[)rose  literature  was  also  produced,  consisting  chiefly  of  sermons  and 
devotional  books.  Among  the  common  people  the  folk-|)oesy  con- 
tiimed  to  flourish,  and  throughout  this  dull  period  it  maintained  an 
untutored  literary  life,  and  fostered  the  true  instinct  for  poetic  art, 
which  formed  a  healthful  contrast  to  the  petlantic  rules  and  lifeless 
learning  of  the  age. 

As  true  poesy  in  this  period  is  chiefly  to  be  sought  in  the  folk- 
literature  of  the  common  i)eople,  so  art  was  still  found  mainly  as 
handicrafts  among  the  hdndcr,  who  from  very  early  ages  had  been 
skilled  wood  carvers,  goldsmiths,  etc.  Fine  embroidery,  and  especially 
the  weaving  of  fine  tapestry,  which  had  been  the  pride  and  pastime 
of  ladies  of  rank  in  early  ages,  was  at  this  time,  and  still  continues  to 
be,  a  highly  developed  art  in  Norway.  The  car\ing  of  wood  and 
ivory  was  brought  to  a  state  of  perfection  which  has  never  been 
excelled  in  the  North.  Even  country  lads,  using  no  other  tools 
than  their  knife,  were  able  to  proiluce  real  pieces  of  art,  which  are 
still  preserved  as  treasures  in  the  art  nuiseums.  The  most  noted 
name  in  this  field  is  that  of  Magiuis  Berg  of  (iudbrandsdal  (lOdO- 
1739),  of  whose  wonderful  carvings  in  i\-ory  thirty-i-i^ht  |)ieees  are 
^tiIl  preser\('d  in  Rosenborg  palace  in  ('o|)enhagen.  Nearly  every 
tlistrict  had  its  own  adepts  in  the  various  arts  and  handicrafts,  who 
wrought  with  rare  genius  such  works  of  beauty  and  imagination  that 
many  a  trained  artist  would  find  difficulty  in  imitating  them.' 

»  Norske  Samlinger,  vol.  I.,  p.  121  (T.,  l:}0  IT.,  170  IT.,  nrid  l.'iii  (T. 

*  See  Kristofor  Visted,  Vor  gamlc  BonthkuUur,  Christ iania.  O.  A.  Over- 
land, Norgts  Ilistorie,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  113  ff.  F>ik  rontoppidan.  Del  Jorsle 
Fors^g  paa  Norges  naturlige  Historic,  vol.  II.,  p.  392  ff.  L.  Dietriohson, 
Den  norske  Elfvnbcnsskjccrcr  Magnus  Berg,  Christiania,  1912. 


294  history  of  the  norwegian  people  ii  ' 

36.   Education  and  the  Church 

Norway  had  no  university,  but  secondary  or  Latin  schools  were 
found  in  nearly  all  the  principal  cities  in  the  kingdom.  The  main 
stress  was  laid  on  the  study  of  Latin,  which  the  pupils  should  learn 
to  read,  write,  and  speak  ;  but  Greek  was  also  read,  and  in  the  highest 
class  Hebrew,  logic,  metaphysics,  and  rhetoric  were  studied.  Much 
time  was  devoted  to  devotional  exercises  and  singing,  but  mathe- 
matics and  history  were  almost  wholly  neglected,  and  until  1668  no 
schoolbook  existed  in  the  mother  tongue,^  and  no  attention  was 
paid  to  it.  The  discipline  was  very  severe.  Corporal  punishment 
was  often  inflicted,  and  fines  were  imposed  on  the  scholars  for  various 
offenses.  This  bred  a  rude  and  insolent  spirit  in  the  pupils,  and  the 
school  became  the  scene  of  constant  jarrings  between  scholar  and 
schoolmaster,  who  regarded  each  other  as  hostile  forces.  Ludvig 
Holberg  says  with  the  characteristic  exaggeration  of  the  humorist : 
"Every  schoolmaster  was  at  that  time  a  sovereign,  and  the  pupils 
lived  in  profound  awe.  Their  lacerated  backs,  their  swollen  fore- 
heads, their  bruised  cheeks  proclaimed  that  every  school  was  like  a 
Lacedemonian  g^iiinasium."  At  the  head  of  the  school  stood  the 
rector,  who  was  assisted  by  the  conrector.  According  to  royal 
decree  of  March  17,  1675,  no  one  could  become  rector  or  instructor 
unless  he  had  received  the  degree  of  baccalaureus  artium.^  It  has 
already  been  stated  that  one-fourth  of  the  tithes,  the  bondelut,  was 
used  for  the  support  of  poor  students,  but  at  a  meeting  in  Skien, 

1  Erik  Eriksson  Pontoppidan,  Bishop  of  Trondhjem,  1673-1678,  wrote 
Grammatica  Danica  in  Danish,  1668.  Nyerup  og  Kraft,  Literatur-Leksikon. 
Andreas  Faye,  Chrisliansands  Stifts  Bispe-  og  Stiftshistorie,  p.  266.  R. 
Nyerup,  Tilstanden  i  Danmark  og  Norge  i  celdre  og  nyere  Tider,  vol.  III. 
The  church  ordinances  of  1537  made  the  provision  that  there  should  be  one 
Latin  school  in  each  city,  and  that  all  other  primary  schools  should  be  closed. 
Only  Latin  should  be  taught,  "as  the  Latin  schools  are  easily  spoiled  by  the 
Danish  and  German  schools,  since  those  who  have  founded  these  schools 
have  looked  more  to  their  own  profit  than  to  the  welfare  of  the  children." 
See  W.  Rein,  Encyklopddisches  Handbuch  der  Pddagogik,  Langensalza,  1903, 
vol.  I.,  p.  933  ff.,  Deutsches  Schulwcsen.  A.  V.  Heffermehl,  Folkeundervis- 
ningen  i  Norge  indlil  omkring  1 700,  Christiania,  1913. 

^  Ludvig  Holberg,  Bergens  Beskrivelse,  p.  194  ff.  E.  Holm,  Danmark- 
Norges  indre  Hialorie  under  Enevoclden,  vol.  I.,  p.  384  ff.  A.  Faye,  Chris- 
liansands Stifts  Bispe-  og  Stiftshistorie,  p.  265. 


I'l.A'IK    \I 


WOODC  \liVI\«;    ON     AN     Ol.l) 

Ciir urn    Doou   in  SotiN. 


\V(»c)l)CAKVIN<;    ON    AN    <)l.l>    ('hIKCII 
PoKTAI.    AT    II  lUrM. 


II  EDUCATION   KSD  TFTE   nf\  HCU  295 

1575,  of  tho  nobles,  bishops,  Ingrrupnrl,  and  leafling  binder  it  was 
decided  that  a  sjtand^  of  ^raiii  should  he  |)aid  for  each  rruindjtrerk* 
for  the  iiiainteriaiice  of  the  school,  while  the  houfhlul  shouhl  be 
kept  by  tiic  In'mdrr  for  the  support  of  the  j)0()r.  This  was  ratified  by 
royal  decree  of  l')7s,  but  the  hdnder  wen-  often  un willing  to  pay  the 
school  tax,  and  it  could  not  always  be  collecti'd. 

The  Reformation  brou^dit  no  marked  im[)rovement  in  primary 
education,  as  the  reformers  both  in  Norway  and  Deinnark  were 
chiefly  concerned  with  the  education  of  ministers  ff)r  the  Lutheran 
Church.  No  |)ublic  schools  were  orj;anized.  and  the  education  of  the 
common  peo])le  was  so  far  neglected  that  not  above  one-tenth  could 
read  and  write.^  Some  provision  was,  nevertheless,  made  for  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  people.  Bishop  Palladius  of  Seeland  says 
in  his  "  Visitatsbog" :  "The  congregation  has  two  servants,  one 
especially  for  the  older,  and  tlu'  other  for  the  younger  church.  As 
the  clergyman  teaches  and  instructs  the  old,  so  the  sexton  should 
teach  the  young.  When  he  has  rung  the  church  bell  for  the  first 
time  on  Sunday,  then  he  shall  strike  the  bell  fifteen  or  sixteen  times 
as  a  signal  to  the  children.  The  young  people  shall  come  to  church 
and  seat  themselves  on  the  first  benches,  and  the  sexton  shall  stand 
in  the  midst  of  them,  and  instruct  them  with  pleasure  and  kindne.-s 
according  to  a  sexton's  book  published  in  Copenhagen,  and  he  shall 
also  teach  them  religious  songs.  But  to  those  who  do  not  dwell  in 
a  church  village,  the  sexton  shall  come  at  least  once  a  month,  when 
the  sun  shines  brightly,  and  the  children  can  be  out  of  doors.  He 
shall  encourage  the  i)arents  to  send  their  children  to  the  sexton,  but 
if  they  will  not  come,  they  shall  then  l)c  forced  witii  the  whip  to  do 
so."  This  system  of  religious  teaching,  which  was  the  same  both 
in  Norway  and  Derunark,  mu.st  be  regarded  as  the  first  attempt  at 
systematic  public  instruction,  the  germ  of  the  common  schools.  .\s 
an  aid  to  ministers  and  sextons  in  in.structing  the  children.  Bishop 

^  Spand  =  on  sjiellandsk  skjoppo  (Fayo,  ihid.,  p.  17t)  -  17.372  lit«T.  or 
about  half  a  bushel.     ,J.  Brynildson,  Norsk-  cnijrlsh  Onihog. 

^  Mandaverk,  a  contain  aroa  of  land.  Nonjrs  ijnmie  Love,  andon  npkko,  vol. 
I.,  Ord  o<j  Safjnifi.tlcr  by  Oscar  Alb.  Johnson.  Daniol  Thrap.  Iiergrn»ke 
Kirkcforhnldc  i  del  I7de  Aarhundrrde,  p.  101  fT. 

'  \V.  Roin.  EnciiklopddinchrR  Unndhuch  drr  fitdni/ogik,  vol.  VI..  p.  2S7  ff. 
A.  V.  Heffermehl,  Folkeundernaningcn  i  Norge  indtil  omkring  1700,  1913. 


296  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  U 

Palladius  published  a  translation  of  Luther's  Catechism,  1538,  to 
wliich  he  added,  in  1542,  "  Brevis  Expositio  Catechismi  pro  Parochis 
Norwegiae,"  a  work  which  was  translated  into  Danish  in  1546.  But 
as  the  majority  of  the  people  could  not  read,  and  as  they  had  diffi- 
culty in  imderstanding  the  Danish  language,  they  could  not  derive 
much  direct  benefit  even  from  books  of  this  kind.^  The  great  dis- 
advantage of  the  prevailing  illiteracy  was  keenly  felt,  especially  by 
the  clergy,  and  in  the  preliminary  drafts  of  the  church  ordinance 
issued  by  Christian  IV.  the  desire  was  expressed  that  the  people  in 
the  larger  towns  should  keep  a  school  teacher,  that  they  should  build 
a  schoolhouse,  and  that  the  more  well-to-do  citizens  should  make 
donations  for  this  purpose.  It  is  clear  that  there  was  a  growing 
demand  for  popular  education,  and  that  some  attempts  were  made 
to  provide  for  the  instruction  of  the  common  people,  but  because  of 
frequent  wars  and  oppressive  taxes,  slight  progress  was  made  in  the 
seventeenth  century. 

Through  the  introduction  of  absolutism  changes  had  also  to  be 
made  in  the  laws  and  ritual  of  the  church.  In  1685  a  new  ritual 
was  published,  which  was  introduced  in  Norway  in  1688,  and  about 
the  same  time  the  Danish-Norwegian  Church  also  received  a  new 
hymnbook,  published  by  the  great  psalmist  Thomas  Kingo,  Bishop 
of  Fyen.  In  Catholic  times,  and  even  after  the  introduction  of  the 
Reformation,  the  old  Latin  h^Tnns  were  sung  in  the  churches,  but 
Hans  Thomiss0n's  "  Danske  Salmebog  "  of  1569  had  gradually  come 
into  general  use,  and  so  many  additions  had  been  made  to  it  that  it 
was  deemed  necessary  to  get  a  new  hymnbook.  Thomas  Kingo 
was  commissioned  by  the  king  to  edit  one.  The  first  part  of  Kingo's 
hjTnnbook  appeared  in  1689,  but  the  book  was  not  authorized  for 
general  use  till  in  1699. 

The  bishops  and  many  other  ecclesiastics  were  men  of  learning 
and  high  character,  who  wrote  collections  of  eloquent  sermons,  devo- 
tional books,^  h}Tnns  and  religious  songs,  and  who  labored  earnestly 

^  A.  Faye,  Christians ands  Stifts  Bispe-  og  Stiftshistorie,  p.  138. 

*  Bishop  J0rgen  Erichsson  of  Stavanger  published  in  1592  a  collection  of 
sermons,  ".Jonae  Prophetes  skj0nne  Historia  udi  24  Prsedigener  begreben," 
about  which  A.  Faye  says:  "This  collection  of  sermons  is  not  only  the  most 
remarkable  religious  work  written  in  Norway  in  the  century  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, but  it  is  one  of  the  best  collections  of  sermons  which  even  tiU  the  present 


n 


EDUCATION    AND   TIIK   CHURCH  297 


to  improve  the  religious  and  intelloctuul  life  of  the  people,  but  the 
church  as  a  whole  was,  none  the  less,  in  a  rather  depl()ral)le  state. 
"Everything  was  lor  sale,"  says  Andreas  Faye.  "In  Denmark  rjot 
only  the  churches  were  sold  to  the  hij;licst  hidder,  hut  even  the  rij;ht 
to  appoint  clergymen  for  the  parishes  in  which  they  were  located. 
In  Norway  the  king  had  at  his  free  disposal  the  revenues  of  the 
church,  which  were  often  used  for  military  purposes.  Tlie  income 
of  the  church  was  farmed  out,  or  j;ranted,  in  part,  as  donations. 
Christian  V.  granted,  among  other  things,  the  rich  estates  of  the 
provosty  of  Tunshcrg  to  Peder  f  Jriireiifeid,  and  after  his  downfall, 
to  U.  F.  Gyldenl0vc,  together  with  the  rigiit  to  make  all  ecclesiastical 
appointments  in  the  counties  of  Jarlshcrg  and  Larvik.  At  times  one 
was  granted  the  tithes  of  a  church,  another  its  fees  or  its  estates.  .  .  . 
The  puhlic  church  service  was  looke(l  down  upon,  and  this,  together 
with  the  richculous  passion  for  rank,  led  to  private  communion,  to 
marriages  and  baptisms  at  home  among  the  finer  classes,  who  imitated 
French  language,  manners,  and  customs,  while  the  attention  of  the 
common  people  was  especially  directed  to  the  exorcising  of  the  devil, 
to  witchcraft,  and  other  superstition." 

time  has  been  written  in  this  country."  Christen  Bang,  clergyman  at 
Romedal  in  Hedoniarkon,  lO'il-Ki.')?,  published  an  explanation  of  Luther's 
Catechism  in  ten  volumes,  and  many  devotional  books.  Mi('ha<>l  Iveigh, 
rector  of  the  Stavantjfer  Latin  S<'hool,  and  later  clergyman  at  Thvet,  wrote 
'■'Guds  B0rns  Ilerlighed  her  i  Naaden  og  hisset  i  /Eron"  (UiSO),  and  "(iilea<l8 
Slave"  (1682),  books  which  were  published  in  many  editions.  Of  pwilm- 
iats  may  be  mentioned  Niels  Arctander,  of  Overnos,  who  lx>came  Bishop  «)f 
Viborg,  author  of  ^'I'salmer  og  jumdc^lige  Visor"  (1607);  Peder  ^L1thieson 
Ofrid.of  Indherred,  who  wrote  a  collection  of  hymns  called  ^' Aantlens  (il^le  "  ; 
Peder  Olufsson  Svenning,  clergyinaii  at  Storduen  1(>4S-1<)71,  left  a  colltvtion 
of  hymns  "Aurora  ellcr  den  iiye  Morgeiirude"  ;  John  Bruiisinaiid  of  Trondo- 
lagen.  author  of  ^'Aandclige  Sjunglyst"  (lt)7())  and  "Sjungendt"  Himmellys" 
(16S7) ;  Erik  Eriksson  Pontoppidan,  Bishop  of  Trondlij.'iii.  author  of 
"Sjolens  Opl0ft«>lso  til  Ilerren"  ;  Knud  Sovaldsen  Bang  prepared  a  hynuilKXjk 
for  his  congregation  in  Toten  (1662).  See  Andreas  Faye,  Chruituinaands 
Slifts  Bispe-  og  Stiflshisloriv,  p.  272  f.  Erik  Pontoppidan.  \orges  luilurlige 
HisUnic,  vol.  IL.  p.  :i07  IT. 

Translations  of  the  Bible  i)otli  into  Danish  and  Ici'landic  had  long  existtnl. 
In  X'i'A)  tlu>  whole  Bibli",  translated  from  Luthtr's  (Jerman  Bible  by  ('hri.s- 
tiern  PetlersOn,  was  printed  in  Danish.  .V  new  revised  folio  edilit)n  of  this 
translation  was  pulilislied  in  ir>SO.  In  1()()7  a  literal  translation  of  the  Bible 
from  the  original  languages  was  published,  and  in  H>;W  a  large  folio  edition 
of  Frederick  II.'s  Bible  of  1550,  the  Bible  of  Christian  IV.,  appeared. 


298  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

The  period  was  one  of  general  moral  laxity  and  lack  of  religious 
spirit,  and  among  the  common  people  drunkenness  and  coarse  man- 
ners were  prevalent.  Bishop  J0rgen  Erichsson  of  Stavanger  says 
in  his  first  sermon  of  "Jonae  Prophetes  skj0nne  Historia":  "What 
vices  and  offenses  against  God  Almighty  are  to  be  found  among  the 
lower  classes,  the  common  people  know  well  enough  how  to  complain 
of ;  for  there  are  very  few  married  folks  who  live  together  in  peace 
and  good  understanding.  Parents  and  older  people  give  the  children 
poor  training,  and  rather  set  them  a  bad  example  in  everything 
which  is  contrary  to  God's  holy  commandments.  Children  and 
servants  will  not  be  governed  by  any  one,  but  resent  all  chastisement 
and  rebuke.  Among  the  people  cursing  and  swearing,  immorality, 
theft,  cheating,  falsehood,  and  slander,  and  other  such  evils  prevail ; 
for  they  are  so  wicked  and  perverse  that  we  see  among  all  classes 
sin  and  vice  prevail  in  the  highest  degree  and  most  damnable  form,  so 
that  we  must  complain  with  the  holy  Poly  carpus  :  O  Lord,  why  didst 
thou  suffer  us  to  live  in  such  pitiful  and  miserable  times  ?  "  Though 
this  is  a  piece  of  pulpit  oratory,  other  evidence  shows  that  it  can  be 
taken  more  literally  than  is  usually  the  case  with  religious  complaints 
about  the  wickedness  of  mankind.  Even  the  clergym.en  were  often 
rude  and  violent,  and  not  seldom  intemperate  and  immoral.  In  the 
year  1594  four  rectors  in  Christiansands  stift  alone  were  dismissed 
for  grave  offenses  of  that  kind.  The  seventeenth  century  was  the 
age  of  orthodoxy.  The  Lutheran  Church  laid  great  emphasis  on 
the  purity  of  doctrine,  and  its  teachings  were  adhered  to  by  all 
classes  with  the  firmest  faith  and  conviction.  But  the  spiritual  life 
of  the  people  was  not  deeply  affected  by  the  cold  formalism  and 
lifeless  reiteration  of  dogmas  into  which  the  church  service  had 
degenerated.  Bishop  A.  Chr.  Bang  says  :  "As  people  believed  with- 
out scepticism,  they  also  observed  diligently  all  religious  ceremonies. 
They  had  time  and  patience  to  listen  to  a  sermon  which  lasted  for 
five  hours,  but  the  faith  and  the  religious  exercises,  which  in  a  manner 
were  sincerely  enough  meant,  were  able  to  exert  but  slight  influence. 
The  people  of  those  times  were  all  dualists  to  a  greater  or  less  degree. 
They  were  divided  into  two  personalities,  the  pious  and  the  licen- 
tious, and  they  seemed  to  live  happily  in  this  dualism  without  being 
aware  of  its  inconsistency.     They  were  equally  orthodox,  equally 


II  EDUCATION    AND   THE   CHIRCU  299 

pious,  even  if  tliey  were  at  times  ravilin^  uiid  quarreling,  and  ^iven 
to  fighting  and  drunkennes.s,  to  })arl)arie  ru(icMi('>s  and  a  moral  licen- 
tiousness which,  to  say  the  least,  was  half  pagan."  '  But  the  church 
itself  was  largeh'  n'sjxinsihle  for  these  conditions.  Bishop  Bang 
continues:  "As  a  people  is,  so  are  their  i)riests,  says  the  prophet. 
In  the  age  of  orthodoxy  the  clergy  were  in  every  way  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  times,  the  character  of  the  age.  The  sermoiLs  which 
they  delivered  can,  as  a  rule,  not  he  rated  very  high.  They  were 
often  earnest  in  chastising  t\w  people  for  their  sins  and  vices,  hut 
these  legal  philipjMcs  frcciucntly  degenerated  into  pure  invective,  not 
to  mention  the  instances  when  the  preacher  would  thunder  the 
anathemas  of  his  wrath  upon  his  audience,  and  wish  that  the  devil 
himself  might  take  them  all.  .  .  .  On  the  whole,  the  .sermon  in  the  age 
of  orthodoxy  was  uni)ractical,  uncultured,  pedantic,  and  long  drawn 
out.  The  Christian  truth  which  it  undoubtedly  contained  was 
drowned  in  the  circumlocutions,  introductions,  and  subdivisions,  the 
examples  and  learned  quotations  which  belonged  to  the  style  of  preach- 
ing in  that  age.  .  .  .  The  views  of  religion,  society,  and  government 
were  largely  that  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  Bible  was,  therefore, 
regarded  as  one  of  the  chief  codi's  of  law.  Peojjle  were  sentenced  to 
death,  not  only  according  to  the  civil  laws,  but  also  according  to  the 
Deuteronomy,  and  they  also  sought  and  found  in  the  Deuteronomy 
the  rules  for  waging  war  in  a  manner  pleasing  to  God."  That  this 
ty])e  of  preaching  and  Christian  instruction  should  fail  to  jiroduce 
a  true  spiritual  regeneration  is  not  strange,  esi)e<ially  as  the  ministers 
themselves  were  often  addicted  to  drunkenness  and  immorality.  On 
March  27,  1G29,  an  ordinance  "Regarding  the  Office  of  the  Church 
and  its  Authority  over  the  Impenitent,  together  with  some  Conditions 
of  the  Clergy"  was  published.  The  complaint  is  made  that  the 
preaching  of  tlie  gosj^el.  the  royal  ordinances,  and  tlie  sharpened 
threats  and  punishments  had  been  of  small  avail,  and  that  wicki^l- 
ness  has  so  daily  increased  "that  the  iH'oj)le  in  the  clear  evangelical 
light  kindle<l  in  these  countries  lead  a  more  reckless,  offensive,  and 
godless  life,  a  great  number  with  the  idea  that  the  true  service  of 

'A.  Chr.  Bunp,  Udsigt  over  den  nonskc  Kirket  Ilinloric  cftcr  licformationen, 
p.  62  f.  Seo  also  Edvard  Holm,  Dan  mark-. Worses  Historic  Jra  den  store  nordi- 
ske  Krigs  Slulning  til  liigernes  Adskillelsc,  vol.  1.,  p.  55(3  ff. 


300  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

God  consists  in  the  exterior  church  service,  the  use  of  the  sacraments, 
singing,  praying,  etc."  Various  remedies  are  prescribed  by  the  ordi- 
nance. The  rectors  were  to  choose  some  of  the  best  members  of  the 
congregation  as  assistants  {medhjelpere) ,  and  in  the  country  districts 
the  lensmand  and  provost  should  appoint  two  of  the  best  men  as  kir- 
keverger  to  assist  the  rector  in  his  duties.  Those  who  swore  and 
cursed  should  be  put  in  the  pillory,  and  the  ministers  should  preach 
according  to  the  church  ordinance,  so  that  their  sermons  did  not 
become  too  long  and  tiresome.  Baptisms  and  marriages  should  be 
solemnized  in  the  churches,  and  not  in  the  private  homes.  This  was 
a  well-meant  effort  to  remedy  the  evils  in  church  and  society,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  conditions  were  improving  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Government  regulations  or  other  coercive  measures 
have  not  the  power  to  impart  new  life  or  to  create  new  ideals.  The 
forces  which  are  to  regenerate  society  and  lift  it  to  a  higher  intel- 
lectual and  moral  level  must  have  a  higher  source,  and  the  Nor- 
wegian people  were  destined  to  wait  another  century  before  the  great 
spiritual  awakening  came  which  made  faith  a  matter  of  the  heart, 
and  turned  Christianity  into  a  new  spiritual  and  social  force. 

37.   Frederick  IV.    The  Great  Northern  War 

When  Christian  V.  died,  August  25,  1699,  his  son,  Frederick,  who 
was  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  ascended  the  throne  as  Frederick  IV. 
The  prince  had  taken  little  or  no  part  in  public  affairs,  and  his  edu- 
cation had  been  much  neglected.  A.  H0jer  says  that  King  Chris- 
tian V.  was  persuaded  by  his  ministers,  Gabel,  Knuth,  and  others, 
who  had  not  much  opportunity  to  study  in  their  youth,  that  a  prince 
did  not  need  to  be  educated,  that  it  only  tended  to  obscure  his 
natural  ability  if  his  brain  was  filled  with  too  much  learning,  but 
these  arguments  only  served  to  conceal  the  thought  that  they  and 
their  famihes  would  be  more  indispensable  to  the  future  sovereign 
if  he  remained  ignorant  and  without  understanding  of  his  royal 
duties.^    Frederick's  greatest  fault,  however,  was  not  his  scant  educa- 

^  A.  H0jer,  Friederich  des  ^ten  glorwurdigstes  Leben.  G.  L.  Baden,  De  danske 
Kongers  og  del  oldenborgske  Hus  Karakleristiker.  Edvard  Holm,  Danmark- 
Norges  indre  Historie  under  Enevcelden,  vol.  II.,  p.  15  f.  Niels  Ditlev  Riegels, 
Fors0g  til  fjerde  Friederichs  Historie,  vol.  I.,  p.  48. 


II  FREDERKK    IV.      THK   (JHKAT   NORTHERN'    WAR  301 

tioii  <»r  link  «>t"  literary  intt-rols,  hut  liis  frivolity  aii<l  disgracefully 
immoral  lil'r.  In  Mi'.).")  lie  iiuirrird  Louise  of  Mecklenburg,  but  his 
open  cohabitation  with  various  mistresses  proved  that  he  was  devoirl 
of  moral  fccliii;;,  a  lascivious  wanton,  who  wholl>'  ignored  the  laws, 
which  if  broken  by  his  subjeets  would  bring  ui)on  the  offender  the 
severest  punishment.  The  ni(»>t  noteworthy  of  his  mistresses  wa.s 
Anna  Sophia  Ucvcntlow,  daughter  of  Count  Reventlow,  the  king's 
chancellor.  The  king  had  met  the  young  countess  at  a  masquerade, 
and  though  her  mother  tried  to  i)revent  it,  he  enticed  her  from  her 
home,  and  she  became  formally  "wedded"'  to  the  king's  left  hand 
while  his  queen  still  lived,  the  marriage  service  being  read  by  a 
conrector,  who  was  liberally  rewarded  for  his  pliable  conscience.  In 
a  similar  way  he  had  been  "wedded"  to  Helen  Viereck,  who  died 
not  long  after  the  marriage.  This  form  of  illegal  polygamy  could 
give  the  union  neither  legality  nor  sanctity,  but  this  gave  the  king 
no  concern,  as  he  considered  himself  elevated  above  all  laws.  His 
cjueeii,  Ix)uise,  died  in  1721,  and  he  was  formally  wedded  to  Anna 
Reventlow  on  the  day  after  the  funeral.'  The  reports  of  these  events, 
following  so  closely  upon  each  other,  caused  a  great  scandal.  One 
day  the  funeral  of  the  good  Queen  Louise,  and  the  king's  "profound 
grief"  were  described  in  eiotiucnt  terms;  the  next  day  the  king's 
marriage  and  his  "great  joy"  was  heralded  in  glowing  colors.  His 
brother  Charles  and  his  sister  Hedevig  were  so  offended  that  they 
left  the  court,  and  a  permanent  estrangement  resulted  between  the 
king  and  his  son  and  successor.  Christian.  King  Frederick  IV.  was  of 
a  weak  and  sickly  appearance  ;  he  was  not  very  gifted,  and  he  possessed 
no  graces  which  could  serve  to  distinguish  him,  but  his  goodness  and 
great  kindness  of  heart  won  for  him  the  love  of  the  common  people. 
In  his  duties  as  king  he  was  energetic,  diligent,  and  conscientious, 
though  somewhat  stubborn  and  narrow-minded.  "  Frtnlerick  I\ . 
belonged  to  those  kings  wln^  while  void  of  any  higher  intellectual 
range,  can  \iew  many  relations  souikHn"  ami  al>l\ ,  and  he  also  had  a 
marked  interest  for  administrative  matters,  esjiecially  if  they  per- 
tained to  financial   and   military   affairs."-     He  wislu^l   to  become 

'  Edvard    Holm,    Danmark-Xorges    Historic  fra    den    store    nordiskc    Krigs 
ShUning  til  Rigernrx  Adskilldse,  vol.  I.,  p.  34  fT. 

*  Edvard  Holm,  Danmark-Norgcs  indrc  Historic,  vol.  II.,  p.  2.t. 


302 


HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE 


n 


personally  acquainted  with  conditions  in  his  realms,  and  he  was 
actively  engaged  in  introducing  needed  reforms.  The  not  very  great 
honor  seems  to  be  due  him  of  being  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  kings 
of  the  house  of  Oldenborg. 

In  Norway  Frederick's  accession  to  the  throne  led  to  the  retire- 
ment of  Statholder  Gyldenl0ve,  who,  because  of  advancing  age,  was 
no  longer  as  energetic  or  mindful  of  official  duties  as  formerly.     He 

resigned  from  his  office,  and 
retired  to  Hamburg,  where 
he  spent  the  closing  years  of 
his  life.  No  new  statholder 
was  appointed,  but  Frederick 
Gabel,  who  was  made  vice- 
statholder,  was  placed  in 
temporary  charge,  and  Q.  V. 
Wedel  was  made  command- 
er-in-chief of  the  Norwegian 
army. 

The  first  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  was  a  period  of 
almost  constant  warfare,  in 
which  nearly  all  nations  of 
Europe  took  part.  The  great 
struggle  of  England,  Holland, 
and  Germany  against  France 
was  being  waged  for  the  Spanish  succession  and  the  maintenance  of 
the  principle  of  balance  of  power,  and  in  eastern  Europe  Sweden 
fought  the  Great  Northern  War  against  Russia,  Poland,  and  Den- 
mark-Norway for  the  preservation  of  her  prestige  as  a  great  power. 
It  is  not  strange  that  in  so  critical  a  period  the  chief  features  of  the 
reign  of  Frederick  IV.  should  be  those  of  war  and  diplomacy  rather 
than  of  administration. 

Ever  since  the  wars  with  Sweden  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
the  princes  of  the  part  of  Schleswig  called  Gottorp  gained  full  auton- 
omy, a  hostile  feeling  existed  between  these  princes  and  the  kings  of 
Denmark-Norway.  This  hostility  was  intensified  by  the  support 
which  Sweden  always  gave  the  dukes  of  Gottorp.     From  Sweden's 


Fig.  5.  —  Frederick  IV. 


II  1  UPUJEHICK    n.      THE   GREAT    NORTHERN    WAR  303 

(ienmiii  provinces  uniiics  ini^ht  easily  be  sent  aniiinst  Deiimurk, 
and  past  experience  had  shown  that  Gottorp  would  serve  as  an  open 
tloor  through  whicli  they  could  enter.  Christian  V.  had  tried  to 
rstahlish  Danish  oNcrlordshij)  over  (fottorp  in  11)7.'),  hut  he  was 
forced  to  acknowledge  the  full  autonomy  of  the  dukedom  in  the 
treaty  of  Lund,  1079.  after  tlic  war  with  Sweden.^  The  desire  of 
Denmark  to  gain  control  of  GotU)rp  seems  a  rather  excusable  am- 
bition, especially  when  we  view  it  in  the  light  of  Euro})ean  j)oIitics 
of  that  age.  It  was  not  only  in  perfect  accord  with  the  general  policy 
of  land-grabbing,  so  universally  practiced  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
but  it  would  increase  the  king's  revenuc^s,  and  greatly  lessen  the 
chances  of  an  attack  on  the  southern  border  of  the  kingdom.  If  a 
favorable  opportunity  should  present  itself,  the  temptation  to  renew 
the  attempt  against  the  duchy  would  be  very  strong,  and  such  an 
O|)portunity  seemed  to  ha\e  come  when  the  seventeen-year-old  Charles 
Xli.,  who  was  considered  to  b(>  a  gay  and  incompetent  youth,  as- 
cended the  throne  of  Swediii  in  U)'J7.  The  relations  between  Got- 
tor]3  and  Denmark-Xorway  again  became  strained,  and  Sweden 
showed  as  active  a  sympathy  with  the  duke  as  ever.  In  IbOS 
Christian  \'.  formed  an  alHance  with  August  II.  of  Poland,  and 
Saxony,  and  in  1099  with  Czar  Peter  of  Russia  against  Sweden.  No 
special  cause  of  war  existed,  and  no  valid  reason  for  an  attack  on 
Sweden  at  this  moment  could  be  given,  but  such  considerations  did 
not  weigh  much  with  eighteenth  century-  monarchs.  They  found  the 
moment  opportune,  and  the  negotiations  were  carried  on  with  the 
greatest  secrecy,  in  order  that  Sweden  might  be  surprised  and  over- 
whelmed by  an  unexpected  attack.  If  the  i)K»t  jjroved  succes.sful. 
Poland  should  receive  Livonia  and  other  ])rovinces  which  Sweden 
had  seized,  Russia  hoped  to  get  some  Baltic  seaports,  and  Frederick 
IV.  would  subjugate  Gottor]),  and  prol)ably  recovi-r  some  of  the 
provinces  lost  in  the  late  wars. 

At  tlie  beginning  of  the  year  1700  a  Danish  army  of  1S,IK)0  men 
was  concentrated  at  Rendsburg  in  Ilolstein.  The  Norwegian  anny 
was  also  mobilized,  and  four  regiments  were  sent  to  Dennuirk.  jiartly 
to  reenforce  tlie  Danish  array,  and  partly  to  render  serWce  on  the 
fleet.     When  spring  came,  a  Saxon  army  invjided  Livonia,  and  the 

» Robert  Molesworth,  An  Account  of  Denmark,  p.  184  ff. 


304  HISTORY   OF  THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

Great  Northern  War,  destined  to  continue  for  over  twenty  years,  had 
begun.  The  Danes  took  the  forts  of  Husum  and  Stapelholm,  but 
failed  to  take  the  fortress  of  T0nningen,  and  when  an  army  of  Swedes 
and  Liineburgers  arrived,  they  had  to  raise  the  siege  and  withdraw. 
But  the  war  now  took  a  rather  unexpected  turn.  As  both  England 
and  Holland  were  greatly  concerned  about  maintaining  peace  in  the 
North,  they  viewed  with  alarm  and  resentment  this  unwarranted 
attack  on  Gottorp,  and  sent  a  large  fleet  of  thirty-nine  ships  under 
the  English  admiral  Rookes  to  the  Baltic.  This  fleet  joined  the 
Swedish  fleet  numbering  thirty-eight  ships,  and  a  naval  force  thus 
suddenly  appeared  with  which  the  Danish-Norwegian  fleet  was  un- 
able to  cope.  Seeland  and  Copenhagen  were  almost  wholly  un- 
protected, and  Charles  XII.  seized  the  opportunity  to  land  a  force  of 
10,000  men  in  the  neighborhood  of  Copenhagen.  But  before  he 
could  begin  the  bombardment  of  the  city,  Frederick  IV.,  who  had 
already  begun  peace  negotiations,  succeeded  in  concluding  the  peace 
of  Traventhal  in  Schleswig,  August  18,  1700.  He  agreed  to  pay  the 
Duke  of  Gottorp  an  indemnity  of  260,000  riksdaler,  and  to  acknowl- 
edge his  independence.  To  these  terms  Charles  XII.  had  to  accede, 
and  the  war  between  Sweden  and  Denmark-Norway  was  terminated 
without  much  loss  or  gain  to  either  side.  The  administration  in  Nor- 
way had  been  severely  criticized  by  Commissioner  of  War  Hans 
Rosencreutz  in  a  report  to  the  king,  and  later  by  Vice-statholder 
Gabel,  who  pointed  out  that  the  administration  of  Norwegian  affairs 
was  wholly  dictated  by  the  regard  for  the  interests  of  Denmark  and 
a  few  royal  officials,  whereas  it  ought  to  be  conducted  in  such  a  way 
that  it  could  subserve  the  best  interests  both  of  the  king  and  the 
realm.  King  Frederick  realized  that  some  change  ought  to  be  made 
in  the  Norwegian  administrative  system,  and  in  1704  a  commission 
was  created  in  Christiania  called  "Slotsloven  paa  Akershus,"  con- 
sisting of  one  military  and  four  civil  members,  who  should  assist 
the  vice-siatholder,  and  in  general  perform  the  duties  which  the 
statholder  had  hitherto  had.  The  military  member  was  a  German 
oflBcer,  Tritzschler,  and  three  of  the  civil  members  were  Norwegians, 
who  might  be  supposed  to  have  more  direct  knowledge  of  Nor- 
wegian affairs.  But  Slotsloven  showed  little  competence  or 
interest.     They  were  satisfied  with  adhering    to    the  old    system, 


II  FREDERICK    IV.      THE   GREAT   NORTHERN'    WAR  305 

and    no    improvement    could    Ije  noticed  either   in  tin-   militur\    (jr 
civil  service. 

The  same  year  Kinj;  Freileriok  also  visited  Xonvay,  where  he  was 
received  with  ^reat  luniors.  On  the  souvenir  coins  struck  in  honor 
of  his  visit  he  caused  the  following  motto  to  be  inscribed:  Mod, 
tro.slcdh,  tapperhed  og  hmd  dcr  giver  cere,  al  verden  kan  blandl  narske 
hlipprr  Icrre.  This  was,  j)erhaj)s,  done  in  acknowledgment  of  tlie 
eflicient  service  which  the  Norwegians  had  rendered  in  i)ast  wars, 
hut  i)ossil)ly  also  to  stimulate  their  warHke  spirit,  so  that  military 
service  should  be  more  x^nllingly  rendered  when  the  gates  of  war 
should  again  swing  open,  or  when  the  king  should  deem  it  prof- 
itiible  to  sell  more  mercenaries  to  fight  in  the  bloody  wars  raging 
on  the  Continent. 

In  1701,  when  England,  Holland,  and  the  German  Empire  began 
the  great  struggle  against  France,  known  as  the  War  of  the  Spanish 
Succession,  both  sides  sought  the  support  of  Denmark-Xonvay. 
Frederick  IV.  avoided  any  active  participation  in  the  war,  but  he 
favored  the  opponents  of  France.  In  return  for  a  yearly  subsidy 
and  the  promise  of  aid  in  case  of  need,  he  hired  20,000  mercenaries 
to  the  English  king,  about  6000  of  whom  were  Xor^vegians.  This 
system  of  sacrificing  the  young  men  of  the  kingdoms  on  foreign  battle- 
fields for  no  worthier  purpose  than  to  secure  a  few  million  crowns  for 
the  royal  treasury  was  quite  universally  practiced  at  that  time,  and 
had  been  resorted  to  also  by  Christian  V.  Molesworth  says  that 
the  Danes  sent  7000  soldiers  to  England  "which  are  yet  in  His 
Majesty's  pay."  ^  These  were  K)sses  far  exceeding  those  cause<i  by 
the  emigration  to  Holland  and  England,  but  none  raised  a  voice 
to  bemoan  it  as  a  calamity  "worse  than  the  Black  Death,"  or  to 
proclaim  it  the  "cause  of  the  decline  of  Xorvvegian  agriculture." 
We  caiuiot  but  feel  the  truth  of  Molesworth's  rather  bitter  words: 
"  .\t  j)resent  soldiers  are  grown  to  be  as  salable  ware  as  sheep  anil 
oxen,  and  are  as  little  concerned  when  sold  ;  for  j)rovide<l  the  officers 
be  rendered  content  by  the  purchaser,  in  having  liberty  to  plunder 
the  laborious  and  honest  countr>'  people  in  their  marches,  and  a  fat 
\vinter  quarter,  with  a  permission  to  defraud  their  own  men  of  their 
pay  ;  the  eoniinon  soldier  goes  with  no  more  sense  than  a  beast  to 
'  An  Account  of  Denmark,  p.  200. 
VOL.  II  —  X 


306  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  slaughter;  having  no  such  sentiment  as  love  of  honor,  country, 
religion,  liberty,  or  anything  more  than  fear  of  being  hanged  for  a 
deserter."  ^  Even  during  the  intervals  of  peace  the  nation's  best 
blood  was  being  shed  on  distant  battlefields,  and  these  poor  mer- 
cenaries could  not  even  feel  that  they  were  giving  their  lives  for 
their  country. 

After  the  peace  of  Traventhal  Charles  XII.,  "the  Swedish  lion," 
turned  against  Russia  and  Poland,  and  fought  a  series  of  brilliant 
campaigns  which  dazzled  Eurojje.  After  he  had  crushed  the  Rus- 
sians at  Narva,  he  marched  into  Poland,  drove  out  August  II.,  and 
placed  Stanislaus  Leszczynski  on  the  throne.  He  then  entered 
Saxony,  and  forced  August  11.  to  conclude  a  humiliating  peace  at 
Alt-Ranstadt.  In  1707  he  again  turned  against  Russia  with  an 
army  of  40,000  men,  probably  the  best  drilled  and  officered  army  in 
Europe  at  that  time.  The  situation  became  critical,  and  both 
Czar  Peter  and  August  II.  implored  Frederick  IV,  to  come  to  their 
aid.  Frederick  was  still  hostile  to  Sweden,  and  he  continued  to 
quarrel  with  Gottorp,  but  he  would  not  risk  a  new  war  with  Charles 
XII.  until  the  situation  should  be  more  favorable.  He  made  instead 
a  pleasure  trip  to  Italy,  which  was  prolonged  till  1709,  when  he  re- 
turned by  way  of  Saxony.  He  met  King  August  II.,  and  an  alliance 
was  now  concluded  between  the  two  kings.  August  II.  should  again 
receive  the  throne  of  Poland,  and  Frederick  IV.  should  seek  to  recover 
the  provinces  which  Sweden  had  taken  from  Denmark-Norway. 

While  hard  pressed  by  the  Swedish  armies.  Czar  Peter  of  Russia 
had  offered  Frederick  IV.  the  sum  of  300,000  riksdaler  and  a  yearly 
subsidy  of  100,000,  if  he  would  come  to  his  aid,  but  Frederick,  who 
hoped  to  get  still  more,  did  not  accept  the  offer.  Now  the  situation 
was  wholly  changed.  On  July  8,  1709,  Charles  XII.  was  defeated 
at  Pultava,  and  his  army  was  destroyed.  Russia  replaced  Sweden 
as  the  leading  power  in  the  North,  and  the  Czar  withdrew  his  offer. 
Frederick,  who  realized  that  he  had  lost  his  opportunity,  nevertheless 
entered  into  an  alliance  with  him,  on  the  best  terms  obtainable,  and 
began  war  with  Sweden  in  November  of  the  same  year  by  sending 
an  army  of  15,000  men  under  Count  Reventlow  into  Sk&ne.  The 
Norwegian  army  was  also  mobilized,  and  received  orders  to  support 

^  An  Account  of  Denmark,  p.  118. 


II  I  UEDERICK    IV.      THE    GREAT    NORTHEHN    WAR  3U7 

the  Danes  l)y  invading  the  Swedish  border  districts.  Seven  thou- 
>aiul  men  wi-re  coiHi-nt rated  at  Fredrikstad,  hut  after  (iyldenlove's 
retirement,  tiie  Norwegian  army  had  been  so  woefully  neglected  that 
it  was  in  no  condition  to  render  active  service.  Not  only  were  sol- 
diery, cavalry,  and  conmiissariat  in  a  deplorable  state,  but  all  effi- 
cient leadersliip  had  disappeared  through  the  mischievous  practice 
"f  apiJointJM^  to  the  higher  military  offices  in  Norway  old  men  who 
Acre  incapable  of  active  military  service,  and  considered  their 
appointment  only  as  a  sinecure.  In  the  Swedish  wars  at  the  time 
of  Sehested  and  Gyldenl0ve  the  Norwegians  had  distinguished  them- 
selves, but  this  time  they  had  to  take  the  field  without  proper  arms, 
equipments,  or  leaders.  The  vicc-statliolder,  Vibe,  was  a  sickly  man, 
over  seventy  years  of  age.  II.  E.  Tritzschler,  who  was  appointed 
commander-in-chief,  was  utterly  incompetent,  and  General  Schultz, 
who  commanded  the  forces  in  northern  Norway,  was  an  aged  man, 
over  seventy-seven  years  old.  The  campaign  became  a  ludicrous 
example  of  hesitation  and  j)rocrastination.  All  opportunities  were 
wasted,  and  nothing  was  accomplished.  So  wholly  incompetent 
were  the  comnumdcrs  tliat  the  Norwegian  troops  spent  all  their 
time  in  camp,  and  could  not  even  hold  in  check  any  of  the  Swedish 
forces  who  under  the  able  general  Magiuis  Stenbock  advanced  against 
the  Danes  in  Sk&ne.  In  the  battle  of  Ilelsingborg,  February  28, 
1710.  the  Danes  sulFered  a  crushing  defeat,  losing  .5000  men  dead 
anil  woundcil.  and  2000  who  were  made  prisoners  of  war.  Skine 
was  speedily  evacuated  by  the  remnant  of  the  Danish  arm>',  whicli 
retreated  across  the  Sound  to  Seeland.  Even  after  this  defeat 
Frederick  IV.  would  have  sent  a  new  army  into  Sweden,  but  he  was 
prevented  by  the  Swi^iish  fleet. 

Not  many  important  naval  engagements  occurred  in  this  war, 
but  on  October  4,  1710,  an  undecisive  naval  l)attlc  was  fought  in 
KJ0ge  Hay,  which  was  made  mcmoralilc  1)>'  the  death  of  the  Nor- 
wegian naval  hero  Ivar  Iluitfeldt,  who  anchorcnl  his  burning  ship, 
"Danebrog,"  so  as  not  to  endanger  the  rest  of  the  fleet,  and  con- 
tinued to  fight  until  the  vessel  was  destroy<><l  by  the  explosion  of  its 
])owder-magazines.  The  attempt  of  seizing  Sk&ne  was  not  re- 
newed, and  I'Vederick  was  j)rcvt'nted  by  various  circumstances  fnnn 
tal-dng  furtlier  active  part  in  the  war  till   1 71 2. 


308  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

The  utter  incompetence  of  the  Norwegian  administration,  which 
had  been  one  of  the  contributory  causes  of  the  disastrous  defeat  at 
Helsingborg,  had  been  brought  to  the  king's  attention  in  various 
ways.  H.  C.  Platen,  whom  he  sent  to  Norway  to  examine  conditions, 
wrote  :  "  There  is  not  the  proper  energy  and  vivacity  in  the  adminis- 
tration, nor  the  subordination  which  there  ought  to  be,  for  though 
there  is  much  talking  and  arguing,  very  little  is  done,"  The  king, 
therefore,  appointed  a  new  statholder,  U.  F.  V.  L0vendal,  an  able  and 
experienced  general,  son  of  the  former  statholder  Ulrik  Frederick 
Gyldenl0ve.  L0vendal  soon  brought  new  order  and  energy  into  the 
Norwegian  administration,  and  persuaded  the  king  to  send  more 
warships  to  Norway  for  the  protection  of  the  Norwegian  coast  and 
commerce.^  In  1711  he  was  instructed  to  make  an  attack  on  Sweden 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  in  check  the  Swedish  forces,  and  of  pre- 
venting reenforcements  from  being  sent  to  Pomerania,  where  the 
allies  intended  to  make  their  next  attack  on  Charles  XII.  These 
instructions  he  carried  out  successfully  by  leading  an  army  of  7000 
men  into  Bohuslen,  which  was  occupied  by  a  strong  Swedish  force 
under  Burenskjold.  No  battles  of  importance  were  fought,  but  the 
object  of  the  expedition  was,  none  the  less,  attained.  In  popularity 
as  well  as  ability  L0vendal  resembled  his  noted  father,  but  he  did 
not  remain  long  in  Norway.  Already  in  1712  he  was  recalled  to 
Denmark,  and  he  soon  returned  to  Poland,  where  he  became  King 
August  II. 's  minister  and  lord  high  steward. 

After  the  battle  of  Pultava  Charles  XII.  sought  to  fight  his  adver- 
saries with  the  assistance  of  the  Turks,  and  Magnus  Stenbock  at- 
tempted to  come  to  his  aid  with  an  army  of  17,000  men.  But  the 
transportation  of  such  an  army  across  the  sea  and  through  territory 
occupied  by  the  enemy  was  connected  with  insurmountable  obstacles. 
At  Gadebusch  in  Mecklenburg  he  defeated  the  Danes,  but  large 
armies  of  Saxons  and  Russians  blocked  his  way.  Turning  west,  he 
burned  Altona,  and  entered  Holstein,  but  mild  weather  made  the 
roads  impassable,  and  he  retired  to  the  fortress  of  T0nningen,  which 
was  opened  to  him  by  the  Duke  of  Gottorp.  On  May  16,  1713, 
he  was  forced  to  surrender  with  his  whole  army,  and  after  four 

^  I.  Gulowsen,  Fra  Valdemar  L^vendals  Tid,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  f jerde 
rffikke,  vol.  VI.,  p.  90  flf. 


II  KING    CllAKLKH    XII.    IN    NORWAY  309 

cars  of  close  confiiu'iiK-iit  the  ^rt*iit  general  died  in  a  Danish  j)rison, 
1717.' 

Stenbock's  defeat  and  eaptnre  exhausted  Sweden's  last  strength, 
and  made  fnrther  resistance  iinpossihie.  Charles  XII.  was  a  prisoner 
in  Turkey,  and  after  the  situation  became  so  critical  that  the  Estates 
threatened  to  conclude  peace  if  the  king  did  not  return,  Charles  left 
I'nrkey,  and  reached  Stralsund  in  November,  1714.  He  hoped  to 
•  Iffend  Pomerania  against  his  enemies,  but  Frederick  IV.  formed  an 
alliance  with  (icorgc  I.  of  Kngland-IIanover,  and  Frederick  William 
«if  Prussia,  and  while  the  Danish-Norwegian  fleet  made  it  impo.ssible 
to  send  reenforcements  across  the  Paltic,  a  Danish-Prussian  army 
besieged  the  city,  which  was  forced  to  capitulate,  December  23,  1715. 

38.    Ki.\t;  CHARLE.S  XII.  in  Norway 

Two  (lays  before  Stralsund  capitulated,  King  Charles  XII.  boarded 
a  Swedish  man-of-war  and  set  sail  for  Sweden.  He  succeetled  in 
eluding  the  Danish-Norwegian  fleet,  and  landed  at  Trelleborg  at 
daybreak  on  Christmas  eve,  1715.  The  homecoming  was  not  a 
joyful  one.  The  condition  of  the  kingdom  was  deplorable  in  the 
extreme,  and  the  people  desirtni  peace  at  any  cost,  but  King  Charles 
had  not  yet  abandoned  ho|)e  of  success,  and  refused  to  listen  to  any 
proposals  of  that  kind.  Through  proscriptions,  forced  loans,  and 
other  coercive  methods  he  succeeded  also  this  time  in  rai.sing  the 
rt'fuiired  forces.  The  attack  was  to  be  directed  agaiiLst  Frederick 
I\'.,  against  whom  he  fi'lt  a  sj)ecial  resentment.  Had  the  wint«'r  been 
cold  enough,  he  would  have  crossed  the  Sound  on  the  ice.  and  in- 
vaded Seeland,  but  this  plan  had  to  be  abandoned  because  of  mild 
weather,  and  he  decided  to  seize  Norway,  which  he  hoped  to  take  by 
a  swift  and  energetic  attack. 

After  the  (lc])arture  of  l.,0vendal,  the  Nonvegian  admini.stra- 
tion.  directed  by  Slotsloven  and  the  new  vicc-sttiihoUlcT.  Fre<lerick 
Krag,  had  rela|)sitl  into  its  old  inactivity  and  incompetence.  Cieneral 
Hausman.  the  commander-in-chief  of    the  army,  and  the  military 

^Feltlogtti  Skaane  1709-1710,  ved  den  dnnske  Generahlab,  Copenhagen, 
1903.  Pahidan-Mullor,  Omrid.t  af  Kong  Frcdrik  IV's  Kamp  mcd  Grro 
Magnus  Stinhork  mj  Baron  Gortz,  Dansk  hixtorisk  Tidsskrift,  fjordc  rsekke, 
vol.  V'l.     Still,  Krigd  i  Skane,  Stockholm,  1903. 


310  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

member  of  Slotsloven,  who  had  proven  himself  both  able  and 
conscientious,  and  had  brought  the  army  into  a  fairly  high  state  of 
eflBciency,  was  dismissed  shortly  before  the  war  broke  out,  because 
the  govenmaent  feared  lest  his  warlike  spirit  should  lead  him  to  act 
with  too  much  haste.  The  country  was  ill  prepared  for  war,  though 
the  military  burdens,  as  well  as  the  size  of  the  army,  were  continually 
augmented  until  they  passed  all  reasonable  limits.^  The  treasury 
was  empty,  and  the  army,  which  numbered  24,000  men,  of  whom 
4000  had  been  sent  to  Germany,  lacked  clothes,  medicine,  tents,  and 
provisions.  The  officers  were,  to  a  large  extent,  foreigners,  often 
without  military  experience,  and  devoid  of  interest  for  the  country's 
welfare.  The  new  commander-in-chief,  Lutzow,  was  a  German  by 
birth,  but  he  had  married  a  Norwegian  lady,  and  had  settled  per- 
manently in  the  kingdom.  He  was  upright  and  competent,  but 
extremely  cautious,  and  not  very  energetic.  When  the  report  was 
received  that  Charles  XII.  might  attack  Norway,  some  efforts  were 
made  to  mobilize  the  Norwegian  army,  but  there  was  a  conspicuous 
lack  of  promptness  and  energy.  Lutzow  and  his  assistants,  as  well 
as  Slotsloven,  felt  convinced  that  Charles  would  not  begin  a  new 
campaign  in  the  winter,  and  nothing  of  importance  was  done  to  safe- 
guard the  country  against  invasion.  But  Charles  XII.  was  used  to 
take  advantage  of  situations  of  that  kind.  His  army  of  invasion, 
consisting  of  12,000  men,  was  ready  to  march  at  any  moment,  and 
in  the  beginning  of  March  he  started  from  Vermland  with  a  corps 
of  3000  men,  infantry  and  cavalry.  It  was  his  aim  to  march  straight- 
way upon  Christiania.  General  Carl  Gustav  M0rner,  governor  of 
Bohus,  was  ordered  to  advance  to  his  support  with  a  force  of  4000 
men,  and  General  Aschenberg  was  instructed  to  operate  against 
Fredrikshald  and  Fredriksten  with  a  third  division.  On  the  night 
before  the  9th  of  March,  1710,  the  burning  varcZer  on  the  mountain- 

1  At  the  beginning  of  Frederick's  reign  the  Norwegian  army  numbered 
10,000  men.  In  1727  it  was  increased  to  18,000,  and  through  new  enlist- 
ments, and  especially  by  adding  a  force  of  reserves  of  9300,  it  was  raised  to 
30,000  by  1742.  The  length  of  the  required  term  of  military  service  was 
increased  from  three  to  ten  years,  so  that  many  remained  in  the  army  from 
sixteen  to  twenty  years.  J.  E.  Sars  says  that  scarcely  a  government  in 
Europe  drew  so  heavily  on  the  people's  strength  for  miHtary  purposes.  Sars, 
Udsigt  over  den  norske  Hisiorie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  68  ff.  J.  C.  Berg,  Om  Land- 
vcernet,  p.  32  ff.    A.  C.  Drolsum,  Del  norske  Folk  og  dels  Forsvaravcesen,  p.  40  ff. 


KINO   CHARLES  XII.    IN   NORWAY 


311 


tops  suddenly  fttmoiiiu.'ed  tliat  the  enemy  had  entered  the  country. 

(  harles  XII.  had  crossed  the  border  with  a  force  of  10()()  men,  and 

MS  he  found  all  strategic  points  unguarded,  and  th«'  road  open,  he 

hastened  forward  with  a  ca\alry  troop  of  01)0  men  to  Ilolarid  parson- 

aj;e.     The    Xorwe^ian    troops    stationed    there    under    Lieutenant- 

( "olonel  Hriiggemann  and  (.'olonel  Kruse  were  quartenil  on  different 

t'lirms  in  the  ncighhorliood. 

Hrii^gemann    was   surjjriscd 

and  captured  witli  eighty-two 

men  without  i)eing  ahle  to 

nuike  resistance,  hut  Kruse, 

who  had  collected  200  men, 

attacked  the  Swedes,  and  a 

Moody     battle    ensued,     in 

which  King  ( 'harles'  favorite. 


Fio.  6. —  Charles  XII. 


(Icncral  Poniatovski,  and  hi^ 
brother-in-law,  Prince  Fred- 
erick of  I  lessen,  were  severely 
woundeil,  and  (^harles  liini- 
'^elf  barely  escai)e(l  being 
captured.  But  the  tide  of 
battle  soon  turned.  Kruse 
was  wounded  and  captured, 
and  his  small  band  was  scat- 
tered, lie  was  treated  with 
the  greatest  courtesy  by  the  chivalric  Swedish  king.  I  lis  bravery  was 
admired  by  nil,  but  he  had  acted  in  too  precipitous  a  haste.  Had 
he  waited  a  few  hours,  and  collected  all  his  forces,  which  numbered 
700  to  SOO  men,  he  might  have  won  an  important  victory,  and  Kinj? 
Charles  might  have  been  made  prisoner.  Kruse  was  tritxl  by  a  court- 
martial,  and  sentenced  to  i)ay  a  fine,  but  Frederick  IV.  aecordtnl  him 
full  pardon.' 

'  A.  Fayo,  Carl  XII.  i  Nnrgc.  O.  A.  Overland.  liorgrrne  pan  Frrtirikshald. 
Oscar  Alb.  Johnson,  Norges  Ilistorie,  vol.  V..  1,  p.  l<>-t  fT.  Frodrik  Ferdi- 
nand Carlson,  Strrigex  Hintoria  under  Konuugrrna  af  pfnhi.tka  Husri.  part  II. 
Voltaire.  m.<toirc  dc  Charles  XII.  Rohert  Xisbet  Bain.  Charlen  XII.  and 
the  Cnllnpi^e  of  the  Siredish  Empire.  King  Oscar  II.,  Charles  XII.  Anders 
Frjxell,  Carl  den  toljies  llistoria. 


312  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

King  Charles'  unexpected  approach  caused  the  greatest  conster- 
nation in  Norway,  where  the  members  of  Slotsloven  had  neglected 
to  take  proper  steps  even  for  protecting  Christiania.  King  Charles 
was  now  only  thirty-five  miles  away,  but  cold  and  stormy  weather 
prevented  him  from  pursuing  his  march  for  some  days.  This  delay 
enabled  the  government  to  collect  an  army  of  about  7000  men  in  the 
city,  but  when  King  Charles  had  effected  a  junction  with  M0rner, 
who  was  advancing  from  Bohus,  General  Lutzow  and  other  members 
of  Slotsloven  considered  it  prudent  not  to  risk  a  battle.  A  garri- 
son of  3000  men  was  placed  in  the  fortress  of  Akershus,  Lutzow  evacu- 
ated Christiania,  and  retired  to  Gjellebek,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Drammen,  and  the  Swedes  occupied  the  city  without  resistance, 
March  21,  1716. 

So  far  Charles  had  been  successful.  Christiania  had  been  taken, 
and  he  had  found  ample  stores  of  provisions,  and  good  quarters  for 
his  soldiers  during  the  inclement  season  of  early  spring.  But  serious 
obstacles  were  soon  thrown  in  his  way.  For  want  of  artillery  he 
could  not  besiege  Akershus  castle,  which  trained  its  guns  upon  the 
city,  and  killed  many  of  his  men  by  firing  along  the  streets.  The 
people  were  everywhere  hostile,  a  circumstance  which  soon  made  all 
his  operations  difficult.  Foraging  parties  had  to  fight  with  the 
binder,  and  the  smaller  isolated  detachments  were  often  attacked  and 
destroyed.  A  force  of  over  400  men  which  he  had  left  at  Moss  in 
charge  of  the  commissariat  was  annihilated  by  Henrik  J0rgen  Huit- 
feldt,  and  large  quantities  of  ammunition  were  taken,  though  the 
greater  part  of  the  stores  had  already  been  removed.  In  the  latter 
part  of  March  a  cavalry  force  of  600  men  under  Axel  L0ven  was  dis- 
patched by  King  Charles  into  Hakedal,  Hadeland,  and  Ringerike  to 
burn  stores,  and  also  to  destroy  the  rich  silver  mines  at  Kongsberg.^ 
They  were  everywhere  opposed  by  the  hinder,  who  felled  trees  across 
the  roads,  and  offered  what  resistance  they  could  without  fighting 
any  pitched  battle,  and  they  were  so  delayed  that  they  did  not  reach 
Norderhov  parsonage  till  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  March  28. 

^  A.  Faye,  Bidrag  til  den  norske  Krigs- Historic  under  Kong  Fredrik  IV,  Sam- 
linger  til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historie,  vol.  III.,  p.  182  ff.  Haakon  H. 
Breien,  Svensketoget  til  Norderhov  i  1716,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  fjerde  rsekke, 
vol.  v.,  p.  454  ff. 


n  KING    CHARLES   XII.    IN    NORWAY  313 

Here  they  were  surprised  by  the  Norwegians  under  Oetken.  Colonel 
L0ven  and  a  large  number  of  his  men  were  taken  i)risoncrs,  and  the 
rest  of  the  force  was  scattered.  A  fairly  well  founde<l  tradition 
relates  how  the  parson's  wife,  the  brave  Anna  ColbJ0rns<latt(T, 
entertained  the  Swedish  officers  while  word  was  sent  to  the  Nor- 
wepans  to  hasten  to  Norderhov.*  Through  thest*  and  similar  mis- 
haps King  Cliarles'  position  soon  became  critical.  General  A^ciuii- 
berg  had  retreated  across  the  border,  his  line  of  communication  had 
been  broken,  and  the  Norwegians  destroyed  roads  and  bridges.  The 
Norwegian  forces  were  constantly  increased,  and  when  the  regiments 
wliicii  had  i)een  sent  to  Germany  returneti,  and  Danish  reenforce- 
ments  had  been  received,  the  commanders  resolved  to  block  King 
Charles'  line  of  retreat,  and  to  isolate  him  in  the  district  between 
Christiania  and  the  Glommen  River.  An  attempt  which  Charles 
made  to  turn  the  flank  of  the  Norwegian  army  faile<i,  and  Moss  was 
taken  by  Vincence  Budde  and  Henrik  J0rgen  Huitfeldt.  Falken- 
berg,  the  Swedish  commander,  was  mortally  wounded,  and  the  garri- 
son of  8()()  men  were  killed,  captured,  (jr  seattertil.  Charles  n(jw 
found  the  situation  so  critical  that  he  suddenly  left  Christiania  in 
the  night  of  April  29,  and  marched  across  the  Glommen  River  to 
Fredrikshald.  The  townspeople  of  that  city  made  a  determined 
resistance  under  the  leadership  of  the  brothers  Peter  and  Hans 
Colbj0rnsen,  half-brothers  of  Anna  Colbj0rnsdatter,  but  King  Charles 
seiz;e<l  the  city,  and  hopwl  to  cai)ture  the  citadel,  the  fortress  of 
Fredrikstcn.-  On  the  night  of  July  3  he  sought  to  take  it  by  storm, 
but  the  citizens  fired  the  town,  so  that  the  enemy  could  find  no 
shelter,  and  the  attack  was  repulsed.  King  Charles  losing  5()0  men 
and  many  of  his  best  officers.^  He  now  decided  to  lay  siege  to  the 
fortress,  as  soon  as  his  fleet  of  transports  should  arrive  with  the 

'  Bernt  Moe,  Aktslykker  til  den  norskc  Krigshistorie  under  Kong  Fredrik 
den  fjerde,  vol.  II.,  p.  3  ff.  A.  P^ayo,  Carl  XII.  i  S'orge.  p.  IM  ff.  O.scar 
Alb.  Johnst'ii,  Nnrgcs  Ilinlorie,  V.,  1,  p.  171.  Haukoii  H.  Bn-ii'ti,  Sicnaketogrl 
(il  iWnrderhof,  Ilistorisk  Tid.sskrift,  fj»'rd(>  nrkko,  vol.  V.,  p.  4.">.'>  fT. 

*V.  ().  Muntho,  Fredrikshald.t  og  Fredrikstcna  Historic  indtil  17S0.  Ofi- 
cielle  Raportcr  og  Meldinger,  Norske  Samlinger,  vol.  I.,  p.  403  ff.  Bornl 
Moo,  Aktstykker  til  den  norskc  Krigshistorie  under  Kong  Fredrik  den  fjerde. 
vol.  II.,  p.  37  fT. 

*  Tho  whole  city  was  burnod.  In  all.  330  houses  wore  destroyed.  Only 
a  few  houses  in  the  southern  part  of  tho  city  remained. 


314  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

necessary  siege  guns  and  war  material,  but  this  hope  was  shattered 
by  the  Norwegian  naval  hero  Peter  Tordenskjold. 

This  remarkable  man,  the  son  of  John  Wessel,  a  sea-captain  and 
later  innkeeper  and  alderman  in  Trondhjem,  was  born  in  1690,  and 
was  at  this  time  about  twenty-six  years  of  age.  In  his  boyhood  he 
was  placed  in  school,  but  he  loved  adventure  and  the  sea  more  than 
books,  and  several  episodes  from  his  school-days  reveal  the  temper 
of  the  future  sea-fighter.  One  day  a  larger  boy  had  given  him  a 
beating,  but  Peter  Wessel  vowed  that  he  would  have  his  revenge. 
The  next  day  he  returned  to  the  combat  with  his  hair  cut  close  and 
his  head  greased,  and  this  time  he  worsted  his  opponent.  When 
Frederick  IV.  visited  Norway  in  1704,  the  restless  youth  found  an 
opportunity  to  follow  his  retinue  to  Denmark,  where  he  hoped  to 
become  a  cadet.  Failing  in  this,  he  hired  out  as  a  sailor,  and  later  as 
mate  on  a  ship  going  to  the  East  Indies.  On  his  return  to  Den- 
mark, the  war  with  Sweden  had  begun,  and  he  became  officer  on  the 
fleet,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant.  A  little  later  he  was  sent  to  Nor- 
way with  dispatches  to  Baron  L0vendal,  who  liked  the  young  oflBcer 
so  well  that  he  made  him  captain  of  a  small  privateer,  an  opportunity 
which  enabled  Wessel  to  develop  his  talents  unhampered  by  superiors. 
He  rendered  such  valuable  service  that  L0vendal  soon  placed  him 
in  command  of  a  new  ship  of  some  size,  "L0vendals  Gallei," 
of  eighteen  guns,  and  on  his  first  cruise  he  captured  a  Swedish  ship 
of  nine  guns,  which  was  also  placed  under  his  command  under  the 
new  name  of  "Norske  Vaaben."  He  was  soon  ordered  to  rejoin 
the  Danish  fleet  under  Admiral  Gyldenl0ve,  and  he  distinguished  him- 
self to  such  a  degree  that  he  won  the  admiral's  lifelong  friendship  and 
the  special  favor  of  the  king.  Again  he  was  allowed  to  return  to 
the  coast  of  Norway  to  fight  the  enemy.  His  remarkable  exploits, 
his  distinguished  service  in  the  regular  fleet,  the  number  of  prizes 
which  he  captured  cannot  be  dwelt  upon  in  detail,  but  the  king  so 
admired  his  rare  talents  that  in  spite  of  powerful  opponents  and 
jealous  rivals  who  sought  to  harm  the  young  officer,  he  raised  him 
to  the  nobility  with  the  name  of  Tordenskjold,  February  24,  1716, 
before  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-six  years.^     In  the  month  of 

1 W.  Carstensen  og  O.  Liitken,  Tordenskjold.  Constantinus  Flood, 
Tordenskjold.  Jacob  B0rresen,  Kontreadmiral  Tordenskjold,  Christiania, 
1901.     W.  Coucheron-Aamot,  Tordenskjold. 


II  KINO   CHARLES   XII.    IN   NORWAY  315 

June  of  that  year  Tordenskjold  submitted  to  the  king  and  the  ud- 
ininilty  a  plan  for  the  defense  of  Fredrikshald,  and  for  an  attack  on 
the  Swedish  coast  squadron,  which  was  brinj^ing  supplies  to  Charh-s 
XII.  The  |)lan  was  acce[)ted,  and  the  kin^  ordered  a  small  squadron 
to  be  place<i  under  TordenskjoM's  command  for  its  execution.  On 
July  2  he  weighed  anciior,  and  sailed  for  the  Swedish  coast  with 
seven  small  vessels,  including;  his  flagship  the  "  Hvide  0rn,"  which  he 
had  captured  from  tlic  Swedes,  and  a  small  frigate.  "  Vindhunden," 
commanded  by  his  chief  companion  in  arms,  Lieutenant-('ai)tain 
(Jrip.  When  he  approached  the  coast  of  Bohuslen,  he  learned  from 
some  fishermen  tJiat  the  whole  Swedish  squadron  of  over  forty  sail 
under  Rear  Admiral  Stromstjerna  lay  anchore<l  in  the  harbor  of 
Dynekilen,  about  twenty  miles  from  Fredrikshald.  This  was  the 
Heet  transporting  siege  guns  and  supplies  to  Charles  XII.,  on  which 
the  outcome  of  the  Swedi.sh  king's  attack  on  Fredrikshald  and 
Fredriksten  at  this  moment  depended.  But  could  Tordenskjold 
with  seven  small  vessels  attack  so  formidable  a  fleet,  anchored  in  a 
harl)or  where  the  narrow  entrance  was  well  defended  both  by  in- 
fantry and  shore  batteries?  It  was  a  daring  adventure  of  the  kind 
which  always  terajited  Tordenskjold.  At  daybreak,  July  8,  he  set 
ail  for  Dynekilen,  and  had  almost  passed  the  narrow  entrance, 
which  is  about  three  miles  long,  before  the  signal  of  his  approach 
reache<l  the  Swedish  licet.  But  before  he  could  enter  the  iimer 
harbor  he  was  met  with  a  brisk  fire  from  the  fleet,  and  also  from  the 
battery  of  si.x  twelve-pound  guns  j)lanted  on  an  island  in  such  a  way 
that  its  fire  could  rake  the  entire  mouth  of  the  harbor.  Tordenskjold 
did  not  return  the  fire  till  he  could  place  his  vessels  as  close  as  po.s- 
sible  to  those  of  the  enemy.  The  real  combat  then  began,  and  tlie 
ships  were  soon  enveloped  in  a  thick  smoke  of  gunpowder  which 
made  all  maneuvers  dilHcult.  After  the  incessant  roar  of  cannons 
had  continued  for  about  three  hours,  the  fire  from  the  Swedish  fleet 
began  to  weaken,  and  when  Captain  TvUider  at  about  one  o'clock 
captured  the  battery  on  the  island.  Tordenskjold  c1us«h1  in  on  the 
enemy,  and  at  three  o'clock  in  tlie  afternoon,  after  a  battle  lasting 
seven  hours,  he  was  master  of  the  harbor.  The  Swedt^  ran  their 
ships  aground  and  fled,  leaving  only  a  few  men  on  each  vessel  to  set 
it  on  fire,  or  to  blow  up  its  powder-magazines.     But  the  situation  was 


316  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

still  critical,  as  Swedish  troops  and  artillery  had  been  stationed  along 
the  narrow  entrance  channel,  which  is  only  160  to  180  paces  wide. 
Also  the  capture  of  the  ships,  even  after  they  had  been  abandoned, 
could  be  accomplished  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  as  most  of 
them  had  been  mined  or  set  on  fire.  But  the  work  was  undertaken 
by  Tordenskjold's  men  with  the  most  resolute  daring.  Nine  war 
vessels  and  five  transports  with  ammunition  and  supplies  were  towed 
out  of  the  harbor;  the  others  had  been  sunk,  beached,  or  crippled.^ 
The  proud  squadron  had  been  destroyed,  and  with  it  disappeared 
King  Charles'  hope  of  taking  Fredrikshald.  Upon  receiving  the  dis- 
couraging news  he  withdrew  from  Norway.  His  campaign  had 
failed,  not  because  of  any  great  ability  shown  by  General  Lutzow 
and  Slotsloven,  who  had  distinguished  themselves  chiefly  by  their 
inactivity,  but  because  a  nation  had  risen  against  him  to  fight  for 
their  country  and  their  homes. 

39.   King  Charles  XII. 's  Second  Invasion  of  Norway 

The  unsuccessful  Norwegian  campaign  and  the  losses  it  entailed 
would  in  themselves  have  been  suflScient  at  this  moment  to  create  a 
critical  situation  in  Sweden,  but  new  dangers  now  threatened  to 
overwhelm  the  kingdom  with  general  ruin.  Before  King  Charles 
retreated  from  Norway,  he  had  received  the  news  that  Wismar,  his 
last  German  possession,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 
Finland  and  the  Swedish  Baltic  provinces  were  in  the  hands  of  Czar 
Peter  the  Great,  and  both  Russia  and  Denmark  were  ready  to  invade 
Sweden  with  large  armies.  Charles'  available  forces  did  not  exceed 
20,000  men,  of  whom  many  had  endured  the  greatest  privations,  and 
his  country  seemed  to  have  exhausted  its  last  strength  in  a  hopeless 
and  uneven  struggle.  But  neither  dangers  nor  misfortunes  could 
make  the  king  yield  to  peace  proposals.  His  mind  was  of  that 
strange  kind  which  under  the  pressure  of  ill  fortune  becomes  more 
rigidly  fixed  in  its  resolves  even  to  a  point  of  eccentricity.     Victory, 

^  Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  V.,  1,  p.  175,  and  O.  A.  0ver- 
land,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  251,  state  that  nine  war  vessels  and  five 
transports  were  taken.  The  statement  made  by  W.  Coueheron-Aamot, 
Tordenskjold,  p.  15  ff.,  and  A.  Faye,  CaH  XII.  i  Norge,  p.  7,  that  eleven 
war  vessels  were  captured,  seems  to  be  incorrect.  See  also  W.  Carstensen 
og  O.  Lutken,  Tordenskjold,  1902. 


II  KING    CHARLES    XII. 's   SECOND   INVASION    OF   NOKWAY  'M7 

which  in  his  early  career  luul  accompaniwl  him  on  many  a  battle- 
field, coiitiiHU'd  in  his  hours  of  adversity  to  l)Uoy  hirn  up  as  a  liope, 
but  it  had  long  since  changed  into  a  mad  delusion  which  goaded  him 
onward  to  his  tragic  end.  With  incredible  energy,  which  was  only 
equalal  by  the  harshness  of  his  methods,  he  succeeded  in  a  short 
time  in  raising  an  army  of  G(l,00fl  men,  of  which  4S,0(K)  should  be 
used  in  an  attack  on  Norway.  In  order  to  secure  well -protected 
depots  for  sui)plies,  he  fortifieil  Striimstad,  which  together  with 
Marstrand  and  Gottenborg  would  constitute  a  line  of  connnunica- 
tions  easily  defended.  Neither  the  Danish  government  nor  the  higher 
military  autiiorities  in  Norway  understood  the  significance  of  this 
step,  but  the  alert  Peter  Tordcnskjold  saw  it,  and  tried  to  frustrate 
the  i)lan.  On  May  14,  1717,  he  made  an  attack  on  Gottenborg,  and 
July  19  on  Stromstad,  but  at  both  places  he  was  repulsed,  though  the 
attacks  had  been  well  planned. 

Tlie  situation  now  seemed  more  hopeful  for  Charles  XII.  As  Czar 
Peter  had  ceased  to  cooperate  with  Frederick  IV.,  there  was  no 
immediate  danger  of  an  attack  from  Russia ;  he  could  turn  his  whole 
army  against  Denmark-Norway,  and  a  second  invasion  of  Norway 
was  begun  in  the  fall  of  1718.  An  army  under  GeiuTal  Armfelt  was 
sent  into  Tr0ndelagen  with  instructions  to  seize  Trondhjem,  and  the 
main  army  of  invasion  under  the  king's  own  command  advanced 
a  little  later  towards  Fredrikshald.'  The  city  was  investtnl,  fort 
(iyldenlove  fell  December  (itli  after  a  bloody  struggle,  and  trenches 
were  dug  towards  the  main  fortress.  But  on  December  11th.  while 
watching  the  ])rogress  of  this  work,  the  king  was  hit  by  a  l)ullet  from 
the  fortress  and  instantly  killed.^ 

'  Tho  sizo  of  those  armies  has  boon  variously  estimated.  O.  A.  Overland 
in  a  trontise,  Armfddtn  Tog  nnrdvnfjdds  17 IS,  Ilistorisk  Tidsxkrift,  anden 
nckko,  vol.  II..  p.  193  fT.,  shows  that  Armfelt's  foroes,  a<'eordinK  to  the  >^>n- 
eral's  own  statement,  numhored  14,.'>40  men.  S<mi  also  Danmarkx  liigrs 
Historic,  vol.  V.,  p.  77.  and  II.  O.  IIoRKtveit.  Trondhjem  i  Forlid  og  S'utid, 
p.  23,3.  Sverigcs  Historin,  edited  by  Ilildehrand,  vol.  III.-2.  p.  'Mt'y.  and 
Oscar  Alb.  Johnsen.  Norges  llistorie,  V..  1.  p.  177.  atak<  that  Armfelt's 
army  numbered  7.'500  men.  Danmarks  Riges  Historic  says  that  .Vrmfolt 
should  march  into  northern  Norway  with  about  14.000  men.  and  Charles 
would  soon  advance  with  iJO.OOO  men  into  .southern  Norway.  See  also  A. 
Faye,  Carl  XII.  i  S'orge,  p.  120.  footnote. 

*  The  story,  which  waspiven  .•<oino  credence  by  older  hi-storians,  th.it  Charles 


318  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

The  grief  which  filled  the  hearts  of  his  brave  soldiers  and  com- 
panions when  the  news  of  his  tragic  death  passed  from  mouth  to 
mouth  was  accompanied  by  a  sigh  of  relief  and  a  feeling  of  satis- 
faction that  the  fearful  drama  of  war,  perchance,  was  over,  and  that 
thoughts  of  home  and  peace  might  again  be  entertained.  The  words 
attributed  to  the  Frenchman  Megret,  who  was  with  the  king  when 
he  fell,  seem  expressive  of  a  general  sentiment :  "  La  'piece  est  finie, 
alloiis  sou-per!"  The  body  was  brought  back  to  Stockholm,  and 
buried  in  the  Riddarholm  church.  In  1860  a  fine  monument  was 
erected  by  the  Swedish  army  at  the  place  where  he  fell. 

In  northern  Norway  General  Armfelt  had  advanced  against 
Trondhjem,  which  was  held  by  Vincence  Budde,  who  commanded 
an  army  of  6900  men.  His  march  had  been  slow,  as  he  had  been 
opposed  at  every  turn  by  the  people,  as  well  as  by  the  Norwegian 
military  forces.  Provisions  could  be  secured  only  with  great  diflS- 
culty,  the  Swedish  soldiers  were  dissatisfied  to  a  point  of  mutiny,  and 
the  long  northern  winter  was  at  hand.  He  reached  Trondhjem 
and  laid  siege  to  the  city,  but  sickness  decimated  his  ranks,  and 
reduced  the  efficiency  of  his  forces  to  such  a  degree  that  instead  of 
risking  an  attack  on  the  fortifications  he  felt  compelled  to  withdraw 
into  Vserdalen,  where  he  could  await  reenforcements  and  supplies. 
King  Charles  gave  the  brave  general  a  sharp  reprimand,  and  ordered 
him  to  take  the  city  immediately,  but  when  he  again  advanced,  the 
garrison  had  been  reenforced,  and  four  warships  had  anchored  in 
the  harbor.^    Armfelt  isolated  Trondhjem  by  cutting  off  all  com- 

XII.  was  slain  by  an  assassin,  is  now  considered  to  be  wholly  unfounded. 
Henrik  Wergeland,  Nolitser  om  Carl  den  tolvtes  Felitog  i  Norge  1716-1718 
fra  E.  M.  Fant,  Samlinger  til  del  norske  Folks  Sprog  og  Historie,  vol.  III., 
p.  193  flf.  Bernt  Moe,  Aklstykker  til  den  norske  Krigshistorie  under  Fredrik 
den  fjerde,  p.  248  ff.  C.  O.  Munthe,  Fredrikshalds  og  Fredrikstens  Historie 
indtil  1720,  p.  096  ff.  P.  A.  Munch,  Den  sidste  Unders^gelse  af  Kong  Carl 
XII.'s  Lig  tilligemed  Bcmerkningcr  om  hans  D^dsmaade,  For  Hjemmet,  vol.  II., 
p.  385.  Illustrcret  Nyhedsblad,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  161.  Langes  Tidsskrift,  vol.  IV., 
p.  317.  Paludan-Muller,  Nyt  historisk  Tidsskrift,  I.  S.  A.  S0rensen,  Karl 
XII.'s  Fold  ved  Fredrikslen,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  fjerde  rsekke,  vol.  II.,  p.  158 
ff.     Norske  Samlinger,  vol.  II.,  p.  560  ff. 

^  O.  A.  0verland,  Armfelts  Tog  nordenfjelds  1718,  Historisk  Tidsskrift, 
anden  rsekke,  vol.  II.,  p.  193  ff.  Ynj^var  Nielsen,  De  gamle  Kampe  om 
Trondhjem,  Trondhjem  i  Fortid  og  Nutid,  edited  by  H.  G.  Heggtveit.  Norske 
Samlinger,  vol.  II.,  p.  517  ff. 


II  KI.N<;    CIIAULKS    XII.  *S   HKCOND    IWAHKJN    OF    NORWAY  319 

miinicntions  with  the  inland  (iistrir-ts,  hut  supplies  cfmM  reach  the 
city  fnmi  the  sea,  and  (u-ncral  liudde  sent  out  lij^dit  dftaclunents 
which  a)ri.stantly  harassed  tlie  cncniy.  The  final  assault  had  to  he 
postponed  from  time  to  tiin<-,  and  sickness  re<lu(ed  Annfelt's  avail- 
able forces  to  4()()()  men,  who  were  (•om|)elled  to  camp  in  the  open,  in 
want  of  clothes,  food,  and  proper  shelter.  The  besieged  city  also 
suffered  severely,  and  of  the  j^arrison  alone  15(K)  are  said  to  have 
died.  When  Arm  felt  received  the  news  of  the  death  of  Charles  XII. 
during  the  last  days  of  December,  he  immediately  began  his  retreat 
across  the  mountains  to  Sweden;  but  severe  stonns  and  r-old  weather 
made  his  passage  across  the  pathless  mountains  in  the  middle  of  the 
winter  resemble  Xajjoleon's  retreat  from  Moscow.  His  sick  and 
hungry  soldiers  dropjied  from  cold  and  exhaustion,  and  a  large  part 
of  his  force  perished  on  the  way.'  Emahusen,  who  led  a  detachment 
of  Norwegian  ski-runners  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  says:  "  I  am  im- 
able  to  describe  the  destruction  of  tJie  Swedish  army  as  I  saw  it. 
On  the  whole  mountain  no  wood  was  to  be  found,  and  wlien  the  Inst 
companies  arrived  there,  a  storm  began  which  lasted  three  days.  It 
was  a  sad  and  fearful  'sight  I  The  soldiers  lay  dead  in  groups  of 
thirty,  forty,  fifty,  or  more,  in  full  uniform,  with  their  knapsacks 
on  their  backs,  .some  with  tlieir  guns  in  their  hands;  others  lay 
dead  by  the  wa\si(lc  with  food  in  their  hands  and  even  in  the 
mouth  ;  the  cavalr>  -men  stood  on  their  heftds  in  the  snowflrifts, 
as  tiicy  iiad  iieen  thrown  from  their  horses.  Some  had  broken  the 
Stocks  of  their  muskets  to  1  uiid  a  fire,  — no,  I  cannot  describe  it  ! 
The  farther  we  came  up  the  mountains,  the  more  dead  men  and 
horses  we  saw.     Only   a   few   cither  of  the  ca^'al^\'  i^r  the  infantry' 

'  The  uumbor  of  thoso  who  |)t'risht«J  on  tho  homownnl  inarch  has  Inxm 
variou.sly  eslinuitcd  and  often  jrrossly  «>xjmncrutt'(l.  Vii^jvar  Xit'ls»>n  .-^ays : 
"The  prohahility  is  that  tho  statcnu^nt  is  correct  whicli  ijivcs  thi-  followitijj 
flguros :  GOO  dead,  2(X)  injured  hy  eohl.  300  sick,  h<>si«lrs  the  driver*  of  the 
hoggage  wagons.  It  lias  been  .said  that  400(1,  and  oven  70(K)  |>erishod  on  the 
mountains."  [)<  gnmU-  Ktnnpc  om  Tmnilhjttn,  Tmndhjem  i  Fortid  og  Suiid, 
by  Hogptv(>it,  p.  230.  Professor  Oscar  Alb.  .Iohns«'n  thinks  tluit  probably 
2500  men  peri-^hed.  Mort/t's  Hi-ilnrir,  vol.  V.,  1,  p.  1M2.  Srrritjrs  Iliftnrin, 
edited  by  llildebrand,  says:  "More  than  22t)0  men.  almost  a  third  of  the 
whol»<  force,  frozo  to  death.  Horses,  artillery,  and  baggage  werw  totally 
destroyed.  Only  remnants  of  the  army,  partly  unfit  for  further  military 
aervico  becau.so  of  frozen  limbs,  returned  to  Swedish  .soil." 


320  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

could  have  gotten  across  the  mountains,  and  those  who  did  must 
be  hurt,  of  what  rank  soever  they  may  be,  for  the  weather  and 
the  cold  were  too  penetrating."  ^ 

With  the  retreat  of  the  Swedish  armies  from  Norway,  military 
operations  ceased  for  a  time,  as  neither  Norway  nor  Denmark  were 
prepared  to  follow  up  the  discomfiture  of  the  enemy  with  an  aggres- 
sive movement. 

In  Sweden  the  fall  of  Charles  XII.  led  to  important  changes. 
That  Sweden's  dream  of  empire  had  vanished  had  to  be  admitted, 
and  the  sentiment  of  the  whole  nation  was  united  in  a  desire  to 
obtain  peace  on  any  acceptable  terms  whatsoever.  The  absolute 
power  of  the  sovereign  was  abolished,  and  King  Charles'  younger 
sister,  Ulrika  Eleonora,  was  placed  on  the  throne  with  very  limited 
power;  not  through  the  recognized  right  of  inheritance,  but  by 
election,  the  guidance  of  state  affairs  being  intrusted  chiefly  to  the 
Rigsdag,  or  Estates  of  the  realm,  in  which  the  nobility  exercised  marked 
preponderance.  The  allies  which  had  hitherto  fought  against  Sweden 
were  no  longer  on  friendly  terms.  England's  jealousy  of  Russia's 
growing  power  had  developed  into  open  hostility,  a  circumstance 
which  enabled  Sweden  to  conclude  peace  with  England  by  ceding 
Bremen  and  Verden,  November  20,  1719.  Peace  was  also  made  with 
Prussia,  which  received  the  larger  part  of  Swedish  Pomerania,  Usedom, 
Wollin,  Damm,  and  GoUnow,  by  paying  Sweden  two  million  crowns. 
But  no  such  concessions  were  offered  King  Frederick  IV.  of  Den- 
mark-Norway, who  was  instead  asked  to  make  concessions  to  Sweden, 
a  rather  strange  demand  under  the  circumstances.  The  war  was 
continued,  and  Frederick  now  planned  a  new  invasion  of  Sweden 
to  be  undertaken  from  Norway,  where  he  collected  an  army  of  34,000 
men.  In  June  he  came  to  Norway  accompanied  by  the  crown 
prince,  and  in  July,  1719,  he  led  his  army  into  Bohuslen.  WTien  the 
king  had  established  his  headquarters  at  Stromstad,  Tordenskjold 
succeeded,  through  a  brilliantly  executed  attack,  in  capturing  Mar- 
strand  with  its  citadel  Carlsten.  Securing  entrance  to  the  fortress 
disguised  as  a  vender  of  fish,  he  found  opportunity  to  examine  the 
fortifications,  and  to  determine  the  strength  of  the  garrison.  The 
attack  was  as  skillfully  carried  out  as  it  was  daringly  planned.  On 
1  Heggtveit,  Trondhjem  i  Fortid  og  Nutid,  p.  241. 


II 


KI.\(;    CHAULKS    XII,  S    SKCOND    invasion    of   NORWAY 


:J21 


June  2:}  lie  scizi'<l  tlir  fi\('  l);itt«ri(s  (Icfcndiiif;  tlic  liarhor,  captured 
the  city,  and  destroyed  the  Swedish  .s(|uadr»)ri  of  warships  statioiie<l 
under  its  ^uiis.  l-oiir  warships  and  one  inerdjant  vessel  were 
taken,  and  tlie  reinaininj;  vessels  were  sunk  in  the  harl)()r.  The 
eitach'l  of  Caristen  could  not  he  taken  hy  assault,  l)ut  hy  a  ruse 
Tordenskjold  pn-xaijcd  on  the  conunaiidaiit  to  surrender  tiiestronj^- 
hold.  Kin^  Frederick  was  so  j)leasc(i  that  he  made  Tordenskjold 
vice-admiral. 

Tlie  caj)ture  of  Marstrand  was  the  only  important  event  of  the 
campaign.  Frederick  l\'.  had  iHcomc  politically  isolated  throiiKli 
the  hreakinj;  uj)  of  the  coali- 
tion aj^ainst  Sweden,  hut  as 
Enj,dand  exerted  her  influ- 
ence to  hrinj;  ahont  peace, 
both  powers  finally  yielded 
to  her  solicitations,  and  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  signed 
at  Fredrikshorg,  July  3, 
1720.  Sweden  was  to  pay 
GOO.OOO  riksdaler,  and  Den- 
mark-Xorway  was  to  evac- 
uate the  Swedish  possessions 
Riijjen,  Fomerania,  Wismar, 
and  Marstrand.  IVederiek 
IV.  retained  the  j)ossessions 
of  the  Duke  of  (iottorp  in 
Schleswig,  and  united  these 
with  the  duchy,  and  Sweden 
promised  never  aj^ain  to  aid  the  duke  against  Heiunark.  The 
peace  treaty  with  Knssia  was  signed  at  Nystad,  1721.  Russia 
received  Ingermanland,  Esthonia,  Livonia,  Osel.  and  soJithea.steru 
Karelen,  with  \'il)org  Icn  in  Finland.  Sweden  had  lost  her  position 
as  a  great  })ower;  her  warrior  king,  who  made  her  final  struggle  for 
supremacy  so  dramatic,  had  met  his  death  in  a  foreign  coinitry  in 
the  darkest  hour  of  national  misfortune.  But  Peter  Tordenskjold, 
his  great  antagonist,  was  also  snatche»l  awa\'  in  the  noonday  of  life, 
in  the  height  of  his  glory.     At  the  age  of  thirty  he  fell  in  a  duel  in 

VOL.  n  —  Y 


IVtcr  Turdcii.-kjwM 


322  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

Hamburg,  four  months  after  peace  had  been  concluded  at  Fredriks- 
borg.^ 

Throughout  the  war  the  Norwegians  had  distinguished  themselves 
both  on  sea  and  land.  The  attack  on  their  country  had  been  repulsed 
at  every  point,  and  not  a  foot  of  territory  had  been  lost;  but  eco- 
nomically the  kingdom  had  suffered  a  noticeable  decline.  The  great 
military  burdens,  together  with  heavy  taxes,  exhausted  the  energy 
as  well  as  the  means  which  should  have  been  employed  in  industry 
and  trade.  The  flourishing  export  trade  which  had  been  developed 
before  the  war,  though  not  destroyed,  was  greatly  reduced,  and  all 
business  was  crippled,  as  all  available  means  were  employed  for 
military  purposes.  The  city  of  Fredrikshald  had  been  burned ; 
Tr0ndelagen  and  the  districts  of  southeastern  Norway,  the  most 
productive  sections  of  the  country,  had  been  harried  by  hostile  armies 
until  the  people  were  reduced  to  beggary.  Still,  these  hardships 
were  borne  with  patience  and  fortitude,  as  the  war  had  developed 
into  a  national  struggle.  The  invasion  of  the  country  by  large  armies 
made  a  deep  impression,  and  an  intense  patriotism  was  engendered, 
as  the  people  felt  the  war  to  be  their  own  cause.  For  the  first  time 
in  centuries  the  nation  had  been  stirred  to  heroic  eflForts,  and  great 
leaders  showed  the  way  to  victory  and  national  honor.  Norway  had 
received  a  new  national  hero,  Tordenskjold,  who,  like  another  Olav 
Tryggvason,  came  from  the  unknown,  dazzled  with  his  brilliant 
achievements,  and  died  young.  Deeds  of  valor,  and  heroic  sacrifices 
like  the  burning  of  Fredrikshald,  which  made  those  days  memorable, 
have  continued  to  live  in  song  and  story  till  the  present.  If  Norway 
lost  in  national  well-being,  she  gained  in  national  regeneration. 
Time  and  again  the  Norwegians  had  been  compelled  to  fight  battles, 
and  to  suffer  losses  for  the  sole  interest  of  their  partner  in  the 
union,  but  the  Great  Northern  War  taught  them  the  lesson  of 
patriotism,  which  became  the  starting-point  of  a  new  national 
development. 

1  Kong  Carl  og  han,  de  skulde  f0lges  sammen 
i  livets  tvedragt  og  i  d0dens  fred, 
i  daadens  glans  og  rygtets  evighed  ; 
thi  de  var  tvilling-skud  af  asastammen. 

(C,  Ploug.) 


II  Tin:    CLOSING    TKARS    OF   THE    REIOX    OF    FREDKUKK    IV.       323 

40.    Tin:  Clusixc;  Yh.\us  of  the  Rekin  of  Fuedeuick   I\'. 
Social  a.vd  Economic  Condition's 

The  Great  NDrtheru  War  closed  an  e{X)eh  in  the  history  of  the 
Scandinavian  kingdoms.  Sweden  had  succeeded  Denmark  as  the 
h-adinp  power  in  the  North,  hut  lier  pre[)ondiTance.  which  had  hi>ted 
since  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  was  now  destroyed,  and  an  equihhriurn 
had  been  estabhshcd  which  would  he  the  best  guarantee  for  the 
maintenance  of  i)eace.  Both  Sweden  and  Denmark  had  been  reduced 
to  their  natural  boundaries,  and  their  old  rivalry  for  supremacy 
Would  have  to  be  al)andoned.  Russia  had  become  a  powerful  and 
dangerous  neiglibor  to  tlie  east,  and  as  conditions  had  so  changed 
that  they  could  no  longer  hope  to  play  a  |)rorainent  part  in  Kiiropean 
affairs,  an  oi)portunity  would  be  given  for  the  development  of  the 
|)ursuits  of  peace.  When  the  dream  of  empire  had  vanishetl.  and  the 
paths  to  martial  glory  had  been  closed,  the  people's  energy  and 
talents  could  be  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  economic  anrl  social 
conditions,  and  the  creation  of  the  high  intellectual  culture,  wliieh 
was  destined  to  shed  a  more  benign  luster  upon  the  three  sister 
kingdoms. 

I'Vederick  I\'.  was  in  no  respect  a  great  ruler.  He  was  very  sus- 
l)i(ious,  and  entertained  an  almost  suj)erstitious  fear  of  the  nobility, 
but  he  lacked  the  ability  to  free  himself  from  the  influence  (tf  in- 
triguing officials  and  court  favorites.  The  Norwegian  b6nder,  h(»w- 
ever.  enjoyed  the  king's  special  good-will.  They  had  won  his  heart 
by  their  bravery  and  fidelity  in  the  war  with  Swe<len.  and  he  was 
always  inclined  to  favor  them,  and  to  take  their  part  against  the 
grasping  and  unjust  officials. 

After  the  war  with  Sweden  some  changes  were  made  in  the  Nor- 
wegian administration.  "Slotsloven  paa  .\kershus,"  which  had 
proven  inefficient,  was  abolished,  and  Ditlev  Vibe  was  appointe<i  to 
succeed  Baron  Krag  as  statholdcr.  Vibe  was  a  man  of  ability  and 
fine  cliaracter,  but  as  he  was  inclined  to  favor  the  common  people 
when  he  found  that  they  suffered  injustice,  he  was  opposed  by  the 
corrupt  bureaucracy,  and  es])ecially  by  the  rather  un^cru[)ulous 
Bishop  Deiehmann  of  Christiania.  The  bishop  succee<h'd  for  a  while 
in  ingratiating  himself  with  the  king  by  arousing  his  suspicion  agaiiLst 


324  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Vibe,  iuid  a  commission  was  appointed  to  examine  conditions  among 
the  royal  oflBcials  in  Norway.  Vibe  was  shown  to  be  wholly  inno- 
cent, but  corruption  was  revealed  on  every  hand.  Malversation 
and  the  taking  of  bribes  had  become  a  common  practice  among  the 
under-paid  royal  officials,  who  could  urge  in  their  defense  that  their 
salaries  were  too  small  to  afford  them  an  honest  living.  Among 
those  who  were  guilty  of  these  corrupt  practices  was  Bishop  Deich- 
mann  himself,  who  seldom  refused  a  bribe.  The  king  sought  to 
remedy  these  defects  by  increasing  the  salaries  of  many  officials, 
and  by  restricting  the  sale  of  public  offices  which  had  hitherto  been 
so  common. 

The  king  had  placed  Deichmann  at  the  head  of  a  commission  to 
prepare  a  new  tax  register  for  Norway,  a  work  which  involved  the 
listing  and  valuation  of  all  real  estate  in  the  kingdom.  It  was  an 
important  undertaking,  but  as  it  was  done  with  little  care,  the  work 
when  completed  suffered  from  many  serious  defects,  and  it  was  not 
accepted.  It  is,  nevertheless,  important  as  a  document  throwing 
light  on  the  conditions  of  agriculture  in  Norway  at  the  time. 

During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  reign  King  Frederick  devoted 
special  attention  to  the  revenues  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  paying  of 
the  national  debt,  which  had  been  increasing  during  the  long  war. 
The  war  indemnity  of  600,000  riksdaler  paid  by  Sweden,  and  the 
acquisition  of  the  Gottorp  provinces  in  Schleswig,  had  been  a  wel- 
come aid,  but  as  the  king  succeeded  in  reducing  the  debt  by  several 
million  riksdaler,  besides  maintaining  a  large  standing  army,  he 
found  that  the  revenues  were  too  small  in  spite  of  the  very  heavy 
taxes,  and  the  sale  of  property  belonging  to  the  crown  was  again 
resorted  to.  In  Norway  the  remaining  crown-lands  were  sold  in 
smaller  parcels,  and  as  the  purchasers  usually  were  the  renters  and 
tillers  of  the  lands,  the  class  of  freeholding  binder  was  increased  by 
these  sales.  The  king's  chief  care,  however,  was  to  replenish  his 
treasury ;  the  care  for  the  well-being  of  the  individual  citizen  seemed 
to  be  purely  accidental.  Not  only  were  the  crown-lands  sold,  but 
also  the  church-lands  and  the  churches  themselves.  With  the  intro- 
duction qf  the  Reformation  the  state  assumed  control  of  all  church 
property,  the  idea  being  that  the  state  should  administer  it  for  the 
benefit  of  the  church.     But  the  kings  soon  swept  the  incomes  from 


M  SOCIAL    AM)    KCONOMIC    CONDITIONS  32') 

llu'  cliiirch-lands  into  tluir  own  (ollVrs.  Tlu-  ah.sohitc  kin^s  rcKJinlrd 
tlicinscKt'S  cvi'n  as  the  ownrrs  <tf  the  churches,  and  when  the  sale  of 
(•niwii-lands  was  resumed,  I'rrdcrick  I\'.  M)Id  the  churches  with  tluir 
lands  and  revenues  to  the  lii^liest  biflder.  In  all,  (>2()  churches  wjtc 
sold,  some  to  the  conj^rej^ations,  hut  the  greater  nunil»er  were  bought 
1)V  private  individuals  who  wished  to  get  possession  of  the  lands  and 
incomes  belonging  to  the  churches.  The  understanding  was  that 
the  |)urchasers  should  spend  a  part  of  the  revemie  in  keei)ing  the 
churches  in  repair,  but  as  the  kings  themselves  had  been  remiss  in 
the  performance  of  this  dut.\',  it  could  scarcely  be  expectni  that  tin* 
individual  purchaser  should  be  more  conscientious,  and  the  churches 
were  most  deplorably  neglected.  .\  great  change  was,  nevertheless, 
taking  place  in  religious  life  and  thought.  I'ietism.  which  had  been 
developed  in  Germany  by  ])ious  and  able  men  like  Johan  Arnd  and 
Christian  ScTi\'er,  was  finally  promulgated  as  a  regenerated  system 
of  Christian  faith  by  Philip  Jacob  Sjumut  and  August  Hermann 
Francke.  It  demanded  that  Christianity  should  not  consist  onl>  in 
orthodox  Christian  faith,  but  that  faith  shoidd  express  itself  as  a 
living  force  in  himian  life  and  conduct,  a  truth  which,  together  with 
the  strong  ajjpcals  to  the  heart  and  the  feelings,  and  the  often  undue 
emphasis  laid  on  the  sentimental  side  of  religious  life,  made  I'icti-m 
appear  as  a  violent  reaction  against  the  dead  fornudism  of  ortho- 
doxy. The  time  for  such  a  reaction  had  come,  and  Pietism  swept 
through  the  North  as  a  spiritual  tidal  wave  which  culminatetl  in 
the  reign  of  King  Fretlerick's  successor,  Christian  \'l.  The  first 
important  manifestations  of  the  change  are  noticeable  in  King 
Frederick's  reign  in  a  tendency  among  many  of  the  ablot  men  to 
emi)hasize  especially  the  ethical  side  of  Christianity.  F\eii  the  king 
himself  inclined  towards  Fictistn  during  his  later  years,  though  his 
lax  morals  conformed  little  to  the  cardinal  i)rinciples  of  the  new 
teaching.  Pietism  awakened  a  new  religious  life,  which  stMMi  mani- 
fi'steil  itself  in  a  very  earnest  and  successful  inissioimry  activity. 
The  two  gri-at  missionaries  whose  work  was  of  sj)ecial  im|)ortance 
w<>re  Hans  Ivgede,  who  c-arried  ChristianitN'  to  thi'  I']skimos  in  (treen- 
land,  and  Thomas  v.  Westen.  who  began  niis>i(inar>'  work  among 
the  Fimis  in  northern  Norway. 

Ejiede   was  born   on   the   I^ifotcn    Islands   in    northern    Xorwav, 


320  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

January  31,  168G.  He  became  a  clergyman  in  these  islands,  but  very 
early  he  became  enthusiastically  interested  in  a  plan  to  reestablish 
commercial  relations  with  Greenland,  and  to  become  a  missionary 
in  the  old  Norse  colonies,  which  he  thought  still  existed  there.  In 
1721  he  finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  people  in  Bergen  the 
necessary  aid  to  fit  out  an  expedition.  On  May  3d  he  set  sail  for 
Greenland,  and  landed  two  months  later  on  the  island  of  Imeriksok, 
where  he  founded  the  colony  of  Godthaab.  The  Council  of  Missions 
had  appointed  him  a  missionary,  and  the  Greenland  Company  of 
Bergen  had  made  him  manager  of  the  commerce  with  Greenland, 
but  neither  the  government  nor  any  one  else  understood  the  impor- 
tance of  his  undertaking,  and  he  received  but  little  assistance.  Aided 
by  his  faithful  wife,  Gertrude  Rask,  Egede  labored  for  fifteen  years 
among  the  Eskimos  under  the  greatest  privations  and  difiiculties. 
His  own  words  may  be  placed  as  a  motto  over  the  self-sacrificing 
life-work  of  this  devoted  couple.  "God's  honor  alone,  and  the  en- 
lighteimaent  of  the  ignorant  people  has  been,  is,  and  shall  ever  be 
my  sole  aim,  yes,  my  heart's  constant  desire  until  my  death."  His 
hope  of  finding  the  old  Norse  colonists  was  not  realized.  He  dis- 
covered the  ruins  of  their  homes  and  churches,  but  not  a  white  man 
was  found  in  the  island.  But  his  work  was  crowned  with  success 
both  religiously  and  commercially,  and  led  to  the  recolonization  of 
Greenland.  The  Greenland  Company  was  dissolved  in  1727,  but 
the  king  had  become  interested  in  the  undertaking,  and  sent  other 
missionaries  to  Greenland  to  assist  Egede.  When  his  wife  died  in 
1735,  Egede  left  his  son  Paul  Egede  in  charge  of  the  mission  and 
returned  to  Denmark,  He  was  created  bishop  and  devoted  his 
remaining  years  to  the  writing  of  several  works  about  Greenland.^ 

Hans  Egede  was  an  adherent  of  orthodoxy,  but  his  contemporary, 
Thomas  v.  Westen,  born  in  Trondhjem  in  1682,  was  strongly  in- 
fluenced by  Pietism.  In  1709  Westen  was  appointed  rector  of 
Veey  church  in  Romsdal,  and  found  opportunity  to  cooperate  with 

1  Hans  Egede,  Del  gamle  Gr^nlands  nye  Perlustration  eller  Naturhislorie, 
Copeahagen,  1741.  Omstcendelig  Relation  angaaende  den  gr^nlandske  Mis- 
sions Begyndelse  og  Fortsceltelse,  Copenhagen,  1738.  Kort  Beretning  om  den 
gr^nlandske  Missions  Beskaffenhed,  Copenhagen,  1737.  Eilert  Sundt, 
Egedes  Dagbog  i  Udtog,  Christiania,  ISGO.  Hans  Fenger,  Hans  Egede  og 
den    gr^nlandske    Missions    Historic    1712-1760.^     Gustav    Nieritz,     Hans 


II  SOCIAL   AND   ECONOMIC   CONDITIONS  327 

several  other  l*ietist  ministers  of  that  district.  This  little  fraternity, 
known  as  "  Syvstjernen, "  constituted  a  sort  of  collegium  pietatis. 
They  met  to  discuss  ways  and  means  for  improving  the  pecjple's 
moral  and  relij^ious  life,  they  distributed  hynml)()oks  and  collections 
of  sermons  amonj;  their  parishioners,  and  urj^ed  the  government  to 
M'll  Bibles  and  catechisms  so  cheap  that  the  people  could  afford  to 
buy  them,  an  appeal  wiiich  led  to  the  re<luetion  of  the  j^rice  of  Bibles 
from  ten  to  one  riksdaler.  They  pictured  the  ignorance  and  moral 
depravity  of  the  people  in  the  very  darkest  colors,  and  urged  that 
.-(•hoolmastcrs  should  be  ein])l()ye(l,  at  least  one  in  each  j)arish. 
Thomas  v.  Westen  writes  as  follows:  "The  common  i)eople  are  for 
the  most  part  so  little  versed  in  Christian  knowledge  that  they  do 
not  even  know  who  Christ  is.  Many  do  not  believe  in  tlie  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  or  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  while  others, 
who  are  educated,  are  usually  given  to  pride,  drunkenness,  covetous- 
ness,  hardness  of  heart,  disregard  of  God's  word,  cursing,  and  break- 
ing of  the  Sabbath.  .  .  .  All  this  is  the  kingdom  of  the  devil; 
therefore  we  demand,  and  Christ  througii  us,  that,  for  the  sake  of  the 
first  named,  catechizing  and  schools  be  everywhere  instituted,  and 
that,  for  the  sake  of  the  others,  church  discipline  be  revived  in  its  okl 
apostolic  vigor ;  that,  ft)r  the  sake  of  both,  priests  be  appointed  who 
are  filled  with  the  si)irit  of  God,  and  can  set  their  flock  a  good  ex- 
ample." '  The  demand  raised  by  the  Pietists  for  better  i)opuIar 
education  bore  no  immediate  fruit,  but  their  suggestion  and  agita- 
tion brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  government  in  such 
a  way  that  steps  were  soon  taken  to  imj)rove  conditions. 

In  171G  Thomas  v.  Westen  began  his  missionary  work  among  the 
Finns  (Lapps).  From  171G  till  1722  he  made  three  trijjs  to  Fin- 
marken  to  l)riiig  the  gospel  to  these  nonuids.  The  ellorts  which  hat! 
hitherto  been  made  to  Christianize  them  had  been  of  small  imijortance, 
and  they  were  yet  almost  wholly  heathen.     Thomas  v.  Westen  urged 

Bgede,  Missionnnj  to  Greenland,  translated  from  tho  Oorman  by  Rev.  Win.  II. 
Ootwald.  Philaflolpliift,  IS?!?.  Daniel  Briiun,  Drt  h<He  Word,  p.  1K.S  ff.  FA- 
yard  Holm,  Duninurk-.Worgcs  HUiorie  fra  den  mlnrc  niyrdiskr  Krign  Slutning 
til  Rigcnus  Adakilhlsr,  vol.  I.,  j).  'Ahi  IT.  Dc  norskv  Findlappers  Beskrirclse, 
Copenlmpcn,  \7W.  .].  Quij;stad,  Ilislorisk  Oremigl  over  Oplysningsarhridtt 
blnndl  Finnrrtir  i  Finmnrkrn,  1007. 

'  Daniol  Thrap,  Thomas  von  Westen  og  Finnc-missjonen,  Christiania.  1882. 


328  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

strongly  that  missionary  work  among  them  should  be  done  in  their 
own  language,  and  he  succeeded  in  organizing  a  Sevunarium  Lap- 
ponicum  in  connection  with  the  Trondhjem  Latin  school,  where 
missionaries  might  be  properly  educated.  When  he  died  in  1727, 
no  one  was  found  who  at  once  could  continue  his  work,  but  he  had 
opened  a  new  field  for  missionary  activity,  and  had  laid  foundations 
for  successful  work  in  the  future. 

In  his  old  age  Frederick  IV.  was  wholly  converted  to  Pietism, 
which  in  his  gloomy  mind  developed  into  religious  pessimism,  and  a 
fanatic  solicitude  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  subjects.  He  felt 
that  the  state  ought  to  take  more  drastic  measures  to  make  people 
pious  and  moral,  and  in  1730  he  issued  his  notorious  Sabbath  ordi- 
nance, which  virtually  destroyed  every  vestige  of  religious  freedom. 
Fines  were  imposed  for  not  attending  church,  and  those  who  failed 
to  pay  the  fines  should  be  pilloried ;  "  for  which  purpose  pillories 
shall  be  provided  by  the  church-owners  for  all  churches  where  none 
such  are  found,"  says  the  ordinance.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  fanaticism,  and  the  violent  interference  with  people's  private 
life  in  the  interest  of  religion  which  characterizes  the  age  of  Pietism. 
King  Frederick  IV.  died  October  12,  1730,  at  Odense,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  Christian  VI. 

41.   Christian  VI.     The  Age  of  Pietism 

Prince  Christian  was  thirty-one  years  of  age  when  he  ascended  the 
throne  of  Denmark-Norway.  He  had  been  reared  according  to  the 
strict  precepts  of  Pietism,  and  was  morally  better  trained  and  also 
better  educated  than  his  father.  He  was  of  a  retiring  disposition, 
pious  and  moral,  and  as  his  queen,  the  German  princess  Sophia 
Magdalena  of  Kulmback-Baireuth,  shared  his  views  and  tastes, 
they  led  a  felicitous  married  life.  Both  physically  and  intellectually 
Christian  VI.  was  undersized,  thin  and  small  of  frame,  with  a  shrill 
and  piping  voice.  He  became  easily  excited,  and  blushed  and 
stuttered  in  company,  but  towards  his  companions  and  subordinates 
he  showed  his  authority  even  to  harshness  and  pedantry.  He  was, 
on  the  whole,  better  qualified  to  enter  a  monastery  than  to  ascend  a 
throne.  He  had  not  traveled,  he  knew  little  about  military  affairs, 
and  still  less  about  finances,  and  as  he  had  assumed  an  almost  hostile 


II  CHRISTIAN'    Vr.       THF-:    ACK    OF    I'IKTISM  329 

;ittitii(lc  to  his  tatlicr,  Ix'caiisc  of  his  moral  hixity,  and  csix-cially 
l)i*cause  of  his  marriage  to  Anna  Sophia  Revciitlow,  he  rt-verswl  as  far 
as  possible  the  {)olicy  hitlirrto  pursued,  even  to  tlie  extent  of  diseard- 
iii^  its  ^ood  features.  A  numl)er  of  discontented  nohles  and  men  of 
rank  who  liad  gathered  about  tlie  crown  prince  during  liis  father's 
vr'v^w  were  now  apj)()inted  to  tlie  highest  offices,  and  became  promi- 
nent as  the  kin;:'s  chief  ad\isers.  Haron  Iver  Kosenkrans  was  nuidc 
chancellor,  though  without  special  title,  since  the  office  had  been 
al)()lished.  Kr.  Ludvifj  Plessen  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  ex- 
rh('f|UiT,  Paul  L0ven0rn  became  secretary  of  war  and  navy,  and 
( 'ouiit  Christian  Rantzau  was  appointed  .statholdcr  in  Norway.  King 
IVedcrick's  widowed  queen,  Anna  Sophia  I{e\entlow,  and  all 
his  adherents  were  made  to  feel  the  kinj^'s  displeasure.  Bishop 
l>cichmaiui  of  Christiania  was  dismissed  from  his  office,  and  a  Xor- 
we^ian,  Peder  Ilersleb,  was  appointed  as  his  successor.  Anna  Sophia 
lfeventk)W  was  given  a  pension,  but  had  to  retire  from  court  to  her 
private  estate,  Klaushohn. 

Christian  V.  and  Frederick  I\'.  liad  dcNclopcd  a  sort  of  eal)in('t 
>  stem  of  government,  and  the  Colleges  created  by  the  ordinance 
i  sued  by  Frederick  III.,  November  4,  KUiO.  had  been  retluced  to 
mere  administrative  bureaus.  Christian  VI.  revived  the  old  system, 
and  raised  the  Colleges  to  their  former  importance.  In  administra- 
tive affairs  he  seldom  de\iated  from  their  recommendations,  though 
in  his  relation  to  his  advisers  he  maintained  an  independence  which 
seems  out  of  pro|)ortion  to  his  limited  talents.  Men  of  real  ability 
he  could  not  tolerate.  Many  of  tho.se  whom  he  had  himself  aj)- 
pointed  to  high  offices  had  to  withdraw,  and  even  Christian  Rantzau, 
StatholdiT  of  .Norway,  a  generous  and  highly  cultured  nobleman, 
who  had  become  ver\'  [)o])ular  because  of  his  affability  and  sense  (»f 
justice,  was  soon  retired  on  a  pension,  and  the  office  of  .stat/mlder 
was  abolished. 

In  1733  King  Christian  and  his  queen,  acc(^mpanie<l  by  a  large 
retinue,  made  a  journey  through  .Norway,  and  the  pi'ople  reieivixl 
the  royal  pair  with  great  enthusiasm.  In  the  cities  trium|)hal  arches 
were  erected,  songs  were  written  to  their  honor,  and  everything  pos- 
sil)le  was  done  to  expn-ss  the  profound  veneration  and  loyalty  aecorde<l 
royal  personages  in  those  times.     The  journey  across  the  mountains 


330  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

was  made  with  wagons,  but  as  the  roads  were  still  very  poor,  the 
progress  was  slow  and  difficult.  To  the  people  along  the  route  the 
entertaining  of  such  a  large  retinue  became  a  heavy  burden,  and 
though  the  king  was  highly  pleased  with  his  successful  and  only 
visit  to  Norway,  the  people  remembered  him  as  the  ruler  who  took 
their  property  without  paying  for  it,  and  whose  visit  had  only  brought 
them  labor  and  loss. 

Christian  VI.  evidently  meant  to  rule  well.  He  began  his  reign 
by  reducing  the  taxes,  but  as  he  knew  nothing  about  economy,  he 
spent  with  lavish  hands  the  surplus  in  the  treasury  which  his  father 
had  created,  and  when  the  money  was  spent,  he  was  again  forced  to 
increase  the  taxes.  His  reign  was  a  period  of  unbroken  peace,  but 
the  diplomatic  relations  with  foreign  nations  became  a  strange 
medley  of  weakness,  vacillation,  and  ambitions  unrealized,  as  the 
king  was  unable  to  formulate  a  clearly  defined  foreign  policy,  or  to 
adhere  with  firmness  to  a  position  once  taken.  His  advisers  often 
disagreed;  some  preferring  an  alliance  with  England,  others  with 
France,  and  no  one  seemed  to  possess  the  ability  or  authority  to  act 
with  energy  at  the  critical  moment. 

In  order  to  safeguard  the  Gottorp  provinces  in  Schleswig  which 
had  lately  been  acquired.  King  Christian  formed  an  alliance  with 
Russia,  and  signed  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  promulgated  by  Em- 
peror Charles  VI.  of  Austria  in  favor  of  his  daughter  Maria  Theresa. 
Thereby  he  won  the  favor  of  both  these  powers,  who  had  hitherto 
favored  Gottorp,  but  an  attempt  to  secure  an  alliance  with  Sweden 
failed.  Between  France  and  England  a  very  hostile  feeling  was 
developing,  which  finally  culminated  in  the  War  of  the  Austrian 
Succession,  and  the  struggle  between  the  two  rival  powers  for  su- 
premacy in  India  and  America.  In  1734  an  alliance  with  England 
was  concluded  for  three  years,  but  some  of  the  king's  advisers  favored 
France,  and  labored  to  secure  a  closer  friendship  with  that  power. 
This  made  matters  complicated,  as  both  powers  had  guaranteed  to 
Denmark  the  possession  of  the  Gottorp  provinces,  and  had  a  claim 
to  the  Danish  king's  friendship  and  gratitude.  But  though  the 
relations  of  the  two  western  powers  were  delicate,  it  was  of  less  vital 
importance  than  the  question  which  developed  in  connection  with 
a  new  struggle  between  Sweden  and  Russia. 


II  CUKIttTIAN    M.      Tin;    A<iK    Ol    IMKriSM  331 

Alter  Czar  iVu-r's  (k-alli,  llu-  Uu.s.^iuu  UucL  iiad  l)i'(,'ii  lu-^lccU-d, 
and  rival  caiididati-s  for  tlie  throne  were  maintuiniiij;  a  stru;j^le 
which  puralyzi'd  the  arm  of  tlie  Kovernmerit.  In  Sweden  the  patriotic 
war  party,  huttiTnc  (the  liats),  luid  Rained  the  power,  and  tliey  fonnd 
the  moment  opportune  for  a  war  with  Kussia,  in  which  some  of  the 
ist  proxinees  niij^ht  he  recovered.  In  1711  (rcneral  Levenliaupt 
was  sent  into  Finhind  with  an  army,  and  war  against  Kussia  was 
dechired.  EHzabeth,  the  daughter  <jf  Peter  the  Great,  who  was 
plotting  to  wrest  the  throne  from  the  child  Czar,  Ivan  VI.,  solicited 
the  aid  of  the  Swedes,  and  LevenJiaupt  crossed  the  Russian  border; 
hut  before  he  reached  St.  Piitersbnri^,  Elizabeth  had  been  made 
ICmpress  of  Kussia,  and  she  immediately  onh'red  him  to  withiiraw 
Irom  Russian  territory.  Instead  of  acting  with  energy,  the  Swedisli 
^;eneral  concluded  an  armistice,  and  retreated  to  Finland,  and  the 
opportunity  for  oi)taininR  any  concessions  was  lost.  After  a  cam- 
paign in  which  they  suffered  many  losses,  the  .Swedes  were  forced  to 
withdraw  even  from  I'inlaiid,  which  was  o\-crruii  by  the  Russians. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Swedes  had  turned  to  Demnark- 
Xorway  for  aid,  and  suj,'}?estions  were  made  whicii  filled  Christian 
\'I.  with  high  hopes.  His  son,  Crown  Prince  Frederick,  mij^ht  be 
chosen  king  of  Sweden  to  succeed  Ulrika  Eleonora,  who  died  in  1741, 
and  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden  mi«;ht  again  be  imited.  After 
the  expiration  of  tlie  treaty  with  I^ngland,  1712,  King  Christian  had 
couchidcil  a  treaty  with  I'Vance,  and  recei\('d  from  that  kingdom 
100, (HID  riksdaler  as  a  yearly  subsidy.  He  raised  the  Danish-Nor- 
wegian army  to  war-footing,  and  held  the  fleet  ready  for  immediate 
>ervice  to  cociperate  with  .Sweden  in  case  Frederick  should  be  chosen 
king.  The  Swedish  peasants  were  enthusiastically  in  favor  of  the 
1  )aiiish-.\orwegian  crown  prince,  but  Russia  supportt^l  Adolph 
I'Vederick  of  liolstein-Gottorj),  and  promised  to  return  nearly  all  of 
Finland  to  Sweden,  if  he  were  elected.  When  the  Riksdag  assembled 
at  Stockholm,  the  Dalkarlean  peasants  marched  in  force  to  tlie  city 
to  secure  the  election  of  Prince  Frederick  of  Denmark-.Norway.  but 
they  W(Te  disperse<l  by  the  militar\-  forces  of  the  cit\'.  and  Adolph 
Frederick  of  Holstein-Gottorp  was  chosen  king  of  Swwien.  July  3, 
MAW.  Christian  VI.  now  demandetl  that  Adolph  Fre<lerick  should 
formally  relincpiish  all  claims  to  the  Gottor|)  provinces  which  had 


332  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

been  given  to  Denmark,  but  even  this  simple  plan  of  safeguarding 
his  kingdom  against  undue  encroachment  of  united  Sweden  and 
Gottorj)  he  was  persuaded  to  abandon.  His  diplomacy  had  failed 
at  every  point;  his  numerous  alliances  proved  to  be  harmless  stage 
thunder  accompanying  a  political  farce,  and  his  enemies  had  restored 
the  relations  existing  between  Gottorp  and  Denmark  prior  to  the 
Great  Northern  War. 

But  if  King  Christian  was  no  statesman,  financier,  or  warrior,  he 
had  at  least  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  excelled  in  piety. 
Frederick  the  Great  had  remarked  that  as  Frederick  IV.  attempted 
to  conquer  Sweden,  Christian  VI.  sought  to  conquer  heaven.  In  his 
father's  time  Pietism  had  been  gaining  a  foothold  in  the  North,  and 
during  the  early  years  of  the  reign  of  Christian  VI.  it  waged  a  final 
contest  with  orthodoxy,  which  resulted  in  a  complete  triumph  for 
Pietism,  owing  largely  to  the  support  of  the  king,  who  was  an  adherent 
of  the  new  movement.  Queen  Sophia  Magdalena  was  of  a  pious  and 
melancholy  disposition,  and  as  the  king  himself  became  devotedly 
absorbed  in  religious  matters,  the  gayety  of  the  court  circles  soon 
gave  way  to  the  grave  and  joyless  austerity  of  Pietism,  which  forced 
all  social  and  religious  life  into  stern  forms  and  somber  colors.  The 
king  considered  it  to  be  his  special  mission  to  drive  all  his  subjects 
into  the  sackcloth  and  ashes  of  repentance,  that  as  many  as  possible 
might  escape  eternal  perdition,  and  he  instituted  a  vigorous  cam- 
paign against  all  forms  of  amusements  which  were  considered  sinful. 
According  to  the  views  of  the  Pietists,  nearly  all  public  pastimes 
were  regarded  as  worldly  pleasures.  Dancing,  smoking,  comedies, 
and  operas  were  categorically  condemned,  and  even  laughter  was 
regarded  as  sinful.  August  Hermann  Francke  says:  "All  laughter 
is  not  forbidden,  for  it  happens,  indeed,  that  even  the  most  pious 
may  so  heartily  rejoice,  not  over  worldly,  but  over  heavenly  things, 
that  his  lips  may  show  evidence  of  his  mental  delight  in  a  faint 
laughter.  But  it  easily  becomes  sinful,  and  paves  the  way  for  great 
distraction  of  the  mind,  which  soon  discovers  that  it  has  become  too 
unthoughtful  when  it  again  wishes  to  meekly  turn  to  God."  ^  Accord- 
ing to  these  principles  Christmas  parties  were  wholly  interdicted, 

^  Christen  Brun,  Pietismens  Begreb  og  Voesen,  p.  59,  quoted  from  Franeke's 
Schriftmassige  Lebensregeln. 


II  CHRISTIAN  vi.     nil:  a<;k  of  piktism  333 

;iiiiiisciii(iit->    nil    Suii<l;i\>,    and    holidays    were    f)r()liil)ited.    and    the 

[■laying  of  eonicdies  on  Saturdays,  Suiuhiys,  and  h(th<hiys  was  for- 

liidden.     It  is  true,  as  Kd\ard  Ilohu  j)oints  out,'  that  tlie  kiriK  did 

'  "t  I'orhid  cnnicdies,  dances,  and  nias(iuerades  except  on  the  days 

ciitioned,  l)ut  it  is  \  iry  d(iul)tful  if  we  can  infer  from  this  tliat  the 

I  lopk'  could  dance  as  niuch  as  they  j)lcascd  on  the  remaining  five 

':i>s  of  the  week.     Tlie  king  created  a  church  college  (Icirhciti.spec- 

"iLs  Icollrgid),  which  possessed  most  extensi\  e  powers  in  matters  of 

1  hurch  discipline,  and  the  bishops  and  clergy  ial)orcd  hard  to  suppress 

II  such  amusements.     Finally,  in  173S,  the  king  issued  an  order  that 

no   comedians,    funamhulists,   jugglers,   or   operators  of   games  of 

liazard  must  henceforth  ai)pear  in  Denmark  or  Norway  to  show  their 

I  la\s  or  exercises."  -     The  king's  attitude  to  the  pla\'ers  of  comedies 

may  also  he  seen  from  his  letter  to  J.  S.  Schiilin,  dated  August  30, 

17;?'),  in  which  he  says:    "In  (iliickstadt  there  are  said  to  he  some 

I  "medians  who  pull  money  out  of  people's  pockets.     It  would  he 

I  II  if  the  magistrate  were  instructed  to  get  rid  of  them,  for  nothing 

lod  coiues  of  it."     In  1735  the  king  puhlished  a  new  Sabhath  ordi- 

ince  very  similar  to  the  one  issued  hy  Frederick  I\'.  in  173(1.     IVr- 

iis  who  without  \alid  reason  remained  absent  fntm  j)ul)lic  worshi{) 

\\cre  fine<l,  and  if  they  were  hdnder,  they  should  be  put  in  the  pillory. 

iiuit  this  attempt  to  teach  peojile  Christian  piety  and  good  morals 

by  means  of  the  pillory  and  the  police  force  would  breed  deceit  and 

pocrisy  is  (|uite  natural.       CouNcrsatioii  and  conduct  assumed  of 

.1  ^udden  a  religious  tone  which  in  too  inan\'  instances  only  seeme<l 

lo  hide  moral  corruption  and  intclK'ctual  dishonesty. 

Pietism  had  come  as  a  \iolent  reaction  against  the  moral  laxity 
of  the  age  of  orthodoxy,  and  such  a  movement  usually  passes  the 
liounds  of  fairness  and  good  jiolicy.  It  is  like  a  fever  which  reacts 
;iu';nnst  the  disease,  and  saves  life,  but  destroys  tissue  and  re<luees 
tlu'  \itality.  Orthodoxy  had  failecl  to  lay  projxT  stress  on  the  moral 
side  of  Christian  life,  and  moral  t-orruption  and  rude  manners  had 
flourished  to  an  almost  intolerable  degree.  To  cure  this  e\  il,  Fietism 
raised  luoral  life  into  a  prominence  which  made  a  deep  impression  on 
tlie  age,   and   grcatl.\    clc\atcd   its  moral   tone,   but    it   arroted   the 

'  Dan  mark- Xorgrs  Ifislorir,  vol.  II.,  p.  <i-t4  fT. 

*  Georg  Brandos,  Ludvig  Ilolbcrg,  cl  Fcstskrift,  p.  278. 


334  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

growth  of  dramatic  art,  destroyed  many  of  the  finer  features  of 
intellectual  and  social  life,  and  robbed  society  of  the  spirit  of  opti- 
mism and  the  sense  of  beauty.  It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that 
viewed  against  the  background  of  what  preceded  it,  Pietism  repre- 
sents progress  along  many  lines.  It  was  the  first  religious  revival 
which  the  Norwegian  people  had  ever  experienced,  and  through  the 
emphasis  which  it  laid  on  piety  and  moral  conduct  it  chastened  the 
people's  moral  feelings,  and  taught  them  gentleness,  temperance, 
and  a  higher  regard  for  things  spiritual.  It  gave  also  a  new  impetus 
to  intellectual  development  through  a  keen  interest  for  popular 
education.  If  the  people  were  to  become  truly  pious,  they  would 
have  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and  learn  the  chief  Christian  doctrines. 
The  religious  instruction  which  the  people  had  hitherto  received  had 
been  so  meager  that  few  understood  even  the  cardinal  Christian 
teachings,  and  among  the  common  people  it  was  regarded  as  a 
wonder  if  a  person  could  read.  In  1736  confirmation  was  introduced 
by  law  both  in  Denmark  and  Norway.  In  Akershus  stift  it  had 
been  introduced  in  1734  by  Bishop  Peder  Hersleb.  The  young  com- 
municants were  now  required  to  formally  renew  their  baptismal  vow 
before  their  first  communion,  after  being  catechised  in  church  in 
presence  of  the  congregation  to  prove  that  they  possessed  the  re- 
quired Christian  knowledge.  About  the  same  time  the  important 
religious  textbook,  Bishop  Erik  Pontoppidan's  "Sandhed  til  Gud- 
frygtighed,"  an  explanation  to  Luther's  Catechism  arranged  in  ques- 
tions and  answers,  was  introduced.  As  the  children  were  expected 
to  commit  these  answers  to  memory,  they  would  have  to  learn  to 
read,  and  steps  were  taken  to  provide  the  necessary  instruction. 
By  the  ordinance  of  January  23,  1739,  "About  the  country  schools 
in  Norway"  the  government  attempted  to  establish  a  system  of 
public  schools,  and  to  enforce  compulsory  attendance  of  all  school 
children  between  seven  and  twelve  years  of  age.  Instruction  should 
be  given  from  six  to  seven  hours  daily,  at  least  during  three  months 
of  each  year ;  the  schoolbooks  should  be  Luther's  Catechism,  Pon- 
toppidan's Explanation,  the  Bible,  and  the  h>Tiinbook.  The  bishops 
and  stiftsamtmaend  were  instructed  to  appoint  teachers,  and  the  people 
were  encouraged  to  build  schoolhouses.  If  no  schoolhouse  could  be 
provided,  the  school  was  to  be  kept  in  private  houses  by  itinerant 


II  MERCANTILISM    AND   COMMERCIAL   STAGNATION  33.5 

ichers.     If  this  law  had   hccii  ciiforcni,  it  would  liuve  inarkc<l  a 
•at  advance  in  i)<)pnhir  education,  but  the  people  did  not  under- 
did the  vahie  of  the  rcfor?n,  and  offered  such  resistan(;e  that  the 
(Tiimeiit  had  to  substitute  a  new  ordinance  in  \7\\  which  made 
11  iiptional  for  tlie  congregation  to  ])ro\iiie  instruetion  for  the  cliildren. 
<  )p|)()sition  and  indilfercnce  liad  retarded  progress,  but  tlie  bisliops 
;md  priests  could  bring  great  i)ressure  to  bear  on  tlie  people,  as  they 
(  nuld  refuse  to  conlinn  the  children  who  did  not  possess  the  required 
knowledge.     The  resistance  was  gradually  broken,  and  several  i)ublic 
xliools  were  organized  before  the  close  of  the  rei;,'n  of  Christian  \'I. 

42.    Mercantilism  and  Com.mercial  Stagnation 

With  regard  to  the  economic  conditions  in  Denmark-Norway  in 
the  time  of  I'Vederick  IV.  and  Chri.itian  VI.  we  may  observe  the 
futile  attempts  to  increase  the  wealth  and  revenues  of  the  realms  by 
enforcing  the  arbitrary  j)rincii)les  of  mercantilism  by  means  of  des- 
potic royal  power.  The  government  assumed  the  initiative  and 
direction  of  industrial  enterprises,  sought  to  encourage  their  growth 
by  various  artificial  stimuli,  and  exhibited  an  activity  and  paternal 
-I'liiitude  which  re>enibled  wisdom  and  generosity,  but  which  was 
'1  ^elfish  and  narrow  that  it  j^roduced  stagnation  where  it  sought  to 
ter  new  life  and  activity.  Companies  organized  to  trade  witli  the 
W tst  Indies,  Guinea,  Morocco,  and  other  distant  lands  were  granted 
nnopolies  and  other  special  privileges,  but  at  the  same  time  a 
tein  of  i)rotective  tariff,  exjjort  duties,  and  the  exclusion  of  various 
liTcign  goods  subverted  the  most  fuiidaineutal  laws  of  trade,  liii- 
l)nrtation  of  grain  to  Xorway  from  any  other  country  than  Denmark 
was  fori)id(Ien,  though  the  supply  was  often  inadequate,  the  quality 
poor,  and  the  prices  exorbitant.  This  restriction  was  especially 
damaging  to  Norway's  commerce  with  England,  as  Nonvegian  lum- 
ber and  fish  had  been  exported  to  England  in  exchange  ft)r  grain. 
The  carr>iiig  trade  was  ol)structed  by  the  Engli>h  navigation  laws 
and  the  mercantile  s\'steni  of  political  <>conoin\'  everywhere  adhere<i 
to.  Prices  on  linnber  and  fish  fell,  and  Norwegian  commerce  suffered 
;t  seriotis  decline.  The  commiTcial  companies  provinl  to  be  of  com- 
paratively  little   importance,   as   the   few    individuals   constituting 


336  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

them  used  their  monopoly  chiefly  to  plunder  the  colonies  with  whom 
they  were  trading.  The  Iceland  Company  paid  8000  riksdaler,  and 
later  16,000  riksdaler,  for  their  privileges,  and  they  used  their  oppor- 
tunity to  fleece  the  Icelanders.  The  Asiatic  Company  carried  on 
trade  in  India  and  China ;  the  West-India-Guinea  Company  with 
Africa  and  the  West  Indies.  The  trade  with  Greenland  was  granted 
to  a  single  man,  Jacob  Severin,  who  founded  the  colonies  of  Kris- 
tianshaab,  Jakobshavn,  and  Fredrikshaab.  The  small  and  preca- 
rious trade  carried  on  by  these  Danish  companies  at  the  ends  of  the 
earth  could  in  no  way  compensate  for  the  general  decline  in  Nor- 
wegian commerce.  In  1736  the  merchant  fleet  of  Bergen  was  scarcely 
one-third  of  what  it  had  been  in  1700,  and  even  the  carrying  of  Nor- 
wegian articles  of  export  to  foreign  markets  was  largely  in  the  hands 
of  the  Dutch  and  English. 

The  efi^orts  of  the  government,  in  harmony  with  the  mercantilistic 
ideas  of  the  times,  to  encourage  manufacture  by  protective  tariff, 
monopolies,  and  the  subsidizing  of  various  industries  failed  to  pro- 
duce the  results  desired.  Several  minor  factories  were  started,  but 
the  depressed  economic  conditions,  and  the  lack  of  capital  and  enter- 
prise, rendered  the  attempt  to  produce  a  new  industrial  development 
an  almost  fruitless  experiment. 

In  Denmark  the  peasants  were  more  severely  oppressed,  especially 
in  the  reign  of  Christian  VI.,  than  in  any  previous  period.  Frederick 
IV.  had  abolished  serfdom  in  1702,  but  this  very  praiseworthy  reform 
was  rendered  nugatory  by  the  revival  of  the  old  system  of  compul- 
sory military  service  which  made  it  possible  for  the  landed  pro- 
prietors to  virtually  enslave  the  peasants  under  the  pretext  of  fur- 
nishing the  required  numl)er  of  men  for  the  army.  Christian  VI. 
reestablished  villeinage  in  all  Denmark,  and  increased  the  burdens 
of  military  service  to  such  an  extent  that  Riegels  calls  the  900 
Danish  manorial  estates  "plantations  with  white  negro  slaves." 
No  peasant  between  fourteen  and  forty  years  of  age  was  allowed  to 
leave  the  estate  to  which  he  belonged,  and  the  proprietor  could  even 
inflict  the  most  severe  corporal  punishment  upon  him  at  will.  "The 
lash  was  in  constant  activity,"  says  Sars.  "The  system  of  beating 
the  peasants  was  so  well  established  that  it  was  practiced  even  on 
the  estates  of  humane  and  kindly  disposed  proprietors  as  something 


II  TiiK  \<:k  <ii-    i.rinn;   iuhmvaic,  337 

necessary  wliidi  ronld  not  l>c  otluTwise.  It  was  rr^anlcd  us  a  in.iUrr 
of  course  tluit  tlic  proprietors  luul  the  rij^ht  to  inflict  corporal  puiii.sh- 
iiicnt  on  the  peasants  ;  cndj^clin;;  was  even  the  least ;  he  ((tiiM  cause 
tlu'iu  to  1)1'  thrown  into  the  (liin^eon  ;  he  eould  |)ut  them  into  the 
pillor_\' ;  he  could  place  lliein  in  the  'Spanish  cloak,'  t)r  compel 
them  to  ride  the  wooden  horse;  in  short,  the  greater  iuiml)er  of 
Danish  peasants  were  reduced  to  the  condition  of  slaves."  With 
u'ood  reason  the  same  author  calls  the  rei^n  of  Christian  VI.  "one 
of  the  worst  which  Denmark  ever  had."  ' 

Till'  freeholdiiif;  Xorwe<;ian  hdiulcr  could  not  be  subjected  to  such 
oppression.  It  has  already  ln-en  shown  that  the  nuiuher  of  free- 
holders had  been  <^reatly  increased  in  .\(»rway  through  the  sale  of 
crown-lands,  and  the  kinj^s  had  even  shown  them  special  favor, 
thou<jli  the  old  feuds  continued  to  be  waged  between  the  bdmler  and 
the  royal  ofHcials.  The  economic  well-being  of  the  hdtidrr  would, 
probably,  not  ha\e  been  impaired,  but  in  1740  and  17  iL'  crop  failures 
produced  a  famine,  which  was  also  accouipanied  by  serious  epidemic 
diseases,  so  that  in  the  latter  year  the  number  of  deaths  exceeded 
the  births  by  1(1, (100.  These  calamities,  together  with  a  .serious 
de(  line  of  commerce,  made  the  period  one  of  general  depression. 

43.    DKVKLor.MKNT  OF  MoDEUN  Da.n'isii-Xorwkcian  Liteuatuhe 
The  Age  of  Ludvk;  IIolueiu; 

The  Ket'ormation  had  been  accoin])anied  by  no  spiritual  ;iw;iken- 
ing  in  Norway,  and  the  Kcnaissance  had  reached  the  North  only  as 
a  faint  swell  caused  by  the  great  revival  which  it  had  [)rodu<-e<l  in 
southern  Europe.  No  new  intellectual  life  had  been  kindled  in  the 
Scandinavian  countries,  and  literature  still  slumbered  in  its  old  dusty 
folds.  In  the  uni\"ersities  and  the  seeoiidar>'  schools  the  learning 
was  chiefly  limited  to  Latin  grammar  and  disputations,  a  lifele.ss 
pe<lantry  from  which  n(»  new  imi)ulses  could  <'ome,  and  the  same 
unprogressive  stolidity  and  \  ain  love  of  disi)lay  which  characterizwi 
learning  might  be  observed  in  all  higher  social  classes.  Kvery 
imagined  preeminence  was  displayml  with  arrogant  selfn-onceit ; 
jealous  rixalries,  love  of  empty  titles,  narrow-mindedness,  snobbish- 

'  J.  E.  Sars,  I'dsigt  over  den  norskc  Historic',  vol.  IV.,  p.  77  tl. 
VOL.  II  —  z 


338  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

ness,  and  a  crude  imitation  of  everything  foreign  and  bon  ton  had 
become  distinct  features  of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  age,  especially 
in  Denmark,  where  society  had  become  most  thoroughly  stratified 
into  distinct  classes.  The  native  Danish  culture  was  held  in  slight 
esteem,  and  the  mother  tongue  was  so  far  neglected  that  persons  of 
quality  seldom  used  it  except  when  talking  to  their  servants.  Robert 
Molesworth,  who  speaks  from  personal  observation,  says :  "  The 
king,  great  men,  gentry,  and  many  burghers  make  use  of  the  High 
Dutch  in  their  ordinary  discourse,  and  French  to  strangers.  I  have 
heard  several  in  high  employment  boast  that  they  could  not  speak 
Danish."  ^  It  was  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Louis  XV.,  the  era 
of  affectation  and  long  wigs.  In  literature  Fetter  Dass  had,  indeed, 
relieved  the  general  dullness,  but  with  this  exception  scarcely  a  note 
of  true  poesy  found  its  way  into  the  lifeless  pages  of  the  verse-makers. 
"Few  or  no  books  are  written,"  says  Molesworth,  in  speaking  of  Den- 
mark. "Not  so  much  as  a  song  or  a  tune  was  made  during  three 
years  that  I  stayed  there."  In  this  age  of  dullness  and  affectation 
Holberg  appeared  to  found  in  Denmark-Norway,  not  only  a  new 
literature,  but  a  new  intellectual  life.  Parallel  with  the  religious 
awakening  which  found  its  expression  in  the  Reformation  and  the 
revival  of  literature,  learning,  and  art  in  the  Renaissance,  a  new 
astronomy  and  natural  science  had  been  developed,  which  demanded 
freedom  of  thought  and  respect  for  human  reason  as  the  ultimate 
authority  in  scientific  investigation.  These  new  movements  were 
parts  of  the  same  general  progress  of  the  human  mind,  but  as  they 
advanced  along  diverging  paths,  scientific  thought  not  only  sought 
to  free  itself  from  religious  control,  but  it  soon  became  hostile  to 
revealed  religion,  and  challenged  its  genuineness  and  authority. 
This  school  of  thought,  generally  known  as  deism,  because  it  postu- 
lated the  existence  of  God,  originated  in  England,  and  is  traceable 
in  its  inception  to  the  philosophical  writings  of  Francis  Bacon  (1561- 
1626),  though  its  most  prominent  representatives  were  John  Locke 
(1632-1704)  and  David  Hume  (1711-1776).  From  England  deism 
was  brought  to  France,  where  Voltaire  and  Rousseau  became  its 
chief  representatives.  It  had  directed  its  attack  especially  against 
the  dominion  of  the  church  in  the  field  of  scientific  investigation, 
*  An  Account  of  Denmark,  p.  91. 


II  THE    AGE    OF    LUDVIG    IIOLBERG  339 

hut  a  similar  revolt  against  relif^ious  authority  also  took  place  in 
other  fields.  Throughout  tiie  Middle  Ages  j)hilosophy  had  heen 
regarded  as  the  handmaid  of  theology,  and  jurisprudence  had  been 
tlominati'd  by  the  j)riiK'if)les  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  canon 
law.  The  emancipation  of  these  branches  of  learning  marks  an 
important  step  in  the  victorious  progress  of  scientific  thought.  In 
Holland  and  Germany  Hugo  Grotius  (1583-1645),  Pufendorf  (1632- 
109i),  and  Thomasius  (1G55-172S)  developed  a  new  system  of  juris- 
prudence, the  Xaturrecht,  based  on  reason  and  man's  innate  sense  of 
justice,  and  Christian  Wolff  (1679-1754)  elaborated  the  critical 
thought  of  the  age  into  a  rationalistic  view  of  life  in  his  philosophic 
system,  based  on  the  work  of  Leibnitz.  The  ground  had  thus  been 
well  prepared,  and  the  influence  of  English  deism,  both  directly 
from  England  and  indirectly  through  France,  soon  made  itself  strongly 
felt.  This  system  of  critical  scientific  thought,  and  rationalism  in 
religion  and  ethics,  which  dominated  intellectual  life  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  centurs',  is  probably  best  known  by  the  Ger- 
man name  of  Aujkldrung.  Its  influence  extended  to  every  field  of 
intellectual  activity,  and  expressed  itself  as  clearly  in  literature  and 
statescraft  as  in  science  and  philosophy.  Frederick  the  Great  applied 
its  principles  in  his  aujgekldrtc  despotismus,  according  to  which  he 
ruled  as  a  benevolent  despot.*  Lessing,  the  founder  of  modern  Ger- 
man literature  and  intellectual  life,  became  one  of  its  chief  represent- 
atives, but  pa.ssed  beyond  it  in  spirituality  and  broadness  of  view.' 
In  America  Benjamin  Franklin  became  its  most  noted  representative, 
and  no  one  has  expressed  the  common-sense  utilitarian  view  of  the 
Aujkldrung  in  a  more  popular  way  than  America's  statesman- 
philosopher. 

In  the  North  Ludvig  Ilolberg  (1684-17r)4)  became  tJie  pioneer  in 
this  field  of  thought.  He  was  a  nati\e  of  Bergen,  and  received  his 
early  sch«)ol  training  in  his  home  town.  In  1702  he  was  sent  tx^  the 
University  of  Copenhagen,  where  he  comjjleted  the  required  course, 
and  after  spending  two  years  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  travel- 

'  Oth<>r  benpvolont  dospots  wore :  Catharino  II.  of  Russia.  GustaN^m  III. 
of  Sweden,  Charles  III.  of  Spain,  Archduko  Leopold  of  Tu^!(•any,  and  Emporor 
Joseph  II.  of  Austria. 

'Christen  Brun,  Oplysningens  Tidsalder,  Christiania,  18S<).  W.  E.  II. 
Leckj',  History  of  the  Rise  and  Influence  of  Rationalism  in  Europe. 


340  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

ing  for  some  time  on  the  Continent,  he  returned  to  Copenhagen, 
where  he  spent  five  years  in  writing  a  number  of  historical  works, 
through  which  he  introduced  into  history-writing  the  rationahstic 
thought  of  Grotius,  Pufendorf,  and  Thomasius,  whom  he  declares 
to  be  his  "constant  pattern."  The  most  important  of  these  works 
are:  "Introduction  til  de  europseiske  Rigers  Historier,"  and  "In- 
troduction til  Naturens  og  Folkerettens  Kundskab,  uddragen  af  de 
fornemste  Juristers,  besynderlig  Grotii,  Pufendorf  og  Thomasii 
Skriftcr."  In  1714  he  was  appointed  titular  professor  without 
salary.  Again  he  spent  almost  two  years  abroad  studying,  especially 
in  Paris,  and,  finally,  in  1717  he  was  made  regular  professor  of  meta- 
physics, a  branch  which  he  especially  hated,  because  of  the  pedantry 
of  Latin  disputations  and  learning.  But  it  was  the  only  vacancy, 
and  he  accepted  the  position.  "There  he  stands,"  says  Georg 
Brandes,  "the  poor  professor  of  metaphysics,  against  his  will,  and 
teaches,  to  make  a  living,  things  in  w'hich  he  does  not  believe,  and 
with  which  he  can  associate  no  thought,  and  the  black-gowned  stu- 
dents in  front  of  him  write  down  the  wisdom,  and  commit  it  to 
memory,  while  round  about  in  the  lecture  rooms  the  learned  corps 
with  profound  gravity  defends,  demonstrates,  concludes,  and  proves 
the  arrant  nothing.  Is  not  the  situation  ironical,  Mephistophelian, 
or  tragicomic?"  Holberg  was  a  keen  observer,  a  deep  and  critical 
thinker,  and  a  dramatic  talent  of  the  first  rank.  On  his  mind  the 
burlesque  of  the  situation  was  not  lost.  He,  the  representative  of 
the  most  advanced  scientific  thought,  who  had  returned  from  the 
greatest  centers  of  learning  wdth  rich  stores  of  the  best  knowledge  of 
the  age,  was  not  allowed  to  teach  his  students  anything  worth  know- 
ing, because  the  learned  circles  loved  the  shadow  rather  than  the 
substance  of  knowledge.  And  was  not  all  society  blinded  by  pedan- 
try and  conceit?  Did  he  not  meet  it  on  every  street  corner?  Did 
not  snobbishness  and  pretense  make  themselves  broad  in  every 
thoroughfare?  He  knew  but  too  well  the  intellectual  pride,  the 
mental  dullness,  the  bigotry,  the  snobbishness  and  conceit  which 
masqueraded  as  civic  virtue  on  every  hand.  "Is  it  a  wonder," 
continues  Georg  Brandes,  "  if  irony  becomes  the  predominant  mood 
of  this  soul ;  if  a  smile,  a  suppressed  smile,  curls  these  lips  ?  or  is  it 
not  quite  natural  that  the  new  professor  gets  a  peculiar  impression 


I'LA'i'i-;  \ii 


II  THE    AOE    OF    LIDVIC    HOLHEmJ  'Ml 

•  >i  l\n6  temple  of  Ifurniii^,  and  llie  land  ul'  which  it  is  tlie  intellectual 
center;  yea,  of  the  whole  world?  It  is  comical,  this  world  whi<  h 
he  now  sees."  '  The  jjreat  master  of  comedy  has  seen  the  foihies  and 
inconsistencies  of  the  use;  it  stirs  his  poetic  tidents,  and  launchc 
him  npon  his  career  as  a  j)oet.  From  this  time  forth  he  enters  n|)oii 
his  life  work  with  as  lii;;h  a  i)urpose  as  any  other  reformer,  though 
he  nndertakes  liis  task  with  no  fervent  enthushism,  hnt  rather  with 
a  fixed  pnrjjose  founded  on  reflection.  The  j)e(hintry,  the  conceit, 
the  social  foihies  nmst  perish ;  mental  sobriety,  love  of  truth,  and 
true  esteem  of  the  real  value  rather  than  the  outward  appearance  of 
thinj^s  must  he  substituted.  This  is  a  lesson  which  the  whole  people 
must  learn  before  the  professor  can  mount  his  cathedra  and  teach 
his  students  anythinj^  worth  while.  With  superb  humor  he  be^an 
to  show  the  people  the  comedy  of  their  own  lives.  If  ever  a  poet 
held  the  mirror  up  to  nature  it  was  Ilolberg,  and  human  foibles  have 
never  been  delineated  by  a  more  clever  pen.  He  wrote  the  bur- 
lesque epic  "  I'cdcr  Paars, "  showing  tin-  humorous  inconsistence  of 
the  pretended  greatness  and  the  real  ability  and  achievements  of  his 
countrymen.  It  aroused  a  storm  of  indignation,  but  the  king  was 
amused  by  the  poem,  and  refused  to  imj)rison  the  author  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  the  angry  citizens.  But  though  the  poem  created  a 
veritable  sensation,  Ilolberg  knew  that  it  would  be  read  by  few,  and 
he  chose  the  comedy  as  the  more  pojjular  and  suitable  vehicle  for  his 
thoughts. 

Before  Ilolberg's  time  no  dramatic  literature  and  no  real  theater 
existed  in  Denmark.  The  old  school  comedy  had  gone  out  of  use, 
and  at  court  only  light  operas  and  French  tragedies  were  performetl. 
In  17lM  King  IVederick  W.  dismissetl  a  company  of  |)la.\<Ts,  two  of 
whom,  Montagu  and  ('a|)ion.  received  permission  to  build  theaters. 
Montagu  hit  upon  the  iilea  of  building  a  Danish  theater,  lu»ping  that 
this  would  be  more  popular  and  bring  a  larger  income,  and  in  1722 
the  first  Danish  theater  was  opened,  an  event  which  j)roved  to  be  of 
more  than  ordinary-  inii)ortance.  as  it  marks  the  beginning  of  dramatic 
literature  and  art  in  1  )cnniark-.\orway.     During  the  first  >ear  Hol- 

'  CJoor^  Brandos,  Ludvig  HoUnrg,  cl  Fcslskrifl,  p.  9i».  .1.  S.  Wolliavou, 
Sajnhde  Skrifter,  vol.  VI.,  p.  155  S.  H.  Lassoa,  Oplysninger  til  LUcraiur- 
historien. 


342  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

berg  gave  the  new  theater  his  five  first  comedies  which  were  all  per- 
formed ;  and  before  the  end  of  the  following  year  he  wrote  ten  more. 
In  six  years  (1 722-1 72S)  he  wrote  no  less  than  twenty-eight  plays, 
the  masterpieces  which  have  made  his  name  immortal.  But  the 
theater  yielded  small  returns,  the  owners  labored  under  great  financial 
difficulties,  and  when  Christian  VI.  ascended  the  throne,  and  Pietism 
gained  full  control,  it  had  to  close  its  doors.  It  was  reopened  in 
1747,  and  Holberg  wrote  his  last  five  comedies.  What  he  might  have 
written  in  the  interval  under  favorable  circumstances  may  be  in- 
ferred from  his  productivity  during  the  years  when  the  theater  was 
operated.  But  even  during  that  period  he  was  not  inactive.  He 
wrote  "Nils  Klim,"  a  satire  on  European  society  in  the  strain  of 
"Gulliver's  Travels,"  a  church  history  till  the  time  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  a  history  of  Denmark  in  two  volumes.  His  work  in  this 
field  marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  history-writing  in  the 
North,  but  Holberg  was  not  a  great  historian.  He  describes  events 
and  social  conditions  without  prejudice,  in  a  clear  and  lively  narra- 
tive, but  he  did  not  devote  himself  to  historic  research.  He  fails  to 
judge  each  age  by  its  own  standards,  and  establishes  the  standards 
of  his  own  time  and  his  own  good  judgment  as  the  criterion  accord- 
ing to  which  he  estimates  the  value  of  past  institutions  and  events. 
He  was  a  dramatist  and  reformer  of  the  first  rank.  He  gave  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  North  the  first  great  impulse  which  it  had 
received  since  the  Viking  Age,  destroyed  the  old  idols  of  pedantry 
and  conceit,  founded  modern  Scandinavian  literature  and  dramatic 
art,  and  launched  his  people  upon  a  new  era  of  intellectual  progress, 
"He  began  by  being  a  lonely  stranger  who  was  against  all  and  all 
against  him,  who  was  unlike  all  his  surroundings,  and  who  differed 
from  them  in  all  respects,  but  he  ended  as  the  master  whom  all 
followed,  and  to  whom  all  submitted.  What  he  consigned  to  forget- 
fulness  was  forgotten,  and  the  new  which  he  introduced  became  the 
foundation  on  which  Danish-Norwegian  intellectual  life  has  since 
been  building."  ^ 

The  events  of  the  late  war  with  Sweden,  in  which  the  Norwegians 
had  successfully  resisted  the  attacks  of  Charles  XII.,  and  the  fact 
that  Norway  could  produce  men  like  Ludvig  Holberg  and  Peter 
*  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Hisiorie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  124. 


n  FREDERICK    V  343 

Tordenskjold  proved  a  preat  stimulus  to  tho  national  solf-oonscious- 
ness,  and  lu-Ipcd  to  kindle  a  new  patriotism.  Throughout  the  union 
period  Danish  influence  had  dominated  all  higher  culture  in  Xorway  ; 
now  the  tide  had  turned,  and  Xorway  was  giving  to  Denmark  new 
vigor  and  intellectual  life.  After  centuries  of  dormant  inactivity, 
the  Norwegian  people  were  regaining  their  national  and  intellectual 
strength.     It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  awakening. 

44.   Frederick  V. 

Wlien  Christian  VI.  died,  August  6,  1746,  his  son,  who  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  ascended  tlie  throne  as  Frederick  V.  The  prince 
had  been  educated  by  foreign  teachers  who  had  not  only  neglec-ted 
to  interest  him  in  the  language  of  his  own  people,  but  had  even  sought 
to  prevent  him  from  learning  it,  an  effort  in  which  they  had  not 
succeeded.  Frederick  had  learned  to  speak  Danish,  and  he  even 
regarded  that  language  as  his  native  tongue,  to  the  chagrin  of  his 
German  mother,  who  considered  it  too  common.  Also  in  other 
respects  the  labors  of  his  teachers  had  borne  little  fruit.  The  Pietistic 
gloom  and  rigor  which  surrounded  the  prince  from  childhood  made 
him  averse  to  all  restraint,  and  when  he  could  escape  the  watchful 
eyes  of  his  j)arents  and  teachers,  he  abandoned  himself  to  licentious 
pleasures  in  company  with  i)rofligate  courtiers,  who  visited  low  dives, 
and  taught  him  even  from  youth  to  lead  a  life  of  debauchery.  In 
1743  he  was  married  to  Louise,  the  daughter  of  George  II.  of  Eng- 
land, a  very  charming  ])rincess,  but  even  then  he  was  unable  to 
abandon  his  vicious  habits,  though  the  marriage  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  an  unhappy  one.  Both  King  Frederick  and  Queen  I>ouisc 
were  ver}'  popular,  as  they  surrounded  them.selves  with  a  Danish 
court  and  mingled  freely  with  the  people.  The  restrictions  which 
had  been  placed  on  public  amusements  were  removed.  The  theaters 
were  reopened,  the  ])eople  were  allowed  to  return  to  their  old  merry 
ways,  and  the  court  circles  were  again  made  bright  by  balls  and 
soir6es,  a  welcome  change  from  the  joyless  gloom  of  the  precxxling 
reign. 

The  relations  to  Gottorj),  which  had  again  become  a  political 
question  of  importance  in  his  father's  reign,  caused  the  yoimg  king 


344  HISTORY    OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

some  anxiety,  especially  since  the  successors  to  the  thrones  of  Russia 
and  Sweden  were  both  princes  of  the  House  of  Gottorp.  It  became 
his  first  care  to  bring  about  a  final  settlement  of  this  question,  and  to 
trade  Oldenburg  and  Delmenhorst  for  the  Gottorp  part  of  Holstein, 
so  that  the  southern  boundary  of  the  kingdom  could  become  properly 
rounded  out.  After  prolonged  negotiations  this  was  accomplished 
by  the  treaty  of  1750,  in  which  the  heir  to  the  throne  of  Sweden, 
Adolph  Frederick  of  Gottorp,  renounced  for  himself  and  his  heirs 
all  claims  to  the  island  of  Femern  and  the  part  of  Schleswig  which 
had  belonged  to  his  family.  The  Gottorp  part  of  Holstein  should  be 
ceded  to  Denmark  in  return  for  Oldenburg  and  Delmenhorst,  and 
200,000  riksdaler,  if  Karl  Peter  Ulrik,  successor  to  the  Russian  throne, 
should  die  without  heirs.  This  treaty  practically  eliminated  the 
troublesome  Gottorp  question  from  politics,  and  made  it  possible  to 
maintain  friendly  relations  with  Sweden.  The  boundary  dispute 
between  Norway  and  Sweden  was  also  settled.  Norway  retained 
Kautokeino  and  Karasjok  in  Finmarken,  and  a  commission  was 
established  to  survey  and  mark  the  boundary  line  throughout  its 
entire  length. 

The  people  had  hoped  that  their  liberal-minded  and  popular  king 
would  institute  many  needed  reforms,  but  his  suavity  of  manners 
was  associated  with  moral  weakness  and  mental  ineptitude  rather 
than  with  originality  of  thought.  His  irregular  life  sapped  his 
physical  strength,  and  enveloped  his  mind  in  the  intoxication  of 
sensual  pleasures.  He  gradually  became  unfit  for  systematic  work, 
and  the  direction  of  state  affairs  devolved  upon  his  ministers.  In 
1751  Johan  Hartvig  Ernst  Bernstorff  became  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  a  position  for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  ability  and  high  character,  and  though  only  thirty-nine 
years  of  age  he  was  an  ex]:)erienced  diplomat.  In  the  administration 
of  domestic  affairs  he  sought  to  realize  the  liberal  and  benevolent 
ideas  of  the  Aufkldrung  to  a  moderate  degree,  and  in  his  foreign 
policy  he  was  an  avowed  friend  of  peace.  "  War,"  he  said,  "  if  begun 
without  valid  reason,  yea  without  necessity,  is  one  of  the  most 
deplorable  steps  which  a  human  being  can  take."  During  the  naval 
war  between  France  and  England  in  1755,  caused  by  the  rivalries 
of  these  powers  in  India  and  America,  and  during  the  Seven  Years' 


11  FREDERICK    V  34.5 

War,  175G-17G.3,  in  wliidi  Prussia  ami  lOn^iaiid  were  jnttcd  against 
Austria,  Russia,  France,  and  Sweden,  Bernstorff  maintaine<l  the 
neutrality  of  Deinnark-Norway,  though  with  great  difficulty.  Thir- 
teen thousand  fiv(>  hundred  twenty  men  of  the  Norwegian  army 
were  stationed  in  Holland  for  the  defense  of  the  duchii's  of  Schleswig- 
llolstein,  and  an  alliance  of  neutrality  was  c<jncluded  with  Sweden, 
.iccording  to  which  the  two  powers  agreed  to  keep  a  joint  flwt  in 
the  North  Sea  to  protect  their  commerce,  while  the  Baltic  Sea  was 
to  be  closed  to  the  war  vessels  both  of  England  and  France.  This 
alliance,  however,  proved  of  little  value,  as  Sweden,  in  17.")7,  joined 
Austria,  Russia,  and  France  in  their  war  against  Frederick  the  (Jreat. 
The  protection  of  commerce  against  English  jirivateers  proved  a 
most  diffictdt  task,  as  England  regarded  nearly  all  products  exiwrted 
from  the  neutral  kingdoms  as  contraband  of  war,  and  the  government 
was  loath  to  resort  to  drastic  measures  for  fear  of  becoming  involved 
in  the  war.  But  with  remarkable  tact  and  prudence  Bernstorff  suc- 
ceeded in  saving  Denmark-Norway  from  being  drawn  into  the  vortex 
of  tlie  great  struggle.' 

Tlie  new  ideas  of  the  Aiifkldrung  began  to  exert  their  influence 
on  the  more  progressive  minds,  and  the  charm  of  discovering  that 
there  was  something  besides  war  and  dii)lomacy  which  was  worth 
while  turned  the  attention  of  many  to  the  pursuits  of  peace.  Bern- 
storlV  devoted  special  attention  to  the  development  of  trade,  manu- 
factures, arts,  sciences,  and  agrictdture.  Treaties  were  ccnicluded 
with  Turkey  and  the  Barbary  States,  which  enabled  Deinnark- 
Norway  to  develop  an  extensive  carrying  trade  in  the  Me<literranean 
Sea,  and  the  trade  with  the  West  Indies  began  to  flotirish  wImmi  the 
monopoly  of  the  West  India  Coinj)any  was  aiHiulle<l.  In  17')."> 
only  seven  vessels  were  engaged  in  the  conmierce  with  these  islands. 
but  in  17G6  the  mnnber  had  been  increa.setl  to  thirty-eight.  The 
neutrality  maintaiiuHl  during  the  Seven  Years'  War  contributJMl 
greatly  to  the  growth  of  Danish-Norwegian  eoinnierce,  and  the  Ivist 
India  Company  developi'd  a  flourishing  trade  during  the  war. 

In   order   to   develop   manufacture,    fori'ign    artisans    and    skilled 

'  Roganliiig  Bernstorff 's  policy  seo  Dnnsk  hiKtorisk  Tuisakrift,  R.  IV.. 
p.  (>72  fT.  Danskc  Samlinger,  vol.  FV.,  p.  202  IT.  Danmark^  Rifen  Histnrie, 
v.,  p.  203  fT. 


346  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

laborers  were  employed,  monopolies  and  special  privileges  were 
granted,  and  the  importation  of  manufactured  articles  was  greatly 
restricted.  In  these  measures  the  ideas  of  mercantilism  are  still 
clearly  noticeable ;  but  more  attention  was  also  paid  to  agriculture 
than  hitherto,  as  the  ideas  of  the  French  Physiocrats  were  gaining 
ground.^  This  new  economic  doctrine,  which  was  tinged  with  the 
ideas  of  Rousseau  and  other  French  political  philosophers,  who  main- 
tained that  government  exists  for  the  good  of  the  governed,  that 
freedom  and  equality  are  man's  birthright,  and  that  a  return  to 
nature  was  necessary  if  man  wished  to  find  true  happiness,  gave  the 
agricultural  classes  a  hitherto  unknown  importance.  New  socio- 
logical ideas  were  being  developed  which  were  destined  to  produce 
great  changes.  Hitherto  these  ideas  had  been  scouted  as  dangerous 
theories,  if  they  had  not  been  regarded  as  idle  dreams,  but  already 
in  the  reign  of  Frederick  V.  they  were  beginning  to  exert  a  distinct 
influence.  In  1757  King  Frederick  appointed  a  commission  to 
examine  the  conditions  of  husbandry,  and  to  submit  recommenda- 
tions for  the  encouragement  and  improvement  of  agriculture.  The 
king's  mother.  Queen  Sophia  Magdalena,  abolished  villeinage  on  her 
estate  of  Hirschholm,  Bernstorff  followed  her  example,  and  before 
the  close  of  the  reign  the  liberation  of  the  peasants  in  Denmark 
had  been  adopted  as  the  future  program  of  the  government. 

In  Norway  the  national  awakening  created  new  activity,  and 
shaped  new  demands  in  many  fields.  In  1760  the  first  scientific 
society  in  Norway,  Det  Trondhjemske  Videnskabs-Sebkab,  was  founded 
in  Trondhjem  by  the  three  distinguished  scholars :   Peter  Friedrich 

1  The  Physiocratie  School  of  political  economy  was  originated  in  France 
by  Frangois  Quesnay  (1694-1774).  According  to  their  views  the  govern- 
ment should  only  administer  justice  and  defend  the  rights  of  the  citizens. 
The  liberty  of  the  individual  should  not  be  restricted,  nor  should  the  govern- 
ment exercise  any  control  over  commerce  and  industry.  Their  economic 
doctrine  was  based  on  the  cardinal  principle  that  nature  is  the  source  of 
all  good.  Since  all  wealth  comes  from  the  soil  and  the  atmosphere,  agri- 
culture is  the  great  productive  employment.  Manufactiire,  being  only  a 
change  in  the  form  of  the  material,  does  not  change  its  value.  Commerce, 
being  only  an  exchange,  does  not  add  to  the  value  of  things.  As  an  economic 
system  it  was  one-sided  and  wholly  unscientific,  but  it  rendered  good  serv- 
ice through  the  importance  it  ascribed  to  agriculture,  which  had  hitherto 
been  generally  neglected. 


II  FHEDEKICK    V  '.W 

Suhm,  a  Dane  by  hirtli,  who  had  settled  in  Trondlijein,  iiiid  tlie  tw(j 
iiative-honi  Xi)r\vt'j;ian.s,  Gerhard  Schtiuinn  and  Johaii  Ernst  (iun- 
nerns.  Tlie  liiitoriciil  writings  of  Suhni,  especially  his  "  Historie  af 
Dftumark,"  fnjni  the  earliest  times  till  1K)0,  reveals  a  new  scholarly 
si)irit  in  history-writinji;,  a  love  for  scientific  inqniry  which  comes  to 
view  even  more  j)l;iinly  in  S(h0ning'a  "Xorges  lliges  Historie,"  in 
three  volumes,  from  the  earliest  times  till  9o.").  Schoniin:  has  written 
his  work  from  a  Norwegian  point  of  view,  and  has  advanced  a  thetjry 
of  the  earliest  migrations  into  Norway,  which  was  elaborated  seventy 
years  later  by  li.  Keyser  and  P.  A.  Mnnch,  the  founders  of  the  Nor- 
wegian historical  school,  —  a  theory  which  has  served  as  the  general 
basis  for  the  views  of  Norwegian  scholars  us  to  the  (origin  and  early 
antiquity  of  the  Norwegian  |)et)ple.  (lunnerns  was  a  theologian, 
and  became  Bishop  of  Trondlijem,  but  he  distinguished  himself  also 
in  philosophy  and  mathematics.  It  is  noteworthy  that  this  society 
of  scholars  devoted  much  attention  to  the  discussion  of  agriculture, 
and  that  several  treatises  on  this  subject  api)eared  in  tlie  society's 
journal.  The  stimulus  imj)arted  by  this  new  organization  to  the 
interest  for  higher  intellectual  culture  was  accomi)anied,  also,  by  an 
active  agitation  for  the  founding  of  a  Norwegian  university.  Suhm 
wrote,  1761,  in  " Trondhjemske  Sandinger,"  a  periodical  publishe<l 
by  him  in  Trondlijem:  "In  no  land  in  Europe  are  the  conditions 
for  the  development  and  spread  of  the  sciences  more  unfavorai)le 
than  here,  since  we  have  not  even  a  university."  '  And  in  17titS 
Bishop  Gunnerus  saitl  in  an  address  before  the  society:  "There  is 
no  want  in  Norway  of  patriotic  thoughts,  or  of  the  desire,  courage, 
and  high  spirit  t<j  do  useful  and  praiseworthy  things,  even  at  the  cost 
of  personal  loss,  but  there  is  lack  of  eflfectual  encouragement  and 
necessary  guidance  and  direction  in  many  wa\s.  We  have  four 
cathedral  sciu)ols.  but  there  is  in  the  whole  kingdom  im  public  Iibrar\ 
and  no  universitx'.  The  jduniey  to  Copenhagen  is  litug  and  expen- 
sive. The  greater  lunnber  of  students  are,  moreover,  poor,  and  how- 
soever many  rich  foundations  there  be  at  the  .said  university  for  tiie 
benefit  of  such  students,  all  cannot  be  supported  there.  This  is  the 
reason  why  so  many  Norwegians  of  tliis  class,  who,  on  account  of  the 

'  Tnuulhjemskc  Samliriffer,   ujgiret  nf  I'hilaUtho.  vul.   I.,  p.  41.  quottnl  by 
J.  E.  Sars,  I'dsigt  over  den  norskc  Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  1S3. 


348  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  H 

public  examinations,  have  been  at  the  university  two  or  three  times, 
have  scarcely  remained  longer  than  a  few  months.  This  can,  indeed, 
be  called  to  visit,  but  not  to  study  at  the  university,  and  every  one 
will  understand  what  great  harm  this  is  to  the  cultivation  and  de- 
velopment of  higher  learning  in  Norway."  In  1771  Suhm  published 
an  anonymous  pamphlet,  in  which  he  indulges  in  bitter  invective 
against  the  Danish  government  for  failing  to  make  provision  for 
higher  education  in  Norway.  "It  seems  to  me,"  he  says,  "that  the 
Danes  from  mean-spirited  jealousy  and  unfounded  fear  seek  to 
perpetuate  ignorance  in  this  country.  There  is  no  academy,  no 
university,  no  public  library.  The  Norwegians  who  wish  to  study 
must  go  to  Denmark."  Several  pamphlets  appeared,  urging  the 
founding  of  a  Norwegian  university,  and  Ove  Gjerl0v  Meyer  sub- 
jected the  question  to  a  more  systematic  examination  in  two  treatises 
published  in  1771.  He  argued  that  though  the  two  kingdoms  were 
so  firmly  united  that  they  could  never  be  separated,  yet  the  question 
of  a  university  was  a  matter  of  national  concern  to  the  Norwegian 
people.  The  agitation  for  a  university  was  becoming  somewhat  of 
a  national  cause,  but  the  Danish  government  failed  to  grant  the 
demand.  During  the  following  reign  the  liberal  Struensee  favored 
the  plan,  but  when  he  was  overthrown,  the  government  again  be- 
came reactionary,  and  the  matter  was  dropped.^  The  strict  censor- 
ship of  the  press,  which  was  still  maintained  in  spite  of  the  king's 
otherwise  liberal  views,  also  stood  in  the  way  of  carrying  through 
important  measures  of  reforms.  Two  newspapers  had  been  founded 
in  Norway:  "Norske  Intelligenssedler,"  which  began  to  appear  in 
May,  1763,  and  "  Efterretninger  fra  Adresse  Contoret  i  Bergen," 
first  published  in  1765,  but  neither  paper  ventured  to  speak  a  word 
in  behalf  of  national  issues  or  to  criticize  the  course  pursued  by  the 
government.  The  press  had  not  yet  become  a  factor  in  political 
life.    If  the  people  wished  to  express  their  opinion  on  public  measures, 

1  Det  kongelige  Fredriks  Universitet  1811-1911,  vol.  I.,  p.  xii  ff.  Arne 
Bergsgaard,  Striden  for  Universitetet,  Syn  og  Segn,  September,  1911.  Halv- 
dan  Koht,  Universitete  og  det  norske  Folk,  Syn  og  Segn,  September,  1911. 
Essay  sur  I'etat  present  des  sciences,  des  belles  lettres  et  des  beaux  arts  dans  le 
Dannemark  et  dans  la  Norwhge.  Suhm,  Samlede  Skrifter,  vol.  VI.,  p.  422  ff. 
O.  A.  0verland,  Norges  Historic,  vol.  IX.,  p.  319  ff.  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over 
den  norske  Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  43  f.,  183  ff. 


11  CHRISTIAN    VII.    AND   QUEEN    CAROLINA    MATiniJ)A  349 

tlu'y  still  had  to  avail  themselves  of  more  drastic  means,  such  as  the 
riots  caused  hy  the  new  tax  levy  of  1762.  The  armed  neutrality 
which  had  been  maintained  during  the  Seven  Years'  War  had  cost 
l.irfje  sums,  which,  together  with  the  support  given  to  maiuifacture 
ill  the  form  of  loans  and  subsidies,  as  well  as  the  great  extravagance 
if  the  court,  had  placed  the  goNcnunent  in  great  financial  difficulty. 
In  order  to  i)ay  the  interest  and  term  i)ayinents  on  large  loans,  a  new 
tax  of  eight  skilling  was  impose<l  f)n  every  person  twelve  years  of 
;ige.  In  Norway  this  caused  the  greatest  ill-will,  and  serious  dis- 
turbances occurred.  In  Bergen  a  force  of  binder,  which  was  estimated 
;it  two  tliousand,  attacked  the  residence  of  the  stift.'inmtiiinnd,  in- 
sulted and  ill-treated  him,  and  forceil  him  to  refund  them  the  tax 
which  had  been  collected.'  In  Stavanger  and  Christiansund,  in 
Romsdal,  and  many  other  places  serious  riots  occurred,  as  the  bdnder, 
who  suffered  because  of  high  prices  and  hard  times  caused  by  the 
war,  refused  to  pay  the  extra  tax. 

No  ver>'  noteworthy  changes  had  been  effected  during  this  reign, 
but  BernstorfF's  policy  in  administration  and  diplomacy  had  been 
liberal-minded  as  well  as  prudent,  and  he  had  given  the  awakening 
national  feeling  an  opportunity  to  grow  without  exploiting  it  in  the 
interest  of  a  radical  liberalism. 

King  Frederick  V.  paid  a  l)rief  visit  to  Norway  shortly  after  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  but  instead  of  studying  the  needs  and  cus- 
toms of  the  kingdom,  he  spent  the  time  in  gambling  and  making 
merry  with  his  courtiers.  Any  higher  conception  of  his  duties  to  his 
realm  and  his  subjects  he  never  seemed  to  have  entertained.  He  dii'd 
in  1700,  forty-three  years  of  age. 

45.   Christian  VII.  and  Queen  Carolina  Mathilda 
TiiK  Stuuensee  Period 

^^^le^  King  Frederick's  son  and  successor.  Christian  \'II.,  ascended 
the  throne  amid  the  plaudits  of  the  populace,  the  truckling  .seekers  of 
royal  favors  pronounced  the  most  ex'travagant  panegyrics  uiK)n  tlie 
virtues  of  the  prince,  whom  they  declared  to  be  wiser  than  Augustus 
and  better  than  Trajan.     But  thoughtful  men.  who  knew  the  young 

'  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Bergen,  p.  449  ft. 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

king,  shook  their  heads  and  mused  upon  what  the  future  might  bring. 
They  knew  that  he  was  a  moral  degenerate ;  that  his  mild  appear- 
ance and  frail  physique  hid  the  most  unbridled  passions ;  that  his 
weak  mind  might  even  be  wrecked  by  excess,  and  leave  him  a  mental 
imbecile  if  not  a  helpless  maniac.  Christian  had  not  had  the  good 
fortune  to  enjoy  proper  care  in  his  childhood.  His  mother,  Queen 
Louise,  died  December  19,  1751,  before  he  was  three  years  of  age, 
and  Juliane  Marie,  who  became  King  Frederick's  second  queen 
half  a  year  later,  does  not  seem  to  have  had  much  affection  for  the 
motherless  child.  The  king  was  as  unfit  to  watch  over  his  son's 
early  training  as  he  was  to  govern  his  kingdoms,  and  the  education 
of  the  prince  was  intrusted  to  Count  Reventlow,  an  honest  and  up- 
right, but  rude  and  brutal  man.  The  little  prince  was  forced  to  go 
to  church  twice  every  Sunday,  and  to  recite  at  home  the  contents 
of  the  sermons  which  he  had  heard.  If  he  failed  to  satisfy  the  stern 
count,  he  received  a  thorough  flogging.  The  philosophy  of  WolfP 
and  the  deism  of  Matthews  Tindal  were  the  subjects  which  his 
teachers  tried  to  force  into  his  child-mind  by  diligent  application  of 
the  rod.  In  free  hours  he  was  left  without  proper  care  to  associate 
with  corrupt  courtiers,  who  led  him  into  a  life  of  moral  degradation 
which  he  learned  to  hide  with  falsehoods  and  deceit.^  The  sudden 
change  from  a  helpless  pupil  under  the  dominion  of  tyrannous  masters 
to  an  absolute  monarch,  to  whom  all  showed  the  most  obsequious 
homage,  did  not  inspire  the  seventeen-year-old  prince  with  any  feeling 
of  responsibility,  but  only  made  him  feel  that  the  hour  of  freedom 
had  come  at  last,  when  he  could  throw  restraints  to  the  winds,  and 
plunge  into  wild  pleasures  without  being  obliged  to  hide  his  way- 
wardness by  clever  lies.  To  his  physician  Wallert  he  declared  shortly 
after  his  accession  to  the  throne  that  he  would  "rage  for  two  years," 
and  rage  he  did  like  no  other  king  that  ever  wore  the  royal  purple 
in  Denmark.  In  1766  he  married  Princess  Carolina  Mathilda  of 
England,  daughter  of  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  the  eldest  son  of 
George  II. ;  but  this  political  marriage  of  the  seventeen-year-old 
king  to  a  princess  who  was  only  fifteen  years  old,  and  whom  he  had 
never  before  seen,  did  not  in  any  way  improve  his  wayward  private 

^  Chr.  Blangstrup,  Christian  VII.  og  Caroline  Mathilde,  Copenhageu,  1894. 
Karl  Wittieh,  Struensee,  edited  by  Blangstrup. 


n  CHRISTIAN    VII.    AND   QUEEN   CAROLINA    MATHILDA  351 

life.  "Tlie  society  wliich  was  found  as-sembled  inside  the  palace 
v.allsof  Christian.sborg,"  says  his  biograplicr,  BlaiiKstnip,  "endeavored 
ti)  the  best  of  their  ability  to  ])econie  a  copy  of  tlie  world  whose  fame 
s[)rcad  from  Versailles  over  all  Europe.  One  meets  here  the  .same 
kind  of  characters  and  thoughtless  persons,  the  same  forms  of  cul- 
ture, the  same  frivolous  social  tone,  the  same  moral  laxity.  And 
this  circle  of  richly  attired  lords  and  ladies  of  the  court,  who  move 
about  with  the  graceful  steps  of  the  dance,  accost  one  another  with 
flattery  and  compliments,  and  an  affected  French  esprit,  despising 
tliorouf^hly  the  language  and  culture  of  their  own  country,  seek  to 
live,  also,  according  to  the  rules  of  convenience,  and  to  imitate  their 
model  in  feelings  and  ideas,  as  well  as  in  costumes  and  demeanor. 
It  was  especially  necessary  to  make  marriage  the  object  of  ridicule 
and  wanton  remarks.  One  cannot  read  memoirs  or  accounts  of 
lourt  life  of  those  times  without  meeting  cynical  e>qDressioiLs  which 
show  how  little  marriage  was  esteemed  in  all  higher  society.  Love 
and  fidelity  in  married  life  was  regarded  as  narrow-mindedness  and 
fiMilish  prejudice."  '  Christian  VII.  had  acquired  this  view  of  life 
in  the  court  circles  where  he  had  been  reared,  and  he  oi)enly  con- 
fessed that  he  regarded  marriage  as  a  burden.-  In  company  with 
the  mischief-loving  and  dissolute  nobles,  who  became  his  friends,  he 
roamed  about  in  disguise  at  night,  visiting  low  dives,  breaking  win- 
'lows,  throwing  furniture  into  the  streets,  fighting  with  the  police, 
and  reveling  in  disorder  like  the  rudest  vagabond.  The  capital  was 
horrified,  but  Christian  smiled  in  complacent  glee  over  c\ery  new 
<'sca])ade  like  a  wa>ward  child.  His  education,  though  apparently 
thorough  and  profound,  was  of  the  most  superficial  and  useless  sort. 
He  had  learned  nothing  about  statesmanship,  military  affairs,  or 
finances,  nor  of  the  conditions  of  the  kingdoms  which  he  was  to 
govern.  His  ministers,  instead  of  aiding  him  to  become  acquainteil 
with  the  work  of  the  administration,  preferred  to  ke<'p  matters  in 
their  own  hands,  and  MernstorfT  continued  to  conduct  the  allairs  of 
government  until  he  was  overthrown  by  the  intriguing  Struens«.*e  in 
1770.     As  absolute  monarch  King  Christian  was  the  personificatioa 

^  Chrifttiati  VII.  ng  Caroline  Mathilde,  p.  87. 

•  FViodrioh  von  llaumor.  Kuropa  vom  Ende  des  sUbcnjdhrigen  bia  zum  Ende 
des  amcrikanischcn  Kricgcs,  voL  i.,  p.  138. 


352  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

of  sovereignty,  in  whose  name  every  act  of  government  was  per- 
formed, but  he  exercised  no  direct  influence  either  on  diplomacy  or 
domestic  administration.  In  Ufe  and  thought  as  well  as  in  manners 
and  appearance  he  was  more  like  a  French  coxcomb  than  a  real  king. 
The  young  queen,  who  had  been  brought  to  this  corrupt  court  at 
so  tender  an  age,  and  had  been  married  to  a  young  voluptuary  for 
whom  she  could  entertain  no  other  feeling  than  aversion  and  disgust, 
felt  lonesome  and  unhappy.  After  the  birth  of  Crown  Prince  Fred- 
erick, January  29,  17G8,  the  king  treated  her  with  studied  disrespect, 
and  even  dismissed  her  duenna  and  first  lady-in-waiting,  Lady  Plessen, 
who  attempted  to  guide  the  young  queen,  and  sought  to  shield  her 
from  the  corrupting  influences  of  the  court.  The  unhappy  relation 
between  the  royal  pair  developed  into  an  open  hatred,  and  the  ennui 
and  feeling  of  unhappiness' were  undermining  the  queen's  health. 
In  the  spring  of  1769,  when  she  became  really  ill,  the  king  finally 
advised  her  to  consult  his  physician,  Struensee.  At  first  she  refused 
to  see  the  doctor,  as  she  feared  that  he  was  like  the  rest  of  the  king's 
companions  and  favorites,  but  she  finally  consented  to  an  interview. 
Struensee,  a  German  by  birth,  was  thirty-two  years  of  age,  a  man  of 
fine  learning  and  appearance,  who  knew  the  art  of  being  agreeable.^ 
His  culture,  intelligence,  and  sympathy  made  a  most  favorable  im- 
pression on  the  queen.  His  visits  were  repeated,  and  she  soon  found 
in  his  company  and  conversation  the  understanding  which  she  had 
so  ardently  longed  for.  He  brought  about  a  reconciliation  between 
her  and  the  king,  a  help  for  which  she  was  very  grateful.  She 
learned  to  regard  him  as  her  true  friend,  and  the  friendship  soon 
ripened  into  passionate  love.  The  king  was  rapidly  sinking  into 
mental  imbecility,  and  Struensee,  who  had  gained  full  control  over 
him,  was  in  position  to  seize  the  reins  which  were  dropping  from 
his  enervated  hands.  On  September  15,  1770,  Bernstorff  was  dis- 
missed from  office  at  the  instigation  of  Struensee,  who  now  assumed 
full  control  of  the  government,  together  with  his  two  friends,  Rant- 
zau-Ascheberg  and  Enevold  Brandt.  The  king's  special  favorite 
and  companion.  Count  Conrad  Hoick,  was  banished  from  the  court, 

'  Reverdil,  StruensSe  et  la  cour  de  Copenhague,  p.  151,  calls  him  ''un  homme 
aimable  et  insinuant,"  ''un  trSs  bel  homme,  renome  par  ses  sucees  aupres 
des  femmes,  chasseur  et  voyageur  infatigable." 


II  THE   STUUEN8EE    PERIOD  3.53 

a  number  of  the  highest  officials  were  dismissed,  friends  of  the  usurper 
were  appointed  to  the  most  importiint  positions,  and  lirandt  was 
[tlaci'd  in  Hoick's  former  position  as  the  king's  companion,  with  the 
duty  of  arranging  all  festivities  and  amusements  at  court.  The 
(leheimekonceil  was  aholished,  the  Colleges  lost  their  importance, 
and  a'goverimient  by  cabinet  orders,  i.e.  orders  issuetl  by  Struensee 
and  signed  by  tlie  king,  was  substituted.  In  1771  Struensee  per- 
suaded the  king  to  a|)j)oint  liim  cabinet  minister,  a  position  which 
virtually  made  him  regent  with  unlimited  ])ower.  He  now  supcr- 
sede<l  King  Christian  as  ruler,  as  he  had  already  superseded  him  in 
the  alfections  of  Queen  Mathilda.  That  he  was  her  paramour  was 
no  longer  a  secret,  but  the  imbecile  king,  who  was  as  incapable  of 
jealousy  as  he  was  of  love,  seems  to  have  been  well  satisfied. 

Personal  ambition  was,  undoubtedly,  the  chief  motive  in  Struen- 
see's  daring  usurpation  of  royal  jxiwer.  but  it  is  quite  clear  that  he 
hoped  to  justify  his  course  in  the  eye.-,  of  the  world  by  doing  great 
things  for  the  realms  over  which  he  exercised  dominion.  He  was  an 
adherent  of  the  Aujiddrung,  and  as  soon  as  he  assumed  control  of 
the  government,  he  introduced  a  series  of  reforms  embodying  liberal 
and  progressive  ideas.  The  ])ress  was  granted  complete  liberty, 
patriotic  and  able  men  were  aj)pointe(l  to  public  office,  the  number 
of  empty  titles  was  restricted,  and  many  u.seless  offices  and  jiensions 
were  abolishe<l.  Greater  economy  was  practiced  at  court,  so  that 
the  public  expenditures  should  not  exceed  the  income,  a  stricter 
control  was  exercised  over  public  officials,  and  Struensee  was  an 
avowed  friend  of  religious  tol«  ration.'  To  us  these  and  similar 
reforms  seem  very  praiseworthy  and  necessary,  but  as  they  were  in- 
troduced into  a  society  which  was  as  yet  unable  to  understand  their 
value,  they  proved  to  i)e  in  many  cases  worse  than  useless,  productive 
of  nothing  but  grief  and  harm  to  their  author.  Ileverdil  seems  to 
state  it  correctly  when  he  says  of  Struensee's  activity  as  a  reformer 
that  his  aims  were  high  and  noble,  but  his  methods  were  often  ill 
chosen,  and  his  worst  fault  was  that  he  belicvi'd  that  people  can  be 
reformefl  by  ordinances.-  It  is  evident  that  Struensee  had  launched 
his  reforms  without  duly  consiilcring  his  chances  of  success.     The 

'Jons  Krai»  Host,  Slrnrnscc  ng  hnns  .\finislerium. 
*  Struensee,  Memoirs  dc  Rcverdil,  p.  ItiO  f.,  227. 
VOL.  II  — 2  a 


354  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

old  bureaucracy  was  offended  by  the  stricter  control  of  officials,  the 
cutting  down  of  pensions,  and  the  abolishing  of  old  and  useless  offices ; 
the  idlers  at  court,  by  the  introduction  of  a  system  of  stricter  economy 
and  fewer  titles,  the  clergy,  bj'  Struensee's  religious  toleration,  while 
the  common  classes,  steeped  in  superstition  and  illiteracy,  were  none 
the  wiser,  and,  probably,  none  the  happier  because  of  the  attempted 
reforms.  The  dissatisfied  were  those  who  could  speak,  those  who 
shaped  public  opinion,  and  they  took  advantage  of  the  freedom  of  the 
press  to  publish  lampoons  against  Struensee,  and  to  stir  up  public 
sentiment  against  him  by  giving  publication  to  insipid  gossip  and 
malignant  falsehoods,  until  he  found  it  necessary  to  restrict  again 
the  freedom  of  the  press. 

The  Norwegians  had  remained  rather  indifferent  to  Struensee's 
attempts  at  reforms,  especially  since  he  had  wounded  their  feelings 
by  dismissing  the  popular  statholder,  Jakob  Benzon.  But  they  had 
formulated  certain  specific  demands  which  seem  to  have  been  favor- 
ably regarded  by  the  cabinet  minister,  and  after  he  had  remained 
in  power  long  enough,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  would 
have  been  granted.  To  the  agitation  for  a  university  they  added  a 
demand  for  a  separate  Commercial  College  for  Norway,  and  the 
privilege  to  found  a  Norwegian  bank  with  a  capital  of  500,000  riks- 
daler,  an  institution  which  must  have  been  sorely  needed,  when  we 
consider  the  volume  of  Norwegian  commerce.  They  also  demanded 
the  abolition  of  the  extra  tax  which  had  been  levied  in  1762  without 
the  people's  consent,  and  the  revocation  of  the  laws  prohibiting  the 
importation  of  grain  to  Norway  from  any  country  but  Denmark. 
Struensee  favored  the  plan  of  establishing  a  Norwegian  bank,  but 
as  the  directors  of  the  Danish-Norwegian  bank  in  Copenhagen 
opposed  it,  he  dropped  the  matter.  The  laws  restricting  grain  im- 
port were  not  revoked,  but  by  special  order  free  importation  of  grain 
was  allowed  for  a  limited  period.  None  of  the  requested  reforms  was 
carried  through  at  this  time,  but  they  had  been  formulated  as  a 
distinct  demand,  and  we  cannot  fail  to  see  in  them  an  effort  to 
separate  Norwegian  internal  affairs  from  direct  Danish  control. 

Struensee's  measures  of  reform  reveal  clearly  the  weakness  and 
short-sightedness  characteristic  of  the  A  ufkldrung.  As  social  progress 
was  not  to  originate  in  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  of  the  people 


11  THE   STRUEN8EE    PERIOD  355 

iit  lar^e,  but  was  to  be  bnniKbt  about  artificially  by  ordinances  issued 
by  an  enlightened  and  bcucxokiit  de>j)ol,  no  regard  was  had  for  the 
Conditions  of  the  society  which  these  reforms  were  intendcHl  to 
bfiR'fit,  and  the  synipath\-  and  national  spirit  of  the  people  were  not 
enlisted  in  their  support.  Struensee  was  wholly  unnational.  He 
despised  Danish,  and  used  German  exclusively.  Like  many  other 
despotic  reformers  of  that  ajje,  he  failed  to  realize  that  a  people's 
social  and  intellectual  proj^ress  must  spring  from  their  own  national 
life,  that  the  incori)oratinj^  of  new  ideas  as  a  lixiiii^  force  in  the  old 
social  orj^anism  can  be  accomplished  only  by  the  slow  progress  of 
moral  and  intellectual  growth.  Largely  because  of  his  misconcep- 
tion of  the  true  nature  of  reform  he  failed  to  carry  through  even  the 
most  moderate  and  useful  measures.  But  his  work  was  not  wholly 
in  vain.  lie  had  brought  the  liberal  views  of  the  Aufkldrung  from 
the  realm  of  speculation  into  the  more  practical  one  of  statescraft 
and  social  reform,  and  had  thereby  given  valuable  aid  to  the  progress 
of  liberal  political  ideas. 

That  Struensee  woidd  be  able  to  exercise  permanently  his  usurped 
power  could  not  be  expected,  even  if  he  had  been  a  man  of  far  greater 
prestige  and  more  influential  connections ;  but  as  a  mere  foreign 
adventurer  he  could  receive  no  support  from  the  upper  classes,  who. 
aside  from  the  king,  exercised  all  power  in  the  realm.  He  lacked, 
moreover,  many  of  the  qualities  which  make  men  truly  great,  and 
his  lack  of  i)rudence  and  real  courage  hastened  his  downfall.'  He 
had  won  to  his  side  one  importatit  person,  the  young  queen,  who, 
prompted  by  love,  hazarded  all  for  his  .sake;  but  others  who  might 
have  been  won  were  repelled  b\-  his  arrogance,  or  offended  by  his 
recklessness.  The  moral  tone  of  the  court  was  not  improved  l)y 
Struensee,  and  he  took  no  care  to  conceal  his  relation  to  the  queen. 
Eml)ol(lened  by  her  affections  for  the  usurper,  and  the  sj)irit  of  the 
circles  in  which  she  mo\i-d.  she  abandoned  her  former  modest  ways, 
and  indulged  in  imi)rudent  frolic,  which  gave  great  offense,  and 
became  the  topic  of  damaging  gossip.  She  ai)peare<i  in  public  in 
male  attire,  she  rode  her  horse  h  ralifourchon,  and  playtnl  otlier  gay 
pranks  which  were  little  in  keeping  with  the  dignity  of  a  queen. 
Struensee,  who  was  now  guiding  both  her  destiny  and  his  own. 
'  Kurl  Wittich,  Struensee,  p.  91  Cf. 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

ought  to  have  been  her  mentor,  as  the  preservation  of  her  good  name 
should  have  been  a  matter  of  great  concern  to  him,  if  for  no  higher 
motive  than  the  promotion  of  his  own  selfish  aims.  But  instead  of 
wisely  restraining  her,  who  would  gladly  have  yielded  to  any  sug- 
gestion from  him,  we  are  forced  to  believe  that  he  was  responsible 
for  her  conduct,  that  it  conformed  to  his  peculiar  ideas  of  liberty, 
and  his  utter  disregard  for  all  institutions,  ideas,  and  conventionali- 
ties which  did  not  represent  his  own  views.  In  the  treatment  of 
the  king  he  showed  the  same  lack  of  foresight  and  true  nobleness. 
Though  all  his  great  powers  were  still  delegated  to  him  by  the  king, 
he  even  encouraged  Brandt  to  illtreat  the  imbecile  and  helpless 
monarch.  These  things  were  soon  noised  abroad,  and  became 
effective  weapons  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies.  The  rumors  that  the 
king  was  being  illtreated,  and  that  the  royal  family  was  being  dis- 
graced by  Struensee,  created  a  storm  of  ill-will  which  emboldened  his 
opponents.  A  plot  was  formed  to  overthrow  him,  the  leader  of 
which  was  his  own  faithless  friend  Rantzau,  who  was  aided  by  Ove 
H0eg-Guldberg  and  Queen  Juliane  Marie.  In  the  early  morning  of 
January  17,  1772,  after  a  ball  at  the  court,  the  conspirators  gained 
entrance  to  the  palace,  and  placed  Struensee,  Brandt,  and  the  queen 
under  arrest.  The  success  of  the  plot  was  hailed  with  general  de- 
light, and  the  only  thought  of  the  leaders  was  to  punish  the  offenders 
as  severely  as  possible.  Struensee  and  Brandt  were  condemned  to 
death  and  executed  after  a  trial  which  was  declared  by  many  to  be 
a  travesty  on  justice.^  It  is  true  that  the  charge  of  crimen  laesae 
majestatis  could  be  but  lamely  maintained  against  Struensee,  since 
the  king  himself  had  placed  him  in  power,  and  the  cabinet  minister 
had  performed  every  oflBcial  act  by  order  of  the  king.  It  is  also  true 
that  Guldberg,  one  of  the  conspirators,  should  not  have  been  made 
one  of  the  judges  at  the  trial.     The  king  might,  indeed,  have  good 

^  H.  Walpole  says  in  his  Journal  of  the  Reign  of  King  George  III.,  vol.  I., 
p.  115:  ''The  sentences  .  .  .  instead  of  satisfying  the  public  have  excited 
a  general  compassion  for  them,  and  an  abhorrence  of  their  barbarous  exe- 
cution ;  and,  in  short,  they  are  now  looked  upon  as  victims  of  the  state,  sacri- 
ficed to  the  ambition  and  hatred  of  their  enemies." 

In  a  letter  of  July  6,  1772,  the  Danish  diplomat,  Count  Rochus  Fr.  Lynar, 
condemns  the  execution  of  the  count  in  the  strongest  terms,  and  says  that 
''in  all  Europe  they  ridicule  this  decision,  which,  to  Denmark's  disgrace,  has 
been  translated  into  nearly  every  language." 


II  THK    STIU'ENSEE    PEKIOD  ?^il 

reason  to  feel  ofl'oiulcd  at  tlu-  prisoiu-rs,  l»ut  lie  liad  made  no  com- 
plaint, thoiij^li  lie  was  finally  prevailed  npon  to  si^n  their  death 
warrants.  Tlic  \indi(ti\c  rliaractm  of  the  |)r(>.se(utinii,  and  the 
harharic  j)nnisliment  inflicted,  .shows  that  the  conspirators  were  hcnt 
i»n  destroyinj^  their  opjxinents  rather  than  seciirinj^  even-handed 
justice.  Queen  Carolina  Mathilda  was  placed  in  Kronborg  castle, 
where  she  was  allowed  to  communicate  only  with  persons  selectwl 
tor  her  company.  Her  marriage  to  (^hri.stian  VII.  was  annulled  hy 
the  court,  a  decree  which  was  not  only  harsh,  Imt  impolitic  and  un- 
wise. It"  she  had  erred,  .sjie  was  still  infinitely  better  than  her  worth- 
less husband,  who  was  lonj^  since  unfit  to  marry  aj^ain.  She  had 
( ome  to  the  Danish  court  while  very  youiijt^;  she  was  given  in  mar- 
riage to  a  worthless  rake ;  she  was  surrounded  from  the  outset  by  the 
evil  influences  of  an  immoral  court,  and  had  fallen  into  the  snares  of 
an  artful  seducer,  who  in  tlu'  hours  of  trouble  had  won  her  con- 
tidence  as  a,  friend  and  advi.ser.  Her  misfortunes  should  have  j)al- 
liated  many  of  her  mistakes,  but  the  obdurate  judges,  who  could 
spell  wisdom  only  from  the  dull  letters  of  the  law,  rendered  a  decision 
which  could  not  garnish  the  corrupt  Danish  court  with  a  ^■irtue 
which  it  did  not  jxissess,  but  only  served  to  t)ffend  her  brother,  King 
George  III.,  and  to  awaken  among  the  English  pet)ple  a  hostility  to 
Denmark-Norway  which  may  have  been  resj)onsible  for  nian>'  later 
unhappy  events.  Her  di\()rce  and  imprisonment  were  regarded  in 
England  as  a  violation  of  English  national  honor,  and  a  storm  of 
indignation  was  aroused.  A  letter  in  the  "  I'libije  .\dverti.ser" 
demanded  that  a  fleet  should  be  inuucdiately  dispatched  to  Copen- 
hagen to  frighten  (^ueen  Mathilda's  enemies,  and  .Junius,  the  anon\- 
mous  author  of  the  famous  "Ix'tters  of  Junius,"  pliinl  his  eloquent 
pen  in  violent  criticism  of  tlu-  "Northern  \'andals"  and  the  "shame- 
ful remissness"  of  I^ord  North,  who,  according  to  the  writer,  failitl 
to  take  energetic  measures  for  her  protection.'  It  had  been  the 
plan  of  the  conspirators  to  keep  the  (lueen  in  a  mild  imprisonment 
at  Aalborg,  but  when  the  I'Jiglish  government  proti'stetl,  they  ih'cide«l 
to  turn  her  over  to  the  English  authorities.  Ib-r  dowry  of  £.S(),t»(l(l 
should  be  refunded  her,  she  should  retain  the  title  of  (|uefn.  but  she 
had  to  part  with  her  eliildreii,  who  were  regarded  as  members  of  the 

'  Karl  Witticb,  Slrucnscc,  p.  140. 


358  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Danish  royal  family.  Two  English  frigates  were  sent  to  Copenhagen 
to  carry  her  from  Denmark.  On  May  30,  1773,  Queen  Carolina 
Mathilda  sailed  away  from  the  land  which  had  witnessed  her  mis- 
fortunes, but  which  still  harbored  the  treasures  of  her  heart.  She 
was  carried  to  Celle  in  her  brother,  King  George's,  Hanoverian 
possessions,  where  she  was  to  reside.  In  that  city  she  died  May  10, 
1775,  twenty-four  years  of  age.  "Thus  ended  this  drama  of  which 
she  had  been  the  heroine,"  says  Professor  Wittich.  "History  could 
have  numbered  this  high-minded  and  lovable  woman  among  the 
worthiest  of  princesses,  if  destiny  had  not  linked  her  to  so  miserable 
a  prince  without  consulting  her  heart.  But  even  in  her  delinquencies 
she  rose  to  a  self-denial  and  a  nobility  of  soul  which  make  her  tower 
high  above  her  surroundings,  and  especially  above  the  man  who 
betrayed  her." 

46.   Prince  Frederick  and  Ove  H^eg-Guldberg 
A  Period  of  Reaction 

After  the  overthrow  of  Struensee,  Prince  Frederick,  a  half-brother 
of  Christian  VH.,  the  son  of  Queen  Juliane  Marie,  became  regent, 
but  the  leading  spirit  in  the  government  was  Ove  H0eg-Guldberg, 
one  of  the  conspirators.  He  was  a  man  of  small  ability,  a  pedant 
and  reactionary,  who  was  carried  into  power  on  the  crest  of  the  wave 
of  loyalty  to  the  king,  and  opposition  to  reform  which  culminated 
in  the  palace  revolution  of  January  17,  1772.  Like  every  pedant 
he  had  a  system,  and  it  happened  to  be  very  acceptable  to  those  who 
had  now  gained  control,  and  sought  to  undo  every  reform  which  had 
been  introduced  by  his  fallen  predecessor.  He  considered  the  pro- 
gressive and  liberal  ideas  of  the  age  as  idle  vagaries,  and  regarded 
education  of  the  common  classes  as  harmful  and  dangerous.  "Hu- 
manity," he  said,  "can  bear  only  a  certain  amount  of  knowledge, 
and  each  class  must,  therefore,  have  its  proper  share.  More  than 
that  intoxicates.  The  peasant  children,"  he  continues,  "acquire 
knowledge  of  Christianity  and  their  duties ;  they  become  acquainted 
with  the  Bible ;  they  learn  to  write,  and,  if  they  must  do  so,  to  figure 
a  little.  Other  knowledge  they  do  not  need,  neither  is  it  profitable 
for  them.     I  shudder  for  everything  else  which  these  flatulent  times 


n  PRINCE    FRKDKUirK    AND    OVE    H^EO-OULDHKIK;  359 

have  tauglit,  and  with  wlildi  tlu-y  would  spoil  tvi-rytliinK."  '  ile 
did  not  openly  pn)daim  tlic  maxim  that  the  subjects  exist  for  the 
sake  (tf  the  kinj;,  hut  this  is  the  stand|)oint  from  whieh  he  j^encrally 
reasoned,  says  Sars.  On  the  whole,  his  theory  of  statesmanship  was 
of  the  most  antiquated  sort,  and  it  is  true,  as  his  son  observes,  that 
he  was  a  product  of  the  spirit  of  1G6().'  The  first  concern  of  the  new 
government  was  to  bring  everything  back  into  the  old  conditions. 
The  Geheimekonceil  was  reestablished,  and  the  step  taken  by  Struen- 
see  to  abolish  serfdom,  and  to  limit  the  amount  of  free  service  to  be 
rendered  by  the  jieasants,  was  amuilled,  and  the  aristocracy  were 
again  allowed  to  lord  it  over  the  peasants,  "according  to  old  usage." 
A  strict  censorship  of  the  i)ress  was  reestablished,  and  at  court  the 
old  abuses  and  extravagance  were  reintroducetl  with  the  granting  of 
titles,  pensions,  offices,  gifts,  and  gratuities  to  truc.-kling  seekers  of 
royal  favors.  The  old  mercantile  protective  system,  which  Strucn- 
see  had  sought  to  abolish,  was  again  adopted.  Monopolies  and 
special  favors  were  freely  employed  to  encourage  various  private 
undertakings,  and  large  sums  were  expended  to  aid  useless  com- 
mercial and  industrial  enterprises  in  the  old  mercantile  spirit.  The 
reaction  was  thorough  in  its  work,  enthusiastic  in  its  efforts  to  stop 
ever>'  wheel  of  progress,  and  to  turn  the  clock  of  the  ages  back  to 
the  "good  old  days,"  when  liberal  ideas  had  not  yet  disturi)ed  those 
who  possessed  all  privileges  and  ])ower. 

But  even  this  reactionary  government  granted  one  important 
reform.  As  Struensee  was  a  Ciermau,  and  the  Gerniati  language  was 
always  used  at  court,  the  (U-erthrow  of  the  foreigner  was  regarded 
as  a  sort  of  national  victory,  and  the  use  of  Danish,  which  had  been 
so  forcibly  brought  to  the  people's  attention  thnnigh  the  comedies 
of  Holberg.  was  now  urge<l  as  a  patriotic  demand.  Suhm  wrote  to 
the  king:  "  Ix't  us  again  hear  our  own  dear  language  in  your  com- 
mands. You  are  a  l);iiie,  and  I  know  that  \ on  can  sjjcak  Danish. 
Let  the  foreign  language  be  a  sign  of  the  vile  traitor  who  was  too 
indolent  to  learn  our  language,  too  scoffing  to  show  us  >o  great  a 

>  Dansk  historish  Tiiinskrift,  IV.  R..  vol.  I.,  p.  IH-I.  quot«Hl  l>y  .1.  K.  Siirs, 
Vdsigl  over  den  yiorskc  UiAtnrir,  vol.  IV.,  p.  104. 

»Edvard  Holm.  .Voy/c  Ilovedtrock  nf  Trykkcfrihedens  HiMorie  I770-177S, 
p.  129,  quoted  by  Sars. 


3()()  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

condescension."  ^  On  February  3,  1772,  the  German  words  of 
command  in  the  army  were  aboHshed  by  royal  order,^  and  by  an 
order  of  February  13th  of  the  same  year  it  was  ordained  that  Danish 
should  be  the  official  language  of  the  realm.  Another  important 
measure  sustaining  the  awakening  national  spirit  was  the  ordinance 
of  January  15,  1776,  Indf^dsretten,  by  which  it  was  decreed  that  only 
native-born  citizens,  and  those  who  could  be  counted  equal  to  them, 
should  be  aj)pointed  to  office,  or  to  positions  of  honor  in  the  kingdom. 

But  while  the  government  aided  and  encouraged  the  national 
spirit  in  Denmark,  it  pursued  the  very  opposite  policy  in  Norway, 
where  the  national  awakening  was  manifesting  itself  in  many  ways. 
When  P.  F.  Suhm  wrote  a  brief  history  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and 
Holstein,  Guldberg  himself  examined  the  manuscript,  and  canceled 
or  changed  every  passage  in  which  the  author  referred  to  the  equality 
of  Norway  and  Denmark,  returning  the  mutilated  work  with  the 
remarks  that  "  no  Norwegian  exists.  We  are  all  citizens  of  the  king- 
dom of  Denmark.  Do  not  write  for  the  despicable  Christiania 
raisoneurs."  Such  insolent  disregard  for  a  people's  sentiments  and 
honor  can  only  awaken  resentment,  and  strengthen  their  national 
feeling.  In  Norway  Guldberg  became  generally  hated.  His  name 
is  enrolled  in  the  index  to  "Samlinger  til  det  norske  Folks  Sprog  og 
Historic"  with  the  remark  that  he  "was  a  learned  and  narrow- 
minded  statesman."  The  former  epithet  is  probably  accorded  him 
from  courtesy,  that  the  truth  of  the  latter  may  appear  with  better 
grace. 

While  Guldberg  was  the  leading  spirit  in  the  government,  A.  P.  Bern- 
storff ,  a  nephew  of  the  older  Bernstorff,  was  placed  in  charge  of  foreign 
affairs.  Besides  the  ill-M-ill  which  had  been  created  in  England  by  the  im- 
prisonment of  Queen  Mathilda,  the  attitude  of  Sweden  was  also  causing 
alarm.  King  Gustavus  III.,  who  succeeded  his  father,  Frederick 
Adolph,  on  the  throne  of  that  kingdom,  February  12,  1771,  made 
the  royal  power  almost  al)solute  by  a  successful  coup  d'etat,  August  19, 
1772,  and  although  he  hastened  to  assure  the  neighboring  powers  that 
he  desired  to  maintain  peace  and  friendly  relations,  it  soon  became 

>  Quoted  by  O.  A.  Overland,  Norges  Hisiorie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  449. 
»  FMnsk  historisk   Tidsskrift,  IV.  R.,  vol.  II.,  p.  738.     See  Karl  Wittich, 
StTuensee,  p.  216. 


II  A    PERIOD    OF    HE  ACTION  .'i61 

( \'i(l(Mit  tliiit  he  planned  to  ^ain  possession  of  Norwa\'.  The  Xor- 
wc^'iau  army  and  defenses  had  hem  neglected  since  17G3,  and  the 
1  )ariisli  government  was  well  aware  that  dissatisfaction  was  widespread 
in  the  sister  kingdom.  General  Hnth  was,  accordingly,  dispatched  to 
Norway  to  tiike  charge  of  the  military  preparations,  and  Prince  Carl 
of  Hessen.  who  was  married  tn  King  Christian's  sister  Louise,  was 
made  commaMder-in-ehief  of  the  Norwej^ian  army,  with  tlie  nnder- 
>tanding  that  he  should  reside  in  (.'hristiania,  where  he  should  main- 
tain a  court  in  order  to  stimulate  the  loyalty  of  the  Norwegian 
people.'  The  hated  extra  tax  of  1762  was  also  abolished  to  gain 
tiieir  good-will.  Active  war  preparations  were  now  carried  on  both 
in  Norway  and  Sweden.  In  lll'.i  Denmark-Norway  forme<i  an 
alliance  with  Russia  for  joint  operations  against  Sweden,  but  Empress 
Catherine  II.  was  at  that  time  at  war  with  Turkey,  and  no  aggressive 
step  could  be  taken  until  this  war  was  ended.  The  peace  was  not 
interrupted,  and  friendly  relations  were  again  established  when  the 
Northern  kingdoms  had  to  defend  their  rights  as  neutrals  in  the 
great  naval  war  i)recipitiited  by  the  American  Revolution  (1775- 
1783). 

As  soon  as  the  war  with  America  began,  English  privateers  seized 
neutral  merchant  ves.sels,  and  brought  them  to  English  ports  on  the 
charge  that  they  were  carrying  contraband  of  war.  As  no  rules  had 
yet  been  established  as  to  what  should  be  considered  contraband  of 
war,  this  threatened  to  destroy  neutral  commerce,  especially  after 
France  became  the  ally  of  the  American  colonies,  and  the  English 
privateers  extended  their  operations  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Swetlen 
and  Holland,  as  well  as  Deinnark-Norway,  j)rotested  against  this 
infringement  on  the  rights  of  neutrals,  and  the  principle  that  a  "  free 
ship  makes  a  free  cargo"  was  advanced  with  so  much  greater  force, 
because  the  English  themselves  had  maintained  it  against  the  Bar- 
bary  States.  It  was  also  urged  that  a  i)ort  should  be  considered 
blockaded  only  when  all  trafhe  with  it  was  cut  off  by  warships  actually 
present,  and  that  all  neutrals  should  be  treate«l  alike.  Fearing  that 
an  alliance  between  England.  Ru.ssia,  and  Denmark-Norway  might 
be  brought  about   b>-  the  negotiations  carried  on  relative  to  tliese 

•  Prina  Carl  af  Hes.stMi,  Optcgnelser,  translated  from  the  French  by  C.  J.  Anker, 
Christiauia,  1893,  p.  77  ff. 


362  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  H 

points,  Sweden  proposed  a  defensive  alliance  between  the  three 
NortluTu  kingdoms  in  defense  of  their  trade,  but  BernstorflF,  who 
feared  that  this  might  lead  to  war  with  England,  did  not  favor  this 
plan.  In  1780  Catherine  II.,  acting  upon  the  advice  of  her  minister 
Panin,  issued  a  declaration  that  she  would  organize  a  league  of  all 
the  neutral  states  for  the  support  of  the  following  points :  Ships  of 
neutrals  should  have  the  right  to  enter  ports  and  harbors  of  the  nations 
at  war,  a  free  ship  should  make  free  cargo,  excepting  articles  which 
should  be  regarded  as  contraband  of  war,  and  these  should  be  defined 
according  to  the  existing  treaties.  No  port  should  be  regarded  as 
blockaded  unless  the  blockade  was  made  effective  by  warships 
actually  present,  and  the  decision  as  to  whether  a  neutral  ship  had 
been  rightfully  seized  should  be  based  on  these  principles.  These 
were  the  same  points  which  Bernstorff  had  already  urged,  and 
Sweden,  Holland,  Denmark-Norway,  Prussia,  Portugal,  the  two 
Sicilies,  and  even  the  German  Emperor  joined  Russia  in  the  proposed 
league.  But  Bernstorff  nevertheless  signed  the  treaty  with  reluc- 
tance, as  he  knew  that  the  coalition  was  directed  against  England. 
Five  days  before  Denmark-Norway  entered  the  league,  he  concluded 
with  England  a  special  treaty,  in  which  more  favorable  rules  were 
made  relative  to  contraband  of  war ;  but  this  step  offended  Catherine 
II.,  and  he  was  forced  to  retire  from  office.  England  did  not  venture 
to  resist  this  powerful  league  of  neutrals,  and  the  principles  which 
they  had  laid  down  were  respected  throughout  the  war,  but  they 
were  not  accepted  as  a  recognized  part  of  international  law. 

The  great  naval  war  had,  none  the  less,  produced  for  the  neutral 
nations  quite  extraordinary  commercial  advantages,  in  spite  of  the 
losses  and  impediments  due  to  the  operations  of  privateers.  The 
Norwegian  merchant  marine  nearly  doubled  its  tonnage  during  the 
war,  and  while  the  total  export  in  1773  was  estimated  at  1,370,492 
riksdaler,  it  amounted  in  1782  to  2,084,913  riksdaler.  But  the 
flourishing  times  due  to  this  sudden  increase  of  traffic  could  not  last, 
as  the  return  of  peace  and  normal  conditions  was  sure  to  produce  a 
serious  reaction. 


II  CROWN    PRINCK    FREDERICK    ASD    A.    F.    BERNSTOKFF  363 

47.   Crowx  Prince  Frederick  and  A.  P.  Bkhnstorff. 

Incukasinc   Tnukkt  in  Norway.    Chr.  J.  Lurriius. 

War  with  Sweden,   17<S.S 

When  HcrnstorlT  rcsij^Micd.  the  rciictionan'  Kf>vernTnent  conducted 
by  Prince  l-'n-drrick,  ()\c  ( Juldlx-r^;,  and  Queen  Juliaiic  .Marii-  l»ecame 
more  pedantic  than  ever,  and  forfeited  the  respect  of  all  tliinkinjj 
I)eo|)le.  The  .su{)j)ort  of  tliose  who  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  such  a 
r6j;inie  created  a  feeUng  of  security  amoiiR  those  in  power,  but  a 
desire  for  a  change  was  rapidl>  growing,  even  tliough  the  strict  press 
censorship  pre\'ented  any  expression  of  the  si)reading  feeling  of  flis- 
content.  In  order  to  retain  their  power  they  delayed  the  confirma- 
tion of  Crown  Prince  Frederick,  and  planned  to  keep  him  under  the 
control  of  the  Council,  which  consisted  of  their  own  partisans.  But 
the  day  came,  .\pril  14,  17S4,  when  the  crown  prince,  being  sixteen 
years  old,  should  take  his  seat  in  tlic  Council.  .\s  soon  as  the  king 
was  seated,  the  prince  read  a  i)ap('r  in  which  lie  asked  him  to  abolish 
the  Council,  and  to  appoint  as  his  advisers  A.  P.  Bcrnstorff,  Kosen- 
crants,  Ruth,  and  Stampe.  Amid  the  violent  protests  of  Prince 
Frederick,  the  regent,  the  king  was  persuaded  to  sign  the  document. 
The  old  regime  was  overthrown  by  this  well-jjlanned  coup  de  thidtre, 
and  the  greatest  excitement  prevailed  in  the  palace.  But  the  Eng- 
lish government,  as  well  as  a  majority  of  the  people  of  Demnark. 
probably  felt  a  secret  satisfaction  that  Queen  Caroline  Mathilda's 
son  had  driven  from  jxnver  those  who  had  imprisoned  and  banished 
his  mother. 

Crown  Prince  Frfnlerick.  who  now  became  regent,  was  inex- 
perienced, not  very  gifted,  and  but  infliil'ercntly  educate<i.  but  he 
loved  fairness  and  justice,  and  his  choice  of  ministers  shows  that  he 
favored  progressi\e  and  iilx-ral  ideas.  The  leadership  in  the  new 
government  naturally  devoKed  on  the  experienced  statesman  A.  P. 
BernstorfT.  Assiste<l  by  his  able  associates,  K.  Schimmelmann,  C.  D. 
Ueventlow,  and  Christian  Colbjornsen.  he  inauguratetl  an  era  of 
reform  which  may  be  characterized  as  a  f)criofl  of  social  reconstruc- 
tion, though  the  cliangcs  were  made  witli  due  caution  and  moderation. 
Even  as  to  the  theory  of  government,  Bernstorff  entertaintni  very 
hberal  views,  maintaining  that  the  will  of  the  people  should  be  the 


3G4  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

king's  law,  a  principle  which,  if  carried  out,  would  make  the  king  the 
servant  of  the  people  instead  of  the  virtual  owner  of  the  state.  But 
this  could  be  done  only  by  creating  a  national  legislature  where  the 
will  (.f  the  people  could  be  expressed  by  their  chosen  representatives, 
and  such  a  reform  he  probably  never  thought  of,  or  even  desired. 
In  his  work  as  reformer  he  was  still  the  benevolent  despot,  whose 
phrases  about  the  will  of  the  people  only  indicate  his  wish  to  improve 
their  social  condition. 

With  regard  to  industry  and  commerce,  Bernstorff  abandoned  the 
old  mercantile  system,  and  abolished  monopolies  and  special  privileges. 
The  freedom  of  the  press  was  reestablished,  and  censorship  of  litera- 
ture was  done  away  with.  In  his  most  important  reforms,  which 
aimed  at  the  emancipation  of  the  Danish  peasants,  he  was  ably 
assisted  by  the  very  competent  and  liberal-minded  Christian  Col- 
bj0rnsen.  This  gifted  statesman  was  a  Norwegian  by  birth,  a  relative 
of  the  Colbj0rnsen  brothers  of  Fredrikshald,  who  won  fame  in  the 
Great  Northern  War.  He  had  come  to  Denmark  in  his  early  youth, 
and  became  intensely  devoted  to  the  doctrines  of  the  rights  of  man 
and  the  liberal  ideas  of  the  age.  "Liberty,"  he  said,  "is  nature's 
first  and  most  glorious  gift  to  the  noblest  of  her  creatures."  "No 
feeling  is  more  deeply  imprinted  in  human  nature  than  the  love  of 
liberty."  It  is  natural  that  these  ideas  should  make  him  a  friend  of 
the  oppressed  Danish  peasants,  and  when  he  was  made  secretary  of 
a  commission  of  sixteen  members,  appointed  in  1786  to  examine  the 
whole  relation  between  landlords  and  peasants,  he  became  their 
ablest  spokesman.  As  a  result  of  the  recommendation  of  this  com- 
mission serfdom  was  abolished  in  Denmark,  and  the  amount  of  free 
service  to  be  rendered  by  the  peasants  was  limited  and  defined  by 
ordinances  issued  June  20,  1788,  and  June  24,  1791.  These  reforms, 
which  freed  the  almost  enslaved  peasants,  had  a  tendency  to  alter 
social  conditions  fundamentally.  They  represent  the  first  important 
step  in  a  new  social  and  economic  development  in  Denmark.^ 

In  Norway  no  serfdom  had  existed,  and  as  the  hinder  enjoyed 
great  social  and  economic  independence,  there  was  no  need  of  the 
kind  of  reforms  instituted  in  Denmark.     But  the  struggle  which  had 

'  E.  Holm,  Kampen  om  Landreformerne  i  Danmark.  J.  A.  Fridericia, 
Den  danske  Bondestands  Frigj^relse. 


II  i\<ui;ksin'(j  unkkst  i\  nouwav.     cuk.  j.   lofthth        ;i65 

always  1)«'cm  \vag»'(l  Itctucin  the  people  ami  the  greedy  I  )ani.sli  oflieials 
grew  more  intense  as  the  national  spirit  developed,  ami  liheral  idea^ 
were  disseminated.  The  Norwegians  iiad  at  all  times  been  very 
loyal  to  tlie  kin^,  whom  they  fondly  rej^arded  as  their  kin^,  hut 
they  had  also  heen  very  intolerant  of  opi)ression  at  the  hands  of 
royal  officials,  who  were  often  miilt\-  of  extortionate  and  unlawful 
practices.  Excessive  taxes  imposed  against  the  will  r)f  the  peoi)le, 
and  harmful  trade  monopolies  which  increased  the  prices  on  the 
necessities  of  life,  addetl  fuel  to  the  smoldering  disc<Hitent,  and  when 
the  hinder  gathered  about  their  hearthstones  they  had  many  griev- 
ances to  complain  of,  and  many  a  violent  clash  with  the  officials  to 
narrate.  But  these  clashes  never  assumed  the  dimensions  of  a  revolt. 
They  were  isolated  occurrences  produced  by  local  conditions,  violent 
resistance  to  oppression,  but  no  national  uprising  aiming  at  inde- 
pendence ;  for  even  the  leaders  lacked  the  scope  of  vision  to  con- 
ceive such  a  i)lan.  Among  the  many  tragic  epi.sodes  in  this  more 
intense  than  dramatic  struggle  was  a  movement  in  Xedenes  ami  in 
southern  Norway  in  ITSG  and  17S7,  led  by  Thr.  J.  I^)fthus. 

The  people  in  that  mountain  district  felt  grievously  op{)res.sed  by 
the  heavy  taxes,  and  the  rapacity  of  the  officials,  as  well  as  by  the 
laws  governing  the  importation  of  grain,  which  had  increased  the 
prices  on  that  commodity.  A  commission  appointed  to  examine 
into  the  causes  of  the  almost  incessant  complaints  gave  a  very  gloomy 
picture  of  the  situation.  A  rejxtrt  in  wliich  the  i)()|»nlar  foged, 
Weidemami.  also  concurred,  states :  "  We  unite  our  prayer  with 
that  of  the  foged,  and  reconnnend  the  people  to  your  Majesty's 
favor.  As  long  as  they  could,  they  willingly  i)aid,  but  inability  is  no 
crime."  The  commission  also  found  that  the  royal  officials  had 
oppressed  and  wronged  the  i)coi)le  by  extortionate  charges,  and  two 
judges,  sorcn.'ilcriirrc,  were  removed  from  office,  a  sufficient  pr(M)f 
that  the  complaints  were  well  founded.  With  the  return  of  i>eace 
after  the  American  Revolution.  Norwegian  commerce  decreastxi, 
hard  times  followeil.  and  the  large  numbers  of  unemployeil  in  the 
coast  districts  helped  to  swell  the  general  discontent.  The  oppressed 
jHM)j)le  soon  found  a  leader  and  spokesman  in  ( "hr.  .1.  I/ofthus.  a  hmde 
in  Molaud.  Among  his  neighbors  he  was  highly  respecte<l.  and  well 
known  for  his  energy  and  intelligence,  but  also  for  tlie  tenacity  witli 


36G  HISTORY   OF    THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

which  he  de-fendod  his  leg.al  rights.^  Lofthus  would  go  to  Denmark 
and  c()mi)hiin  to  Crown  Prince  Frederick  of  the  government  officials 
in  his  district.  But  although  Bernstorff  had  said  that  the  people's 
will  should  be  the  king's  law,  the  ordinance  of  1685,  forbidding  the 
Norwegian  b(indcr  to  petition  the  king,  on  the  penalty  of  loss  of 
liiierty  and  property,  and  the  royal  edict  of  1744,  which  threatened 
any  Norwegian  who  came  to  Denmark  with  a  complaint  or  petition 
not  signed  by  the  amtmand  with  imprisonment  in  the  citadel,  still 
threatened  with  destruction  any  one  who  ventured  to  bring  the 
people's  will  to  the  attention  of  the  government  in  Copenhagen. 
But  the  Norwegians  had  confidence  in  the  king's  good-will ;  for  it 
had  often  happened  that  he  had  heard  their  complaints,  and  had 
granted  them  relief  without  paying  attention  to  the  unjust  laws.  In 
1785  the  people  of  Telemarken  and  other  districts  sent  three  represen- 
tatives to  Copenhagen  to  petition  the  king  for  redress  of  grievances, 
and  the  following  year  Hans  Kolstad  was  sent  on  a  similar  mission. 
The  government  did  not  punish  them.  The  tall  men  in  uniform 
who  served  as  the  king's  bodyguard  were  their  countrymen;  the 
Norwegian  people's  courage  and  love  of  liberty  had  inspired  respect 
in  Denmark.  They  were  allowed  to  return  home,  and  the  govern- 
ment instructed  the  fogeds  in  Norway  that  they  should  be  guided  in 
their  charges  by  the  tax-lists  and  the  rules  regulating  fees.  In  1786 
Lofthus  went  to  Denmark  with  a  written  complaint  bearing  329 
signatures.  The  crown  prince  received  him  in  audience,  and  after 
having  heard  the  complaint,  told  him  that  more  conclusive  proof 
would  be  required.  Lofthus  returned  home,  had  a  meeting  with 
those  who  had  signed  the  complaint,  and  received  from  them  a  cer- 
tificate of  the  genuineness  of  the  signatures,  and  of  his  own  appoint- 
ment as  a  special  delegate  to  the  king.  With  these  documents  he 
returned  to  Copenhagen,  but  he  met  the  same  objection  as  before. 
The  crown  prince,  however,  gave  him  his  word  of  honor  that  if 
he  could  furnish  adequate  proof  the  matter  would  be  investigated. 
Lofthus  returned  home,  and,  acting  as  a  self-constituted  tribune  of 
the  people,  he  assembled  meetings  of  the  homier  in  his  own  home, 
and  traveled  about  from  place  to  place  to  collect  evidence,  and  to 

>  Henrik   Worgeland,    Samlede   Skrifter,    vol.    VIII.,    p.    150,    Almuestals- 
manden  Christian  Jensen  Lofthus. 


ir  INCREASING    UNREST    IN    NORWAY.       (IIR.    J.    LOhTHUS  367 

secure  new  signatures.  This  activity  was  considered  by  the  uutliori- 
ties  of  tiie  districts  to  be  rebellious,  and  steps  were  taken  to  arnst 
him.  But  as  he  was  aided  by  the  binder,  he  was  able  to  elude  the 
officers,  and  to  continue  to  hold  .secret  nieetinf^s  with  the  peojjle. 
At  the  meeting  with  the  amtnumd  the  h&nder  demanded  that  Lofthus 
should  not  be  arrested,  and  that  he  should  receive  a  passport  to  ^o 
as  their  representative  to  Coj)enhaKen,  a  request  which  was  finally 
granted.  In  October  Lofthus  started  for  Copenhagen  with  the 
signed  document  in  company  with  thirty  men,  who  should  act  as 
witnesses.  But  the  nmtniand  notified  the  jjovernnient  al)Out  what 
had  happened,  and  said  that  Lofthus  had  orffaiiized  a  \ery  dangerous 
uprising.  The  goNcmnient  immediately  issued  orders  to  the  amt- 
mand  to  arrest  Lofthus,  and  place  him  hi  tlie  fortress  of  Christian- 
sand,  and  the  chief  of  police  of  ( 'openliagen  was  instructed  to  seize  him 
and  his  band,  if  he  had  already  arrived  in  that  city.  In  the  mean- 
time Lofthus  and  his  thirty  companions  marched  along  the  Swedish 
coast  towards  Ilelsingborg.  where  they  would  cross  the  Sound  to 
Denmark.  When  they  arrived  in  that  city,  they  learned  oi  the 
orders  issued  for  their  arrest.  Lofthus  sent  a  number  of  his  men  to 
Denmark  to  secure  a  safe-conduct,  but  before  their  return  he  decided 
to  start  homeward  with  a  few  followers.  As  soon  as  he  arrive<l  in 
Nedenes,  the  aniti/iand  made  strenuous  efforts  to  arrest  him,  but 
through  the  people's  aid  Lofthus  always  evaded  his  pursuers.  The 
hinder  gathered  in  large  innnbers  to  defend  him,  but  no  acts  of  vio- 
lenee  were  connnitted,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  had  any 
rebellious  intentions.  In  the  meantime  Ix)ft]ius'  comj)anions  who 
had  been  sent  to  Copeidiagen  had  secured  a  safe-conduet  for  their 
leader,  and  a  royal  eonimission  was  aj)j)ointnl  to  iii\e>tiL,'ati'  the 
troubles  in  Xedeiies.  This  eoinniission  as.sembled  in  Christiansand, 
and  Lofthus,  together  with  a  large  number  of  bfirider,  met  and  sub- 
mittetl  their  complaints,  supi)()rte<l  by  most  danuigiug  evidena- against 
the  accused.  The  conunission  found  the  charges  to  be  taie.  They 
found  the  peo|)le  to  be  peaceful  and  loyal,  and  the\  did  not  get  the 
impression  that  Lofthus  was  a  dangerous  character.  But  Judge 
Smith  and  Captain  IlanmuT.  together  with  a  lawyer.  Salvesen, 
forme<i  a  secret  plot  to  arrest  I/)fthus,  who  wandered  about  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  sometimes  returned  to  Ids  own  home  for  a  short 


308  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

visit.  Watching  their  opportunity,  they  fell  upon  him  with  a  band 
of  armed  men,  bound  him,  and  threw  him  into  a  boat.  In  a  raging 
storm  tliey  escaped  from  the  angry  hinder  who  pursued  them,  and 
succeeded  in  carrying  their  prisoner  to  Christiania,  where  he  was 
imprisoned  in  the  fortress  of  Akershus.  Five  years  he  spent  in  this 
dungeon  before  the  court  finally  decreed  that  he  should  remain  in 
I)rison  for  life ;  probably  as  unjust  a  decision  as  a  judicial  tribunal 
ever  rendered.  An  appeal  was  made  to  the  superior  court,  and  that 
tribunal,  after  deliberating  seven  years  upon  the  final  verdict,  sus- 
tained the  decree  of  the  lower  court,  two  years  after  the  defendant 
had  breathed  his  last  in  his  prison  cell  at  Akershus.  The  unjust 
officials,  who  were  the  cause  of  the  deplorable  affair,  escaped  with 
light  punishment.  Two  of  the  worst  offenders,  the  judges  Smith 
and  Br0nsdorph,  had  to  pay  a  fine  together  with  the  expenses  of  the 
trial ;  the  diocesan  prefect,  Adeler,  was  removed  from  office  and 
pensioned  ;  the  rest  escaped  all  punishment.  Those  who  had  arrested 
Lofthus  were  liberally  rewarded.  Such  a  miscarriage  of  justice  is 
explainable  when  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  government  officials  of 
whatever  title  constituted  a  bureaucracy,  consolidated  by  inter- 
marriage, friendship,  and  common  interests  into  a  distinct  social 
class.  The  extortion  and  corruption  of  which  some  might  be  accused 
were,  perchance,  practiced  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  by  all,  and 
when  an  offender  was  made  to  answer  in  a  court  consisting  of  his 
own  friends  and  colleagues,  the  procedure  was  usually  a  hollow 
mockery.  When  the  hinder  were  goaded  to  open  resistance,  the 
officials  used  their  power  with  vindictive  harshness  to  terrorize  them, 
and  keep  them  at  bay ;  hence  the  deep-rooted  hatred  and  the  intense 
struggle  between  the  two  classes,  which  never  ceased  until  the  Nor- 
wegian bureaucracy  had  disappeared. 

The  disturbance  in  which  Lofthus  had  become  the  central  figure 
made  a  deep  impression  in  Norway.  It  was  a  local  affair,  like  many 
a  similar  episode,  but  it  occurred  at  a  time  when  the  national  spirit 
was  awakening,  when  the  atmosphere  of  despotic  Europe  was  sur- 
charged with  ideas  which  struck  at  the  very  root  of  the  old  regime, 
and  when  destiny  had  brought  the  hour  of  national  freedom  closer 
to  the  Norv^-egian  people  than  they  supposed.  It  took  place  even 
within  the  dawn  of  the  great  national  daybreak,  some  light  of  which 


II  WAK    WITH    SWKUKN.     1788  309 

uiis  latiT  reflected  uj)()ii  it.  The  episode  ended  in  a  groan  of  pain, 
liiit  it  stirriMl  the  people's  spirit,  and  taujjht  them  to  understand  the 
vahie  of  independence.  The  political  situation  mif^ht  have  given 
it  an  even  greater  significance,  if  the  moment  had  been  opportune. 
We  have  observed  that  the  desire  for  national  autonomy  in  educa- 
tional and  business  affairs  had  grown  strong  in  Norway,  that  liberal 
ideas  were  s|)readiiig  among  the  upper  classes,'  and  that  the  hdnder 
were  growing  more  restive  than  ever  under  the  irksome  burdens 
lilaced  upon  them  by  the  bureaucracy.  Gustavus  III.  of  Sweden 
liad  long  entertained  the  liope  that  he  might  be  able  to  profit  by 
these  circumstances,  and  some  day  gain  possession  of  Norway.  He 
had  for  many  years  carrie<i  on  a  secret  agitation  in  the  eastern  dis- 
tricts of  the  kingdom,  but  at  the  time  of  tlie  mentioned  episode  he 
was  inactive.  "Had  the  Lofthusian  movement  happened  fourteen 
xtars  earlier,  or  four  years  later,"  says  0verland,  "there  might  have 
been  danger  for  the  Danish-Nor\vegian  state."  ^ 

Gustavus  III.  watched  events  in  Norway  very  closely,  and  even 
appointed  a  consul-general  in  Christiania  to  act  as  a  secret  diplomatic 
•  lU'cnt  for  the  purj)Ose  of  strengthening  the  pro-Swedish  sentiment. 
I5iit  a  visit  of  Crown  Prince  Frederick  in  1788,  and  the  removal  of 
the  restrictions  on  the  importation  of  grain  by  the  ortlinance  of 
.Faiuiary  Gth  of  that  year,  tended  to  satisfy  the  always  loyal  Nor- 
wegians, though  their  demand  for  a  bank  and  a  university  had  not 
l)een  granted.  King  Gustavus  III.  was  now  planning  to  attiick 
Ivussia,  in  the  hope  of  regaining  southern  Finland,  as  Catherine  II. 
w  as  engaged  in  a  war  with  the  Turks.  Denmark-Norway  had  formed 
an  alliance  with  Russia  in  1773,  but  without  being  able  to  secure  the 
neutrality  of  his  near  neighbor,  Gustavus  invadi'd  Finland,  and  laid 
-icge  to  Ny.slot  and  Fredcrickshamn.  The  Russian  troops  had  hevn 
withdrawn  from  the  northern  provinces,  and  even  St.  Petersburg 
had  been  left  without  a  garrison,  but  no  attack  could  be  made  on 
the  capital  after  the  Swwlish  fitrt  had  faile<l  to  gain  a  decisive  victory 

>  Liulvip  Daao,  D<(  gnmic  ChriMiania,  p.  IS.')  (T.  YnRvar  Niolw^n.  Gustav 
Ill's  norake  Politik,  llislorisk  Tidsskrifl,  andcn  r««kk<',  vol.  I.,  p.  .'i  fT. 

*  Gorges  Historic,  vol.  X.,  p.  32.  Ynjjvar  N'it'Kson,  (luslav  Ill's  PolUik, 
Ifistorisk  Tidsskrifl,  anden  nckko.  vol.  I.,  p.  1  ff.  J.  Hellstonius.  Konung 
(iuslaf  den  tredjes  danska  politik,  Nordisk  Univeraitets  Tidsskrifl  fdr  1861- 
63. 

VOL.   u. — 2b 


370  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

over  the  Russians  at  Hogland,  July  17th.  This  undecisive  battle 
and  the  tiresome  siege  of  Frederickshamn  caused  great  dissatisfaction 
in  the  Swedish  army.  The  higher  officers  organized  a  mutiny,  and 
Gustavus  was  forced  to  give  up  the  campaign.  He  returned  to 
Sweden,  punished  tlie  offenders,  and  by  a  new  cowp  d'etat  he  gained 
even  more  absolute  power  than  before. 

By  the  treaty  of  alliance  Denmark-Norway  had  engaged  to  assist 
Russia  in  case  of  war,  but  it  was  now  recognized  that  any  increase  in 
the  power  of  that  steadily  growing  Empire  would  be  prejudicial  to 
the  safety  of  the  whole  North.  Bernstori?  was  aware  of  this,  and 
granted  grudgingly  the  least  assistance  possible  under  the  terms  of 
the  treaty.  A  Norwegian  army  of  12,000  men  under  Prince  Carl  of 
Hessen  was  sent  into  Bohuslen  to  make  a  diversion  on  the  Swedish 
border.  Crown  Prince  Frederick,  who  had  become  enthusiastic 
over  the  opportunity  of  participating  in  a  war,  accompanied  the  army. 
After  a  minor  engagement  at  Kvistrum  Bro,  where  a  Swedish  detach- 
ment was  captured.  Prince  Carl  intended  to  seize  Gottenborg,  but 
as  England  and  Prussia  threatened  to  intervene,  the  Norwegian  army 
was  withdrawn  from  Swedish  territory,  and  peace  was  restored  in 
November,  1788.^ 

The  struggle  between  Sweden  and  Russia  was  renewed  in  1789, 
but  although  Gustavus  won  a  great  naval  victory  in  Svensksund, 
July  9  and  10,  1790,  where  he  captured  thirty  ships  and  6000  men, 
he  was  unable  to  pursue  his  advantage,  and  the  outcome  of  the 
war  was  doubtful.  The  events  of  the  French  Revolution  had  also 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  imaginative  king.  He  hastened  to 
conclude  the  peace  of  Verela  on  the  basis  of  statu  quo,  and  proposed 
an  alliance  with  Russia  against  the  Revolution. 

Gustavus  in.  was  bitterly  oflFended  at  the  Danish  government 
because  of  the  aid  which  it  had  given  to  Russia,  and  when  peace 
was  restored,  he  renewed  his  agitation  in  Norway.  Through  his  fa- 
vorite, Armfelt,  and  his  secret  agent,  Manderfelt,  who  was  stationed 
in  Copenhagen,  he  entered  into  negotiations  with  a  few  Norwegians 
who  desired  independence  of  Denmark.  Carsten  Tank  and  three 
others  met  the  Swedish  agents,  March  11,  1790,  but  their  meeting, 

*  Chr.  Blangstrup,  Begivenhederne  i  Norden  i  Efteraaret  178S.     E.  Holm 
Danmarks  Politik  under  den  svensk-russiske  Krig  fra  1 788-1 7,90. 


11  1  ITERATUUK    IN    TIIK    FlIGIITKLN'TH    CENTUUV  371 

niiicli  was  repeated  later  at  Karlstad,  produced  no  definite  result.' 
Ann  felt  said  of  Tank  that  lie  was  a  man  whose  head  was  full  of 
political  sophisms  and  entiuisiastic  ideas  of  libertN'.  and  King  Gus- 
ta^■us  suspected,  undoubtedly  with  a  good  reason,  that  what  tiie 
Norwegians  desired  was  not  union  with  Swe<len,  hut  indei)endence 
and  a  republican  jjovernmcnt.  The  ideas  of  the  French  itevolution 
had  found  adherents  also  among  the  Norwegians,  who  desire<l  sepa- 
ration from  Denmark,  not  for  the  purpose  of  joining  another  foreign 
kingdom  equally  despotic.  i)ut  in  order  to  establish  republican  free- 
dom according  to  their  own  ideas.  Why,  then,  should  he  supi)ort 
them  when  lie  had  made  it  his  special  aim  to  combat  the  French 
Revolution.  In  1792  King  Gustavus  was  shot  down  by  an  assassin, 
and  all  Swedish  agitation  in  Nonvay  ceased. 

48.    Danisii-Norwegiax  Literatlt^e  ix  tiie  Secon'd  Half  of 

THE    Eir.IITEEN'TH    CENTrUY 

The  separatistic  tendencies  and  growing  national  spirit  in  Nor- 
way, of  which  distinct  manifestations  have  been  observed  especially 
in  connection  with  the  agitation  for  a  university,  comes  even  more 
clearly  to  view  in  the  literature  of  the  later  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Ludvig  Ilolberg.  wlio  by  his  reformatory  activity  ami  great 
genius  became  the  founder  of  modern  Danish-Norwegian  literature, 
had  introduced  the  new  thought  and  liberal  ideas  of  the  AnfJddrang, 
and  had  brought  intellectual  life  in  tlie  North  under  tlie  influencv  of 
French  and  English  tliought.  In  his  day  the  new  movement  was 
still  in  its  begimiing,  but  in  tlu'  field  of  history,  j)hilo.sophy,  and  1 
polities  a  school  of  young  writers,  such  as  J.  S.  .^^neetlorlF  and  P.  F.  j 
Suhm,  followetl  the  paths  which  he  had  disco\ereil,  and  l>ecame  the 
disciples  of  the  great  French  writers,  especially  of  Montesquieu.  So 
sudden  was  the  change  that  Ilolberg  in  his  old  age  grew  somewhat 
alarmed  over  the  movement   which  he  liad  stiirtini.  and  began  to 

*  ^'The  family  Ankor  wore  roKanltnl  ns  Swedish  sympathizors,"  nays 
Prinoe  Carl  of  iress(»n  in  his  Optrgnelser  (Memoirtvs  do  mon  t«Mnps),  1744- 
1784,  p.  SI.  C\».rst(>n  Ankor  was  proininoutly  <'<)nno<'tod  with  tho  evonts  of 
1814.  Whon  tho  prinoo  statos  that  thoro  woro  soino  loadors  who  wished 
to  mako  Xorway  an  indopondont  kinpdmn  and  choose  him  king,  he  is  prob- 
ably tJ'iilty  of  a  luisuudorstaudiug. 


372  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

revise  some  of  his  earlier  expressions  regarding  the  placidity  and 
moderation  of  his  countrymen.  Sars  points  out  that  in  one  of  his 
epistles  Holberg  refers  to  an  earlier  description  of  the  Danes  as  a 
people  who  do  not  easily  go  to  extremes,  but  generally  walk  in  the 
middle  of  the  road,  a  description  which  was  considered  true  at 
the  time,  as  the  Danish  people  actually  possessed  such  a  trait.  But 
if  the  work  should  again  be  published,  says  the  author,  we  would 
have  to  add  a  foot-note  stating  that  in  the  last  twenty  or  thirty 
years  they  have  changed  character  so  completely  that  they  are  no 
longer  recognizable.^  That  the  leaven  had  begun  to  work  became 
manifest  in  the  growing  unrest  and  increased  intellectual  activity; 
and  as  it  produced  a  new  era  of  development,  it  also  brought  to  light 
a  difference  in  temper  and  character  in  the  peoples  of  the  two  king- 
doms which  would  soon  bring  about  a  dissolution  of  the  literary 
partnership  which  had  hitherto  existed.  Holberg,  who  was  a  Nor- 
wegian by  birth,  but  had  done  his  great  life  work  in  Denmark,  had 
pointed  out  this  difference  with  characteristic  keenness  of  observa- 
tion. The  Danes,  he  thinks,  have  a  "strange  modesty"  and  are 
inclined  to  follow  the  middle  path,  while  the  Norwegians  are  haughty, 
and,  like  the  English,  inclined  to  go  to  extremes.  That  the  free  un- 
folding of  the  native  traits  and  tendencies  of  each  people  should 
produce  an  ever-increasing  divergence  between  them  is  quite  natural. 
Holberg's  cosmopolitan  interests  and  broad  scope  of  vision  made 
him  look  upon  Danish-Norw^egian  literature  as  a  possession  common 
to  both  peoples,  in  which  a  slight  difference  in  national  spirit  could 
be  left  out  of  account.  But  these  irreconcilable  traits  of  national 
character  soon  entered  into  the  new  development  as  a  most  im- 
portant factor.  The  trend  of  literary  progress  was  soon  to  be  deter- 
mined by  two  distinct  kinds  of  foreign  influence  which  divided  the 
writers  into  two  camps,  as  they  associated  themselves  with  one  or 
the  other  of  the  two  prevailing  tendencies.  In  1751  the  German  poet 
Klopstock  was  invited  to  Copenhagen,  where  he  stayed  for  twenty 
years,  and  became  the  center  of  a  large  circle  of  German  and  Danish 
admirers.  ]\Iany  sought  to  imitate  his  bombastic  odes  and  his 
declamatory  pathos.  Such  homage  was  paid  him  by  his  enthusi- 
astic adherents  that  he  exercised  the  influence  of  a  literary  monarch. 

1  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  162. 


II  LITEFtATUHE    IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY  373 

!Iis  most  iniportant  (li^ciplu  was  the  ^ifttd  poet  Johannes  Kwald, 
who  became  the  chief  exponent  of  Gennan  influence  in  Denmark. 
I'.wald  and  his  followers  orKani/wl  Dct  dariske  Liter atur -He  skah,  and 
this  circle  of  yoiiii;^  poets  souj^ht  t<»  )^i\('  the  views  of  tlieir  lea(h*r  fvill 
•  iirrency  in  I  )anish  Uterature.  But  wliiie  tlie  German  influence  gained 
preponderance  among  the  Danish  poets,  the  Norwegians  continued 
to  look  to  England  and  France  for  their  models.  The  first  English 
novelists,  and  especially  the  fervid  and  imaginative  description  of 
nature  in  the  "Seasons"  of  James  Tiioinson,  had  kindled  an  enthu- 
siastic love  of  nature  which  in  Gennany,  Norway,  and  elsewhere 
created  a  new  literary  taste.'  Even  Rousseau  had  gathered  ideas 
from  this  source,  and  his  slogan,  "return  to  nature,"  was  in  perfect 
accord  with  the  views  of  the  English  poets.  In  Norway  Christian 
Braunmann  'rullin  wrote  a  long  descriptiv'e  poem,  "Maidagen,"  in 
the  strain  of  'riioiiison's  "Seasons."  Measured  by  modern  stand- 
ards it  is  a  i)r()duction  of  no  exceptional  merit,  but  in  the  midst  of 
the  insijndity  and  dullness  uf  the  literature  of  that  day  it  was  hailed 
with  enthusiasm  as  a  literary  event  of  the  first  magnitude.  Tullin, 
who  rejjresented  the  English-French  influence  as  truly  as  Ewald  rei>- 
resented  the  German,  had  hoisted  the  standard  about  which  the 
Norwegian  poets  were  to  rally  in  opposition  to  Ewald  and  his  party. ^ 
In  Copeuhagen  the  Norwegians  organized  in  1772  Dct  norshr  Scl.thah, 
a  literary  club  which  numbered  among  its  members  Johan  Nordahl 
Brun,  Nils  Krog  Bredal,  Claus  Fasting,  Johan  Ilennan  Wessel,  Claus 
Frimaiui,  and  his  brotlici  Pcder  Frimann,  Jens  Zetlitz,  Jonas  Rein, 
and  others.  Even  the  names  of  the  two  societies  which  had  suddenly 
appeared  as  rivals  show  that  national  sj)irit,  no  less  tlian  literary 
taste,  tended  to  bring  about  a  gradual  separation  of  Daius  and  \(tr- 
wegians  in  the  field  of  literature,  and  the  poetr>'  written  in  the  two 
clubs  was  soon  to  dispel  all  doubt  on  this  point.  Ewald  chose  for 
many  of  his  {)roductions  national  themes,  as  in  tlie  drama  "  Rolf 
Krage,"  and  pointed  the  way  to  Danish  heroic  tradition  and  early 
historj'.     Tlie  Norwegians  lauded  in  jjatriotic  songs  tlie  freedom  and 

*  Knut  Gjorset,  Der  Einfluaa  von  James  Thompson  a  "  Jahrcgsciten"  auf  die 
deutschr  Litcratur  dcs  nchtzcnten  Jahrhunderts,  Hpidolbom,  1S9S. 

*  J.  S.  Welhnven.  Samlcdr  Skrifter,  vol.  VIII.,  Orn  lietydningcn  aj  dct  norake 
Sehkahs  Opposition  mod  den  Ewaldske  Poeai. 


374  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

grandeur  of  their  country.  Johan  Nordahl  Brun,  the  most  ardent 
patriot,  said  in  a  song  to  "Norway  the  motherland  of  heroes"  that 
the  Norwegians  would  some  day  awaken  and  break  all  chains  and 
fetters.  These  fetters  could  only  be  the  union  with  Denmark,  but 
it  is  possible  that  extravagant  expressions  of  this  sort  were  little 
more  than  rhetorical  flourishes.  The  Norwegians  prided  themselves 
no  less  on  their  loyalty  to  the  king  than  on  their  love  for  their  father- 
land, whose  ancient  glory  they  had  just  begun  to  discover.  But  an 
era  of  storm  and  stress  had  come,  when  great  feelings  were  expressed 
in  vehement  language,  while  the  ideas  had  not  yet  clarified  them- 
selves into  definite  principles.  A  higher  intellectual  life  had  been 
kindled,  a  new  patriotism  had  been  awakened  among  the  higher 
classes,  who  possessed  learning  and  ability  enough  to  speak  for  the 
whole  nation,  who  could  view  the  life  of  their  people  in  its  historic 
aspect.  They  knew  that  Norway  had  been  great  in  the  past,  and 
felt  sure  that  its  vigor  would  return,  that  it  would  rise  again  from 
dependency  to  new  national  greatness.  The  thought  was  inspiring, 
intoxicating.  Their  patriotic  songs  grew  as  vehement  as  their  en- 
thusiasm was  intense.  They  had  no  specific  aim,  no  definite  plan, 
but  they  felt  their  own  worth,  and  knew  that  their  countrymen,  if 
given  a  fair  opportunity,  would  attain  a  position  no  less  honorable 
than  that  which  they  had  occupied  of  old.  This  conviction  found 
support,  not  only  in  memories  of  the  past,  but  in  conditions  of  their 
own  age.  Were  not  the  Norwegians  a  free  people  throughout  the 
whole  union  period,  as  compared  with  the  Danes,  and  were  they  not 
lauded  for  their  courage  and  their  irrepressible  love  of  liberty  ?  Had 
they  not  shown  that  they  possessed  both  vigor  and  talent  ?  ^  The 
members  of  Dei  norske  Selskab  had  not  forgotten  that  Tordenskjold, 
Adelaer,  and  Huitfeldt  were  Norwegians,  that  Ludvig  Holberg,  the 
greatest  genius  of  his  age  in  the  North,  was  their  countr\Tnan,  that 
in  the  Danish  capital  their  own  club  embraced,  with  the  single  excep- 

1  In  conformity  with  the  Rousseauan  ideas  current  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  thinkers  and  poets  had  pointed  to  the  Norwegian 
binder  as  a  model  people  owning  their  own  farms  and  leading  a  healthful 
rustic  life  in  freedom  and  contentment.  There  was  some  truth  in  this, 
though  the  picture  was  generally  overdrawn.  Tyge  Rothe,  Denmark's 
leading  thinker  at  that  time,  says:  " Praiseworthily  proud  are  the  sons  of 
Norway,  and  who  wonders  that  the  binder  are  so,  when  he  knows  that  among 


II  IJTEUATUUE    IS    THK    KKJHTEKNTII    CENTUUV  375 

tion  of  Kwuld,  tlu'  best  poetic  talent  in  the  realm.  Then'  was  the 
iiiconiparahlt'  satirist  Wessd.  the  rare  epij?ramrnatist  Fasting,  the 
line  lyric  |)()et  Clans  I'Viinann,  the  noted  Johaii  Nonlahl  Hnm,  and 
many  others  who  added  luster  to  the  literature  (»f  tlii.>  [)eriod.  As 
they  were  fully  conscious  of  these  thinjis,  there  was  from  the  stiirt  a 
riiifj  of  vi(•tor^^  yea  often  of  boastful ness,  in  their  lines.  They  mi^ht 
write  dranuis  according  to  French  models,  as  did  Bredal  and  Brun, 
"T  they  mifjht,  like  Fasting,  u.se  their  keen  wit  in  epij,'rams.  or  in  biting 

itire.  like  Wessel.  who  destroyed  the  French  dramatic  influence  in 
1  )anish-Nonvegian  literature  by  his  incomparable  parody  "  Kjaer- 
Imhed  uden  Str0mi)er."  '  These  things  were  of  importance  in  litera- 
turi'.  but  their  .songs  to  liberty  and  Norway,  their  ])()ems  about  the 
Norwegian  people,  about  mountain  scenery  and  country  life  in  their 
own  native  land  touched  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen  in  a  dilFerent 
way.  They  gave  the  i)eoi)le  the  oi)i)ortunity  for  the  first  time  to 
-ing  out  in  bold  triumphant  tones  their  love  of  liberty  and  fatherland. 
The  verses  li\ed  in  their  lixcs.  and  traced  deep  sentiments  on  their 
hearts.  It  was  the  first  lesson  in  true  j)atriotism.  Though  often 
otlensively  bond)astic,  antl  faulty  enough  when  measured  by  the 
highest  literary  standards,  these  songs  were  of  greater  importance 
than  the  more  sumptuous  literarv'  efforts  of  the  age. 

Besides  the  patriotic  songs,  a  new  kind  of  popular  poems  began 
to  appear,  written  in  the  strain  of  the  folk-songs.  Many  of  Brun's 
best  productions,  and  several  collections  of  songs  by  Claus  Frimann, 
belong  to  this  kind  of  ])oi)ular  lyrical  poesy.  Especially  noteworthy 
is  also  the  collection  of  poems,  "(iudbrandsdalske  \  iser,  "  by  Edward 
St(^nn.  These  poems  are  written  in  the  NorAvegian  vernacular,  and 
describe  home,  love,  and  nature  with  fervent  sentiment  and  great 
accuracy  of  local  coloring.  The  author  also  wrote  many  popular 
ballads,  of  which  the  best  known  is  "Zinclars  Vise."     Many  songs 

their  niimbor  nrr>  tlinso  who  desoond  from  kitiLrs,  and  that  thoy  through  8ue- 
oeodinR  generations  hiive  dwelt  on  their  farms,  whieli  they  own  by  right  of 
odd;  that  thoy  luive  l)een  true  warriors  and  (h>fi'nders  of  tlu-ir  eountry.  Is 
it  a  wonder  that  also  the  Norwegians  of  other  elasses  understand  what  national 
honor  is.  He  who  lives  in  the  pure  mountain  atmosphere:  he  with  his 
traditions  of  the  past  ;  he  with  the  thought  that  his  country  has  btH>n  a  land 
of  freedom,  not  of  aristoeraey  or  serfdom."  Quoted  by  J.  E.  Sars.  //w- 
torisk  ImUalning  til  Gruniilnrni,  p.  108. 

'  Introduction  to  J.  H.  We-ssel's  Samledc  Digtc,  edited  by  J.  Levin. 


376  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

written  by  these  poets  are  so  truly  national  both  in  spirit  and  con- 
tents that  they  have  continued  to  live  among  the  people  as  real  folk- 
songs. Of  such  may  be  mentioned :  Brun's  "  Bor  jeg  paa  det  h0ie 
Fjeld,"  "For  Norge  Kjsempers  F0deland";  Claus  Frimann's  "Ondt 
ofte  lider  den  Fiskermand,"  "Saa  knytter  jeg  Traad";  Edward 
Storm's  "Os  ha  gjort,  kva  gjerast  skulde,"  "Markje  gr0nnast, 
Snjogen  braana,"  and  many  others.  Though  linked  to  Denmark 
with  every  tie  of  loyalty,  the  new  school  of  poets  had  become  ardent 
Norwegian  patriots.  They  had  rediscovered  the  true  fountains  of 
song,  and  had  expressed  with  beauty  and  truthfulness  the  inmost 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  their  people  relative  to  home,  nature,  and 
fatherland.  In  Denmark  they  had  exercised  so  predominant  an 
influence  upon  literary  life,  and  had  developed  in  their  poetry 
so  distinct  a  national  spirit,  that,  as  L.  Dietrichson  says,  "it  must 
have  been  evident  to  all  at  the  end  of  the  period  that  a  nation,  not 
a  province,  spoke  through  the  Norwegian  poets." 

The  growing  national  sentiment  received  support,  also,  in  the 
Norwegian  press,  which  began  to  develop  in  this  period.  The  first 
Norwegian  paper  of  any  importance  was  the  "Christiania  Intelli- 
gentssedler, "  founded  in  1763.  The  paper  was  a  weekly,  but  prior 
to  1814  it  took  no  definite  stand  in  political  matters.  In  1805  it 
began  to  appear  twice  weekly,  and  in  1830  it  became  a  daily. ^ 
"Trondhjemske  Samlinger  af  Philaletes,"  a  literary  and  scientific 
periodical,  published  in  Trondhjem  by  P.  F.  Suhm,  was  founded  in 
1767,  and  in  1775  Hans  Storm  in  S0ndm0r  began  to  publish  "Til- 
skueren  paa  Landet,"  a  periodical  which  was  printed  in  Copenhagen. 
In  Bergen  a  number  of  periodicals  were  founded,  but  they  were 
generally  short-lived  and  of  little  real  importance.-  A  publication 
of  high  merit  was  Claus  Fasting's  "Provincial-blade,"  published 
in  Bergen  from  1778  to  1781.  In  1808  the  poet  Jonas  Rein  became 
clergyman  in  Bergen,  and  together  with  Christian  Magnus  Falsen 
and  Herman  Foss  he  began  the  publication  of  "Den  norske  Til- 
skuer." 

1  Dagbladet,  Christiania,  May  25,  1913. 

'  Decorah-Posten,  Decorah,  la.,  June  13,  1913.  L.  Dietrichson,  Omridk 
af  den  norske  Poesis  Historie,  p.  146  ff. 


ii  revolution  and  despotism  377 

\9.    Revolution  and  Despotism.     Dknmauk-Norway's  Foreign 

Policy.  1702-lSl  I 

The  lihcnil  ideas  which  Imd  bnjkeu  thnnigh  the  crust  of  ei^hteentli 
centun'  despotism  had  created  a  feehnj;  of  unrest  which  was  rapidly 
spreading  over  all  Europe.  Serious  attention  had  been  paid  to  the 
coiiditioiis  of  the  common  classes,  who  were  yet  drudginj^  under 
feudalistic  oppression,  and  a  desire  luid  been  awakened  for  greater 
freedom  and  better  social  conditions.  The  neglected  and  enslaved 
masses  had  begun  to  feel  that  the  hour  of  liberation  was  approaching, 
and  poets  and  thinkers  were  dreaming  of  the  millennium  which  would 
be  ushered  in  when  liberty  and  justice  should  regenerate  the  world. 
The  charm  of  the  new  ideas  regarding  liberty  and  e([uallty,  of  .social 
regeneration  and  the  rights  of  man  ;  the  self-evident  truths  regarding 
the  inju.stice  and  iniquity  of  oppression  and  corrupt  social  insti- 
tutions, so  eloquently  and  fearlessly  proclaimed,  had  for  a  moment 
touched  all  hearts,  as  if  a  new  revelation  had  suddenly  burst  upon 
the  age.  Even  the  despots  themselves  had  become  benefactors  of 
the  people.  The  French  Revolution  brought  this  feeling  to  a  climax. 
Gray-haired  scholars  became  enthusiastic,  and  those  who  possessed 
learning  and  foresight  enough  to  interpret  the  meaning  and  possible 
results  of  politic'al  events  hailed  it  as  the  coming  of  that  new  era  of 
which  poets  had  dreamed  and  sages  prophesied.  But  the  crowned! 
heads,  and  the  privileged  classes,  who  were  intrenched  in  power, 
suddenly  grew  alarmed  when  they  realized  that  the  first  sacrifice 
demanded  for  the  attainment  of  this  new  social  felicity  would  be 
their  own  privileges  and  despotic  power.  To  them  the  Revolution 
was  a  rude  shock  which  awakened  them  from  tlieir  dreams.  The 
cherub  of  liberty  had  suddenly  changed  into  the  demon  of  rebellion. 
They  forgot  their  quarrels,  and  hastened  to  unite  to  arrest  the  spread 
of  so  dangerous  a  movement.  Revolution  became  the  terror  of 
the  age,  and  every  liberal  idea,  yea  every  useful  reform  was  soon 
classified  as  revolt  against  established  authority. 

No  one  felt  more  alarmed  tlian  Gustavus  III.  of  Sweden.  He 
hastened  to  terminate  his  war  with  Russia,  and  on  October  10.  1701, 
he  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Russian  Empress,  CathiTine  II.. 
for  joint  operation  against  the  French  Revolution.     His  untimely 


378  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

death  prevented  him  from  carryhig  out  his  plans,  and  Catherine  II. 
was  rather  indifferent,  as  she  was  still  occupied  with  the  war  with 
Turkey.  But  Austria  and  Prussia  had  also  formed  an  alliance  to 
oppose  the  Revolution,  and  on  April  20,  1792,  King  Louis  XVI.  was 
persuaded  to  begin  war  against  these  powers.  The  two  allies  tried 
to  prevail  on  the  lesser  powers  to  join  them  in  a  general  coalition  against 
France,  and  Denmark-Norway  was  also  invited.  But  Bernstorff 
declined,  as  he  held  that  every  nation  ought  to  have  a  right  to  deter- 
mine for  itself  its  form  of  government,  and  that  foreign  powers  had 
no  right  to  interfere  with  the  internal  affairs  of  France.  An  invita- 
tion extended  by  Catherine  II.  of  Russia  was  also  declined.  The 
fate  of  Poland  convinced  Bernstorff  that  the  great  powers  would 
not  hesitate  to  swallow  up  the  smaller  states  at  the  first  opportunity, 
and  he  saw  that  their  only  safety  lay  in  neutrality  in  the  great  struggle 
which  had  begun.  But  to  remain  neutral  became  difficult  enough, 
especially  after  England  and  Holland  joined  the  enemies  of  France 
after  the  execution  of  Louis  XVI.  Commerce  was  exposed  to  the 
greatest  dangers,  and  slight  regard  was  paid  by  the  belligerent 
powers  even  to  the  limited  rights  which  neutrals  were  supposed  to 
have.  Catherine  II.  of  Russia,  who  had  maintained  that  the  flag 
protected  the  ship  and  its  cargo,  that  the  blockade  of  a  port,  in  order 
to  be  respected,  must  be  made  effective;  who  in  1780  had  organized 
the  great  coalition  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  neutrals,  now 
boldly  announced  that  she  had  discarded  these  principles,  that  the 
neutrals  would  be  given  the  choice  of  discontinuing  all  trade  with 
France,  or  of  joining  the  coalition  against  that  country.  France 
was  to  be  starved  into  submission.  It  was  a  piece  of  perfidy  char- 
acteristic of  that  age  of  dishonest  diplomacy  and  disregard  of  pledges 
and  treaties.  In  order  to  enforce  her  demand,  Catherine  sent  a 
fleet  of  thirty  war  vessels  to  Denmark,  and  announced  both  in  Stock- 
holm and  Copenhagen  that  this  fleet  would  cruise  in  the  North  Sea, 
and  seize  all  ships  sailing  under  the  French  flag ;  that  the  ships  of 
neutrals,  sailing  to  French  ports,  would  be  searched  and  turned 
back.  England  took  a  similar  stand,  but  Bernstorff  could  not  be 
intimidated.  He  told  both  England  and  Russia  that  their  demands 
would  not  be  complied  with,  and  Danish-Norwegian  ships  continued 
to  sail.     The  Russians  did  not  molest  them,  in  spite  of  the  threats 


II  DKNMAKK-NOKWay's    FOKKKJN    Pol.HY,     17ft2-1814  379 

v.liicli  liad  hfcu  iiiadt',  l)ut  the  Kii^li.'sh  continued  tlu-ir  old  practice 
of  sending  out  privateerH  to  prey  upon  neutral  commerce. 

After  the  death  of  Gustavus  III.  the  relations  between  Sweden 
and  Denmark  became  more  friendly.  Duke  Carl  of  Scklennanland, 
Kin^  (iustavns'  brother,  who  became  rej^ent  dnritif;  the  minority 
of  the  crown  j)rince,  was  less  gifted  bnt  more  careful  than  his  brother, 
Mid  as  he  was  anxious  to  maintain  the  neutrality  of  Swt^len,  a  treaty 
.1'  alliance  was  concluded  between  Sweden  and  Denmark-Norway 
in  1794.  They  agreed  to  make  the  Baltic  Sea  neutral  waters,  and 
to  place  a  joint  fleet  in  the  North  Sea  for  the  protection  of  their  com- 
merce, but  the  treaty  should  not  include  the  Gennan  provinces  of 
the  two  powers,  as  these  could  not  be  kept  neutral.  The  relations 
with  England  grew  ver\'  strained,  as  the  English  continued  to  annoy 
the  allied  Northern  kingdoms  with  all  sorts  of  unreasonable  demands  ; 
among  others,  that  j)roof  should  be  given  that  the  cargoes  carried 
by  their  ships  were  their  own  property,  that  French  })rivateers  should 
l)e  excluded  from  Norwegian  harbors,  etc.  The  English  ambassador 
to  Deimiark-Nonvay.  Ilailes,  was  al.so  a  ver\'  impud<«nt  and  disagree- 
able gentleman.  But  the  ])resence  of  the  joint  fleet  of  the  neutrals 
had  a  tranquilizing  effect,  and  as  the  F^nglish  became  gradually  more 
reasonable,  a  hostile  collision  was  averted. 

The  results  obtained  through  Bernstorf!"s  wise  jiolicy  of  neutrality 
and  alliance  with  Sweden,  and  the  evident  danger  to  weaker  states, 
as  illustrated  by  the  fate  of  Poland,  changed  the  hatred  and  mistrust 
between  the  Northern  kingdoms  into  a  feeling  of  friendship.  The 
idea  that  the  three  si.ster  nations  should  draw  closer  together  had 
long  been  growing,  and  elofjuent  jxilitical  leaders  advocated  a  tli.s- 
tinct  Scandinavian  policy,  which  should  secure  tlie  peniument  cooper- 
ation of  the  three  kingdoms  for  their  own  jirotection.  In  an  address 
before  the  Scandinavian  club,  *' Nordiske  Forening. "  in  Ixindon 
.lanuary  28,  1792,  the  Danish  historian  F.  SneedorfT  said  in  speaking 
of  the  jiolitical  situation  in  the  North  :  "^'ou  will  notice  that  Russia 
has  gained  control  of  the  connnerce  of  the  Bhick  Sea.  and  it  i.s  no 
imagined  danger  if  ycni  fear  the  same  in  the  Baltic."  "When 
Gennan>  and  Russia,"  he  continu(>d.  "join  liands  across  tlie  Baltic 
Sea,  it  will  be  too  late  for  us  in  the  North  to  unite.  There  will  then 
be  nothing  left  for  us  but  to  die,  or  to  hide  among  the  mount.ains, 


380  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

even  as  our  fathers  hid  behind  their  shields,  and  to  disappear  as 
states.  But  what  power  can  be  dangerous  to  a  united  Scandinavia  ? 
Our  mountains,  our  islands,  our  united  fleets,  our  severe  climate,  our 
love  of  liberty,  of  our  fatherland,  and  our  kings  will  make  it  impossible 
for  any  power  on  earth  to  deprive  us  of  our  independence."  ^  Simi- 
lar thoughts  were  expressed  by  many  others,  notably  by  the  Danish 
statesman  Ove  H0eg-Guldberg,  the  Norwegian  poet  Zetlitz,^  and 
the  Swedish  poet  Franzen.  In  1796  Det  skandinaviske  Literatur- 
Selskab  was  organized  to  foster  a  closer  literary  fellowship  in  the 
North,  but  it  numbered  only  forty  members ;  and  although  it  con- 
tinued to  exist  till  1840,  it  was  never  popular,  and  did  not  exer- 
cise any  important  influence.  This  Pan-Scandinavian  movement 
had  emanated  chiefly  from  Denmark.  The  Swedes  remained  rather 
indifferent,  and  among  the  military  officers  and  the  higher  classes 
the  old  jealousy  and  ill-feeling  had  not  wholly  disappeared.  Even 
the  relations  between  the  two  governments  were  not  as  cordial  as 
might  have  been  expected,  since  the  Swedish  regent  seemed  unable 
to  avoid  political  indiscretions  by  which  he  irritated  both  Catherine 
II.  and  England.  The  most  serious  of  these  was  the  recognition  of 
the  French  Republic  in  1795,  a  step  which  greatly  increased  the 

1 0.   A.   0verland,   Norges   Historie,   vol.   X.,   p.   90  ff.     Julius  Clausen, 
Skandinavismen  historisk  fremstillet,  p.  7  ff. 
2  In  a  song  to  the  united  fleet  Zetlitz  says : 

Vi  Danmarks  msend,  vi  Sverges  msend, 

Vi  Norges  msend, 

Vi  havets  maend,  vi  krigens  msend, 

Vi  hsedersmaend, 

Vi  h0rte  vore  fyrsters  bud 

Om  ledingstog, 

Vi  l0d,  omfavned  far  og  brud 

Og  fro  bortdrog ; 

Thi  se,  vore  fyrster  er  f sedre  I 

Paa  h0ien  mast  det  danske  flag 

Ur0rt  skal  staa  I 

Paa  h0ien  mast  det  svenske  flag 

Ur0rt  skal  staa  I 

Thi  gother  elske  vaabenbrag, 

Kjsekt  eimbrer  slaa, 

Og  nordmaend  ingen,  ingen  dag 

Forsagte  saa ; 

Thi  er  vore  fjTster  ei  f sedre? 


II  DFI.VMARK-NORWAY's    foreign    I'OUCV,    1792-1814  381 

gravity  of  the  situation  for  the  neutrals.  The  first  coaHtion  against 
France  was  broken  up  that  same  year,  and  Prussia  and  Spain  with- 
drew. But  Knj,'laii(i.  Austria,  and  Sardinia  still  contiiiutHl  the 
struggle,  and  Catherine  II.  of  Russia  declared  her  willingness  to 
join  them.  I'nder  these  circumstances  it  was  as  necessar>'  as  ever 
for  the  Northern  nations  to  cooperate  in  the  defense  of  their  neu- 
trality. Catherine  II.  sought  to  force  them  apart.  She  attempted 
to  persuade  Denmark-Norway  to  join  the  c(jalition,  and  made  ver\" 
tempting  offers,  but  Bernstorff  declinetl,  though  the  situation  was 
growing  more  difficult  than  ever.  In  ITiMi  he  recognize<l  the  French 
Republic,  but  this  proved  to  be  of  no  advantage,  as  the  French  also 
began  to  send  out  privateers  to  prey  upon  neutral  commerce.  The 
right  of  search  claimed  by  the  English,  and  the  slight  regard  for  the 
precarious  rights  f)f  neutrals,  made  the  situation  almost  unbearable, 
but  Bernstorff,  who  regarded  war  as  the  greatest  calamity  which 
could  befall  a  nation,  clung  tenaciously  to  his  policy  of  peace.  The 
foreign  policy  of  Sweden,  which  was  now  conducted  by  the  minister 
of  state,  Reuterholm,  continued  to  be  vacillating.  He  abandoned 
the  policy  of  Gustavus  III.,  and  sought  an  alliance  witli  France. 
When  this  failed,  he  attempted  to  win  the  friendship  of  Russia  by 
the  nuirriage  of  the  crown  prince  to  Alexandra,  a  granddaughter  of 
Catherine  II.,  but  the  match  failed  because  of  a  disagreement  regard- 

Vi  krigcn.s  mopnd,  vi  havets  ma?nd, 

Vi  hipdersniffind, 

Vi  Sverjijes  ma>nd,  vi  Danmarks  msnd, 

Vi  NorRos  mapnd, 

V^i  all  stolte  Nordens  msend 

Er  et  iKJen ; 

Vi  se  dot :   Oud  i  himmelen 

Er  Nordens  ven. 

O,  or  vore  fyrster  ei  fsedre  ? 

Som  dup  for  sol  alt  indbildt  had 

Er  svundi't  hon  ; 

Se  cimbron  favner  pothen  glad 

Som  pammpl  von. 

Trohjortip  nordmand  bepRO  ta'r 

Mod  lyst  i  haand  : 

"Oud  sipno  don,  som  tvundot  bar 

Det  skjoiino  baand, 

De  tvilliin;rigorne9  fsedre." 


382  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

ing  the  right  of  the  future  queen  to  worship  according  to  the  Greek 
faith.  In  November,  1796,  the  Swedish  crown  prince  became  of 
age,  and  ascended  the  throne  as  Gustavus  IV.  Catherine  II.  died 
the  same  month,  and  no  further  attempt  was  made  to  estabhsh  closer 
relations  between  the  two  nations. 

In  1797  the  great  statesman  Bernstorff  died,  an  irreparable  loss 
for  Denmark-Norway  in  those  critical  times.  The  crown  prince 
appointed  as  his  successor  his  son  Christian  BernstorflF,  an  able  and 
humane  man,  who  lacked  his  father's  experience  as  a  statesman. 

By  his  remarkable  Italian  campaign  Napoleon  Bonaparte  forced 
Austria  to  conclude  peace  at  Campo  Formio,  1797,  but  England  con- 
tinued the  struggle,  and  a  second  coalition  was  formed  the  following 
year.  The  war  was  renewed,  and  the  commerce  of  the  neutral 
Northern  nations  was  so  harassed  by  the  English,  French,  and 
Spanish  privateers  that  every  merchant  vessel  had  to  be  convoyed. 
The  eccentric  Emperor  Paul  of  Russia,  who  had  succeeded  his  mother 
Catherine  II.  on  the  throne,  also  assumed  a  most  threatening  attitude 
towards  Denmark-Norway,  and  the  government  finally  yielded  to 
his  demands,  and  joined  the  coalition  against  France.  Actual  hos- 
tilities were,  however,  avoided.  Bonaparte,  who  at  this  time  re- 
turned from  Egypt,  and  made  himself  first  consul,  maintained 
friendly  relations  with  the  Northern  kingdoms,  and  also  with  Emperor 
Paul  of  Russia,  who  had  already  changed  his  mind,  and  had  suddenly 
become  very  hostile  to  England.  The  situation,  though  not  much 
improved,  was  no  worse  than  before,  and  prudent  statesmanship  would 
have  adhered  to  the  course  so  successfully  pursued  by  A.  P.  Bern- 
storff.  But  the  government  arranged  instead  a  new  alliance  of  neu- 
trality between  Denmark-Noru-ay,  Sweden,  Russia,  and  Prussia, 
and  reaffirmed  the  principles  of  the  rights  of  neutrals  which  had 
been  formulated  by  A.  P.  Bernstorff  and  Catherine  II.  The  step 
proved  to  be  a  mistake,  as  it  aroused  the  resentment  of  the  English 
government,  which  regarded  the  new  alliance  as  a  coalition  hostile 
to  England.  In  i\Iarch,  1801,  an  English  fleet  of  fifty-three  war- 
ships under  Admiral  Hyde  Parker,  with  Lord  Nelson  second  in  com- 
mand, was  sent  to  the  Baltic.  That  war  was  imminent  was  now 
apparent,  but  Sweden  had  neglected  to  make  preparations,  and  Den- 
mark-Norway had  to  meet  the  attack  of  the  great  English  fleet 


II  den'Mark-nohway'h  forkion  policy,   170J  1S14  :W8 

aloiu-.  Oil  Miirc'li  :iOth  the  iU'vi  passed  tlic  Sound,  and  took  up  a  posi- 
lion  before  tlie  (\)perihaKen  roa«istead,  where  the  Danish-Norwe- 
L'ian  fleet  was  anchored,  wholly  unprepared  for  active  service.  Oil 
April  2.  ISOI,  was  fouj^ht  the  l)attle  of  Copeniiaf^cn,  one  «)f  the  most 
iiicnioraltlt'  stnij^j^des  in  the  history  of  l)eniiHirk-Norv\'ay.^  Admiral 
Nelson  with  the  main  fleet  of  thirty-five  ships,  1192  puns,  and  8885 
men,  was  ordered  to  attack  the  Danish-Norwegian  fleet,  which  was 
much  smaller  both  in  size  and  armament.  The  part  of  the  fleet 
retained  by  Parker  under  his  own  immediate  command  should  act 
as  reserve.  The  battle  f^rew  furious,  as  the  combatants  fought  at 
1  lose  (piarters,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  withdraw  a  vessel  from 
the  battle  line  until  it  was  almost  demoli.shed.  The  Danes  and  N'or- 
wcj^ians  sufVered  terrible  losses,  but  they  entertained  no  thought 
of  yielding:.  Seven  Kuf^lish  vessels  ran  aground,  and  many  were 
severely  dainaged  ;  the  outcome  of  the  struggle  seemed  very  prolv 
Icmatic,  and  as  the  whole  English  fleet  was  in  the  grav«'st  danger. 
Admiral  Parker  signaled  to  Nelson  to  stop  the  battle  and  retreat. 
Uut  this  humiliation  Nelson  would  not  suffer.  He  put  the  field  glass 
lo  his  blind  eye,  said  he  could  see  no  signal,  and  let  the  battle  con- 
tiinie.  In  order  to  bring  the  combjit  to  a  s]>eedy  close,  he  resorted 
to  a  clever  stratagem.  lie  dispatched  an  oflicer  with  the  foll(»wing 
letter  to  the  crown  prince,  who  was  watching  the  battle  from  the 
shore:  "Lord  Nelson  has  instructions  to  spare  Deimiark  when  no 
longer  resisting,  but  if  the  firing  is  continued  on  the  j^art  of  Den- 
mark, Lord  Nelson  will  be  obliged  to  set  on  fire  all  the  floating  bat- 
teries he  has  taken,  without  having  the  power  of  saving  the  brave 
Danes  who  have  defended  them."  -  A  second  letter  was  dispatche<l 
innnediately  after  the  first,  in  which  he  stat<>d  that  he  made  this 
aj)peal  from  humanitarian  motives,  that  he  would  regard  it  as  the 
greatest  victorA*  he  ever  won,  if  his  flag  of  truce  might  be  the  signal 
for  a  peniuinent  and  happy  union  between  his  sovereign  and  the 
king  of  Denmark,  'i'he  threat  in  the  first  letter  was.  of  course,  only 
a  ruse,  but  he  succeeded  in  disheartening  the  crown  prince,  who 
immediately  ordered  a  Hag  of  truce  to  be  hoiste<l.     The  last  great 

'  .Taeob  Aal.  Erindringcr,  p.  20  IT. 

»Tlu>  letter,  which  is  diittnl  on  board  the  ship  "Elephant."  .\pril  2.  1801, 
is  toniu\  in  tlie  Danish  arehivos,  Danmarks  Rigcs  HUtorie,  vol.  V..  p.  .'»02. 


384  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

battle  in  which  the  Danes  and  Norwegians  were  destined  to  fight 
side  by  side  was  over,  and  a  preliminary  peace  was  concluded  April  9th. 
The  alliance  with  Russia  had  only  brought  war  and  disaster,  and 
Denmark-Norway  had  good  reasons  to  feel  that  they  had  been  left 
to  shift  for  themselves  at  a  critical  juncture.  On  March  23  Emperor 
Paul  was  assassinated,  and  his  successor,  Emperor  Alexander  I.,  con- 
cluded a  treaty  of  alliance  with  England  without  consulting  the 
other  allies,  waiving  nearly  every  right  claimed  by  the  neutrals. 
But  even  under  these  circumstances  Denmark-Norway  felt  compelled 
to  join  the  new  alliance  in  order  to  recover  their  lost  American  and 
Asiatic  colonies,  which  had  been  seized  by  England. 

In  1802  peace  was  concluded  between  France  and  England  at 
Amiens,  but  both  powers  felt  that  it  could  be  nothing  but  a  truce, 
and  a  year  had  scarcely  passed  when  hostilities  were  renewed.  The 
danger  to  Denmark  now  became  more  imminent,  as  Bonaparte  seized 
the  Electorate  of  Hanover,  which  belonged  to  the  king  of  England. 
The  theater  of  war  had  thus  been  moved  closer  to  the  Danish  border, 
and  the  crown  prince  advanced  into  Holstein  with  an  army  of  16,000 
men  to  protect  the  kingdom.  The  mounting  ambition  of  Napoleon, 
manifested  by  his  proclamation  as  Emperor  of  France  in  1804,  made 
all  Europe  regard  him  as  a  common  enemy,  and  a  new  coalition  was 
soon  formed  against  him,  consisting  of  England,  Russia,  and  Austria. 
Napoleon  crushed  the  Austrians  at  Ulm,  and  the  united  forces  of 
Russia  and  Austria  at  Austerlitz,  but  England  dealt  his  naval  power 
a  deadly  blow  at  Trafalgar.  In  1806  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine 
was  organized  under  the  protectorate  of  the  Emperor,  and  the  old 
German  Empire  ceased  to  exist.  Prussia  declared  war,  only  to  be 
crushed  at  Jena  and  Auerstadt,  and  Napoleon  occupied  Berlin.  In 
rapid  succession  the  continental  powers  had  been  vanquished,  but 
England  was  still  defiant,  and  as  her  proud  navy  controlled  the  sea, 
he  would  have  to  strike  at  her  only  vulnerable  spot  —  her  commerce. 
In  1806  he  issued  his  noted  Berlin  Decree,  declaring  the  British  Isles 
to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade,  and  interdicting  all  trade  with  England, 
not  only  in  France,  but  in  all  ports  of  Europe  over  which  he  exercised 
authority,  including  the  Netherlands,  western  Germany,  Prussia, 
and  Italy.  After  the  treaty  of  Tilsit,  1807,  he  also  subjected  Russia 
to  his  "  Continental  System."     In  December,  1807,  he  issued  a  second 


II  uknmark-nohway'8  foreign  policy,   1792  1«I4  385 

decree  from  Milan,  in  wliidi  lie  tlin'ulencd  to  seize  any  ship  which 
touched  at  a  British  i)i)rt.  The  l^n^hsh  retaliute<l  l»y  Orders  in 
Council,  declaring  the  j)orts  of  i'Vanee  and  her  allies  to  he  in  a  state 
of  l)l()ckade,  hut  allowing  neutral  vessels  to  carry  on  trade  between 
these  ports  and  Great  Britain.  The  crown  prince,  wlio  had  be<Mi 
stati()rie<l  in  Ilolstein,  wIhtc  Ih-  had  gathered  an  army  of  2(),()<MI  nn-n, 
finally  withdrew  the  greater  i)art  of  iiis  force  across  the  Kider.  It 
seenu'd  to  iiave  been  iiis  i)uri)ose  to  maintain  neutrality  as  long  as 
possible,  and  to  cast  his  lot  with  Enj^land  if  he  were  finally  forced 
into  tlie  strugj^le.  The  situation  was  constantly  growing  more 
critical,  as  any  move  which  the  government  might  make  was  inter- 
preted as  unfriendly  either  by  Napoleon  or  I-'ngland.  In  direct 
contravention  of  the  concessions  which  had  been  made  to  neutral 
powers  in  ISOl,  the  English  government  issued  new  Orders  in  Council, 
forbidding  neutral  ships  to  trade  l)etween  the  ports  of  France  or  her 
allies.  This  new  restriction  would  damage  I)anish-Xor^vegian  com- 
merce very'  seriously ;  but  although  sharp  diplomatic  encounters 
followwl,  no  redress  of  wrongs  could  be  obtained.  The  ultimate 
rupture  with  one  or  the  other  of  the  belligerents  could  evidently'  not 
long  be  averted  even  by  the  most  watchful  jjrudeiice.  After  the 
battle  of  Friedland  and  the  peace  of  Tilsit,  Napoleon  succeedtnl  in 
wintiing  to  his  side  the  imaginative  Emperor  Alexander  I.  of  Russia. 
Alexander  promised  to  attempt  to  negotiate  peace  between  France 
and  England,  but  if  the  l''nglish  goveriunent  should  refuse  to  accept 
the  tenns  on  which  the  two  emperors  had  agreed.  Russia  should 
join  France.  I)enmark-Xor\vay,  Sweden,  and  I'ortugal  would  be 
recjuested  to  close  their  ports  to  English  commerce,  and  if  they  re- 
fused, they  should  be  treated  as  enemies.  This  cuiming  stroke  of 
Napoleon  shattered  the  policy  of  neutrality,  and  forced  the  smaller 
nations  to  choose  sidi's  in  the  conlliit. 

The  news  of  the  alliance  between  France  and  Russia  and  their 
plans  regarding  the  neutral  nations  caused  the  greatest  alarm,  not 
only  in  Copenhagen,  Stockholm,  and  Lisbon,  but  also  in  England. 
The  English  goverimient  inuigine<l  that  Denmark-Norway  was  a 
secret  partner  U)  the  compact,  and  without  even  taking  the  time  to 
ascertain  the  real  state  of  alTairs,  a  large  llei-t  was  iinmetliately  dis- 
patchal   to   Denmark.     On   August  Gth   the   English  diplonuit  Sir 

VOL.  11  — 2  c 


386  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Francis  Jackson  arrived  in  Kiel,  where  the  crown  prince  and  Chris- 
tian Bernstorff  were  staying,  and  presented  an  Enghsh  ultimatum. 
As  a  guarantee  that  Denmark-Norway  would  be  the  ally  of  England 
they  should  turn  their  fleet  over  to  the  English,  who  would  use  it 
during  the  war,  and  return  it  to  the  owners  after  the  peace  had  been 
concluded.  Forty  thousand  English  troops  should  cooperate  with 
the  Danes  against  France,  and  in  return  for  the  aid  which  Den- 
mark-Norway should  give  England,  they  might  receive  a  few  Eng- 
lish colonies.  The  crown  prince  and  Bernstorff  were  so  taken  by 
surprise  that  they  lost  their  presence  of  mind,  and  the  negotiations 
became  a  scene  of  almost  pitiable  confusion.  So  much  they,  never- 
theless, succeeded  in  making  clear  to  the  English  ambassador  that 
the  ports  of  the  realm  would  not  be  closed  to  English  commerce, 
and  that  Denmark-Norway  would  enter  into  an  alliance  with  Eng- 
land. But  the  English  demanded  the  fleet,  as  if  they  were  negotiating 
with  criminals,  whose  words  and  pledges  could  not  be  relied  upon. 
Even  an  alliance  would  not  be  accepted  as  sufficient  guarantee. 
No  more  humiliating  terms  could  have  been  offered  an  independent 
people,  but  it  was  folly  for  the  crown  prince  to  make  open  resistance. 
The  English  forces  concentrated  on  Seeland  under  Lord  Cathcart 
numbered  31,000  men,  commanded  by  the  most  experienced  English 
generals,  among  others  General  Wellesley,  the  later  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington. The  fleet  commanded  by  Admiral  Gambler  consisted  of 
twenty-five  ships  of  the  line,  forty  frigates,  and  a  large  number  of 
smaller  vessels  and  transports.  To  subject  the  capital  with  its 
antiquated  defenses  to  the  bombardment  and  attack  of  such  a  force, 
when  it  was  defended  only  by  some  14,000  men,  of  whom  not  above 
6000  belonged  to  the  regular  army,  appears  like  a  Don  Quixotic 
adventure,  even  under  such  circumstances.  From  the  second  to  the 
fifth  of  September  Copenhagen  was  bombarded  until  it  looked  like 
a  sea  of  flames.  Large  portions  of  the  city  were  laid  in  ruins,  and 
between  two  and  three  thousand  people  were  killed.  The  com- 
mandant, General  Peymann,  was  forced  to  capitulate,  and  the  Danish 
fleet,  of  seventy  vessels,  which  was  lying  in  the  harbor  wholly  unpre- 
pared for  active  service,  was  taken.^ 

^  Jacob  Aal,   Erindringer,  p.  29  fif.     Constantinus  Flood,    Under   Krigen 
1807-1814,  p.  127  £f. 


II  DENMARK-NDHWAY's    KORKKiN    I'f)I.I(Y,    17f)*J    IMI  387 

But  l^n^liuul  had  ^fiiiic*!  nothing  and  lost  much  hy  htT  prerifjitate 
hasti'.  The  unjjrovokiHl  attack  on  Denmark  was  not  only  an  out- 
rape  on  a  friendly  nation,  but  it  was  a  political  mistake  of  the  worst 
sort.  The  assumption  advancj'fl  by  Enj^lish  historians  that  Napoleon 
planned  to  seize  the  lleet  of  Denmark-Nonvay  to  use  it  against  Kng- 
land,  and  tliat  his  plan  was  fnistrate<l  only  by  the  prompt  action 
of  the  English  government,  must  be  dismissed  as  pure  hypothesis. 
Napoleon  was  taking  steps  to  coerce  Denmark-Nonvay  to  submit 
lo  the  demands  of  France  and  Russia.  If  the  English  fle<'t  had  not 
arrived  when  it  did,  a  rupture  with  France  would  have  followed,  and 
Denmark-Norway  would  have  become  the  ally  of  ?'npland  ;  their 
fleet  would  have  eoojierated  with  that  of  England,  and  their  army, 
which  was  already  stationed  on  the  southern  border  to  protect  the 
kingdom  against  FVench  attack,  woukl  have  been  ready  to  cooperate 
with  whatever  forces  the  English  government  could  have  placet!  in 
the  iii'ld  against  N'apolef)n.  But  by  this  ill-starred  event  the  Danish- 
Norwegian  fleet  had  been  destroyed  as  a  fighting  force,  and  in  her 
despair  Denmark  formed  an  alliance  with  France.  The  English 
government  was  much  disappointed  at  the  o\itcome  of  the  experlitinn 
to  Copenhagen.  Even  after  the  capture  of  the  fleet,  attempts  were 
made  to  persuade  the  Danish  government  to  enter  into  an  alliance 
with  England.  This  might  have  been  the  wisest  policy  for  Denmark- 
Norv\ay  even  at  that  moment,  but  it  must  be  granted  that  sucli  a 
tep  would  require  a  degree  of  self-abnegation  which  is  not  usually 
given  to  Inunan  nature.  The  English  attack  had  not  only  brought 
about  the  destructive  bombardment  of  Copenhagen  and  the  loss 
nf  the  fleet,  but  by  forcing  Denmark-Nonvay  into  an  alliance  with 
Napoleon  it  resulted  in  still  greater  disasters  to  the  twin  kingdoms. 

By  a  treaty  of  alliance  concluded  at  Fontainebleau,  October  'M, 
1S()7,  Denmark-Norway  agreed  to  cooperate  witli  Francv  and  l{us.sia 
and  to  close  all  i)orts  against  l\nglisli  conuueree.  On  November 
4th  England  declared  war  against  the  two  kingdoms.  It  was  a 
dark  moment  for  Dennuirk-Norway.  The  lOnglish  hail  not  only 
taken  the  fleet,  but  all  the  military  stores  in  C'openJmgen.  and  be- 
cause of  the  suddenness  of  the  attack,  they  were  also  able  to  seize 
about  a  thousand  Dani.sh  and  Nonvegian  merchant  vessels  in  their 
own  harbors  and  elsewhere.     They  had  also  occupied  the  island  of 


388  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Helgoland,  a  step  which  Denmark-Norway  could  not  prevent,  as  they 
had  been  deprived  of  all  means  of  defending  themselves  at  sea.  The 
interruption  of  commerce,  and  the  destruction  of  lives  and  property 
incident  to  the  war,  brought  upon  the  North  a  period  of  intense  suf- 
fering. This  was  especially  the  case  in  Norway,  where  the  necessary 
quantity  of  grain  cannot  be  produced,  and  where  the  cessation  of 
import  trade  finally  added  famine  to  the  many  trials  of  those  dark 
years.  But  the  otherwise  gloomy  picture  is  brightened  by  the  in- 
tense patriotism  and  high  courage  with  which  the  peoples  of  both 
kingdoms  waged  the  long  struggle  with  their  powerful  enemy. 
The  English  had  estimated  that  the  fleet  and  supplies  seized  at 
Copenhagen  represented  a  value  of  £2,000,000.  During  the  war 
they  captured  about  1500  Danish-Norwegian  merchant  vessels 
and  smaller  craft,  but  in  balancing  accounts  at  the  end  of  the 
war,  they  still  found  that  the  struggle  had  netted  them  a  con- 
siderable loss. 

After  the  loss  of  the  fleet  Denmark-Norway  still  had  two  ships 
of  the  line  which  were  not  at  Copenhagen  at  the  time  of  the  bom- 
bardment, and  with  resolute  energy  they  set  to  work  to  create  a 
fleet  of  small  vessels,  each  carrying  a  couple  of  guns.  With  this 
flotilla  of  gunboats  manned  with  experienced  seamen  they  began  a 
guerilla  warfare  at  sea  which  proved  destructive  to  English  commerce 
in  the  Baltic.  The  lighthouses  remained  dark,  and  the  buoys  were 
moved  to  misguide  the  stranger,  while  the  gunboats  and  privateers  ^ 
lay  in  ambush  behind  the  rocks  and  skerries  of  the  dark  coast,  ready 
to  swoop  down  upon  the  enemy  at  any  given  opportunity.  The 
dangers  became  so  great  that  the  English  merchant  vessels  had  to 
unite  into  fleets  under  convoy  of  men-of-war.  But  these  naval 
caravans  moved  slowly,  as  the  whole  fleet  had  to  stop  whenever  a 
vessel  was  to  make  port,  and  even  such  convoys  were  in  danger  of 

1  On  September  14,  1807,  before  the  English  had  left  Copenhagen,  a 
permit  was  issued  to  the  stijtsamtmoend  and  the  chief  miUtary  officers  in  each 
stift  to  Ucense  privateers  to  any  extent  which  they  might  deem  advantageous, 
and  these  should  be  permitted  to  seize  English  property  on  land  or  sea  wher- 
ever they  might  find  it.  Swarms  of  privateers  were  sent  out,  and  the  traffic 
became  so  profitable  that  stock  companies  were  organized  to  promote 
it.  Constantinus  Flood,  /  Krigsaarene,  p.  95.  Ludvig  Daae,  Det  gamle 
Christiania,  p.  306  £f. 


II  DENMARK-NOKUAY's    foreign    policy,    1792-1S14  389 

Ix'in^  attjickcd  hy  the  j^imhoats.  In  ISOS  the  ^iiiihoat  flotilla  ut- 
ickcd  an  Miij^Iisli  convoy  at  Miilmo,  and  captured  <»r  destroyed 
<  Icven  mcrclumt  vessels.  Many  valuable  |)rize.s  were  tjiken  from 
lime  to  time.  According  to  documents  in  the  Danish  archives  the 
\alue  of  prizes  hrouf^ht  into  Danish-Norwegian  harhors  amounted 
to  28,081,013  riksdaler,  and  the  value  of  those  winch  were  actually 
•  unfiscated  amounted  to  14.*)3:i,in>  riksdaler.'  In  all.  2()()()  KiiKlish 
merchant  vessels  were  seized  hy  the  Danes  and  Norwegians  during; 
the  war.  At  times  successful  battles  were  also  fought  with  English 
nien-of-war.  On  March  11,  isOS,  ilic  Norwc^^ian  brig  "Laugen" 
defeated  the  Ivij^lisii  brig  "  ( 'hilders,"  and  on  June  I'.tth  the  same  \ear, 
the  "Laugen"  captured  the  English  brig  "Seagull."  which  was 
incorporated  in  the  Norwegian  fleet.  But  such  moments  when 
\  ictory  brightened  the  melancholy  aspect  of  the  nnecjual  struggle 
must  have  been  few  and  far  between.  The  English  men-of-war 
swept  along  the  coast  and  jjicked  up  ever>'  little  craft  which  sought 
to  steal  across  to  Denmark  to  fetch  food  for  those  who  were  starving 
at  home,  and  the  daring  voyagers  who  would  risk  all  to  relieve  the 
growing  distress  were  carried  oft'  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  huddlcil 
together  with  like  unfortunates  in  the  dreadful  English  prison-ships. 
The  Norwegian  privateers  did  valiant  service  in  the  guerilla  warfare, 
l»ut  oflicers  and  crew  would  often  pay  for  their  daring  by  langui>hing 
lor  years  in  the  unsanitary  military  prison-pens,  which  soim'times 
liarl)ore(l  whole  armies  of  those  unfortunate  victims  of  war.  The 
Knglish  themselves  disliked  this  war  with  Denmark-Norway,  which 
was  waged  for  no  definite  ])uri)o.se,  which  ])rovetl  so  expensive,  and 
so  destructive  to  their  commerce,  and  which  cut  off  their  supply  of 
Nonvcgian  lumber  and  ship-l)iiilding  material. 

The  old  insane  king  Christian  VII.  died  March  13,  ISOS.  and  the 
crown  prinei'.  who  had  long  acted  as  regent,  ascended  the  throne  at 
Frederick  \1.  The  political  situation  was  so  extremely  difficult 
that  he  might  have  nee<KHi  the  assistance  and  advice  of  the  ablest 
men,  but  he  i)referred  to  exercise  unlimited  autocratic  power,  even 

'  Constantiiuis  Hood.  UtuUr  Krigeri  ISOT-lSl.',,  p.  VM.  ConstAntimis 
Flood,  /  Kri(j!<(mrcnv,  p.  9.i  fT.  S.  C.  Hammer.  /)<«  <lrt  gjaUt,  ("liristinnia. 
190'.).  C'on.'^tantinus  Flootl,  For  otli  Aar  sidtn.  11.  V.  HolmlKK*.  Briterncs 
Krigxforetagi'udrr  langs  Norgea  Kyster  fra  ISOS  til  1814,  Samlingcr  tU  del 
norskc  Folks  Uprog  og  Ilistorit,  vol.  II.,  p.  21(3  fT. 


390 


HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 


n 


to  an  extent  hitherto  unknown.  Not  till  in  1813,  when  utter  ruin 
threatened  the  realm,  did  he  summon  his  ministers  for  consultation. 
He  sought  with  great  earnestness  and  uprightness  of  purpose  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  people,  but  he  entertained  very  extrava- 
gant notions  as  to  his  own  ability  as  a  ruler,  and  looked  with  jealous 
disfavor  upon  any  minister  who  exhibited  any  independence  of  mind, 

and  ventured  to  offer  sugges- 


tions or  advice.  His  over- 
weening self-esteem,  which 
made  him  unnecessarily  des- 
potic in  affairs  of  govern- 
ment, was  fully  equaled  by 
his  confidence  in  his  military 
ability  and  his  love  for 
martial  adventure  and  dis- 
play. These  traits  of  char- 
acter, which  rendered  his 
statesmanship  venturesome 
and  ill-advised,  were  partic- 
ularly unfortunate  at  a  crit- 
ical juncture,  when  the  state 
policy  should  have  been 
dictated  by  the  greatest  wis- 
dom and  prudence. 
To  the  Norwegians  the  war  with  England  was  ruinous.  Their 
coasts  were  blockaded,  and  their  lucrative  commerce  destroyed ; 
yet  the  struggle,  which  was  as  useless  as  it  was  hopeless,  was,  never- 
theless, waged  for  a  cause.  But  when  King  Frederick  also  declared 
war  against  Sweden,  1808,  as  it  appears,  for  no  cause  whatever, 
except  that  Sweden  opposed  France  and  Russia,  it  must  be  regarded 
as  sheer  madness.  It  was  clear  that  the  Norwegians  would  also 
be  compelled  to  bear  the  brunt  of  this  war,  though  they  lacked,  not 
only  military  stores,  but  the  necessities  of  life.  While  their  unpro- 
tected coasts  were  ravaged  by  the  English,  they  would  also  have  to 
guard  their  extensive  borders  against  the  Swedes ;  and  it  must  have 
been  evident  to  the  king  that  any  hope  of  aid  from  Denmark  was 
precluded  from  the  outset,  as  the  Danes  had  no  navy,  and  the  Nor- 


FiG.  8.  —  Frederick  VI 


II  denmark-nokway'r  foreign  poLirr,  1792-ihi}  301 

wegian  coast  wus  })atr()ll('(l  by  Eii;;lisli  warsliips.*  It  had,  furthrr- 
more,  been  evident  for  a  long  time  that  the  Swedish  kings  sought 
t(i  gain  possession  of  Norway,  and  no  better  opportunity  could  he 
nlfered  than  a  war  under  such  circumstancos.  The  immediate  dan- 
i:oT  was,  however,  less  tliau  might  iiave  i)een  ex])ectcd,  as  (Justavus 
1  \'.  of  Sweden,  who  was  tottering  on  the  brink  of  insanity,  brought 
upon  his  country  such  disasters  that  its  very  existence  was  threat- 
ened. He  could  not  be  persuaded  to  submit  to  the  Continental 
System.  lie  regarded  Napoleon  as  the  beast  of  the  Apocalypse, 
^^ainst  whom  relentless  war  ought  to  be  waged,  and  as  he  believed 
himself  to  be  a  reincarnation  of  Charles  XII.,  he  did  not  hesitate 
t(»  join  England  against  TVance  and  Russia.  By  a  war  against  these 
powers  Sweden  would  gain  nothing,  and  with  a  blindness  which 
linds  an  explanation  only  in  his  insanity  he  thereby  exposed  Finland 
to  the  attack  of  Russia,  which  was  becoming  an  ever  greater  danger 
to  the  Scandinavian  kingdoms.  On  February  21,  ISO.S,  Alexander  I. 
sent  an  army  of  16,000  men  to  occupy  Finland,  without  the  formality 
of  a  warning  or  a  declaration  of  war.  On  February  20th  King 
Frederick  VI.,  persuaded  by  his  French  and  Russian  allies,  declared 
war  on  Sweden.  Regarding  the  feeling  which  this  step  created  in 
Norway  the  contemporary  Norwegian  statesman  Jacob  Aal  says 
in  his  memoirs:  "It  was  regarded  even  by  those  who  were  most  de- 
voted to  the  Danish  government  as  a  great  mistake  in  Danish  politics, 
and  a  presentiment  was  felt  of  the  possible  results  which  in  the  full- 
ness of  time  might  reveal  themselves.  This  war  prepared  the  way 
for  the  separation  of  Denmark  and  Norway,  and  some  Nonvegians 
Ix'gan,  though  vaguely,  to  think  of  the  advisability  of  a  union  with 
Sweden,  the  very  possibility  of  which  hail  hitherto  wounded  their 
innermost  feelings."  ' 

On  account  of  the  interruption  of  eonmumications  with  Denmark, 
the  king  was  now  obliged  to  create  a  special  government  for  Nor- 
way, a  Ciovcrninent  Commission  {Hf'gjtrittfi.'i-KojnTJus.fionen  for 
Xorgr),  at  tin-  head  of  which  stood  Prince  ( "hristian  .\ugust  of  August- 
enborg,  comnian<ling  general  in  southern  Norway.^     Count  Wcdel- 

'  Ludvig  Daao,  Del  gamlc  Chrisliania,  p.  iiOti  f. 

•Jacob  Aal,  Krindringrr,  p.  136. 

*  YuKvar  Nielsen,  Leiisgreve  Johan  Caspar  Wrdcl-Jnrlshirg,  vol.  I.,  p.  115. 


392  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Jarlsberg  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  subsidiary  commission  which 
should  seek  to  provide  the  country  with  the  necessary  supplies,  a 
most  diflBcult  task  under  the  circumstances.  A  superior  court  was 
also  created  in  1807,  Overkriminalretten,  which  should  meet  in  Chris- 
tiania,  and  should  be  the  highest  court  of  appeal  in  all  criminal 
cases.  This  gave  Norway  an  autonomy  in  judicial  and  adminis- 
trative affairs  which  it  had  not  enjoyed  for  centuries. 

While  Russia  attacked  Finland,  Napoleon  ordered  Marshal 
Bernadotte  to  march  through  Denmark  and  attack  Sweden.  In 
1808  an  army  of  about  23,000  men  was  sent  to  Jutland.  A  Danish 
force  of  about  14,000  men  was  to  join  it  in  Seeland,  but  what  might 
easily  have  been  foreseen  happened.  The  army  could  not  be  trans- 
ported across  the  Sound,  which  was  patrolled  by  English  warships, 
and  the  plan  had  to  be  abandoned.  Denmark  was  cut  off  from  both 
her  adversaries,  and  Norway  was  left  to  fight  her  battles  alone. 

The  Swedish  forces  in  active  service  at  this  time  numbered  about 
100,000  men.  But  owing  to  the  war  with  Russia  in  Finland,  and 
a  possible  attack  on  southern  Sweden,  only  the  western  army  of 
13,400  men  under  General  G.  M.  Armfelt,  and  a  smaller  detachment 
in  Jsemtland  of  2000  men  under  Colonel  Bergenstrale,  could  operate 
against  Norway.  The  Norwegians  could  mobilize  only  about  one- 
half  of  their  southern  army  of  17,000  men,  and  so  poor  were  the  equip- 
ments that  the  soldiers  had  to  wear  old  uniforms  which  had  been 
in  use  in  the  war  of  1788.^  Ragged  and  half  naked  these  defenders  of 
their  country  were  sent  against  the  superior  invading  force.  But  tlie 
people  resolved  to  hold  the  enemy  at  bay,  and  from  their  scant 
supplies  they  provided  the  soldiers  with  food  and  clothing,  as  far  as 
this  could  be  done  under  the  circumstances  Well-to-do  citizens 
organized  volunteer  companies,  and  equipped  them  at  their  own 
expense,  and  many  binder  reenlisted  as  volunteers  when  the  term  of 
required  military  service  had  expired.  Enevold  de  Falsen,  Count 
Herman  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  and  other  leading  men  labored  with  un- 
tiring zeal  to  provide  means  for  carrying  on  the  defense  of  the  country, 

Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  105  ff.  Gustav  Peter  Blom,  Norges  Statsforandring 
i  Aaret  1814,  ch.  I.  ff.     Erik  VuUum,  Hvorledes  Norge  blevfrit,  p.  16  ff. 

'  J.  E.  Sars,  Udsigt  over  den  norske  Historie,  vol.  IV.,  p.  302.  Jacob  Aal, 
Erindringer,  p.  135  ff.  Didrik  Sehnitler,  Episoder  fra  Krigen  1808-1809. 
Constantinus  Flood,  /  Krigsaarene.     O.  A.  0verland,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  XI. 


II  DENMARK-NOItW  AYS    FOREIGN    POLICY,    1792-1814  393 

:iii(l  I'rince  Christiiiii  Auj^ust,  commander  of  the  military  forces, 
;iine<I  tlie  love  and  confidence  of  the  soldiers  by  his  democratic  ways 
and  true  soldierly  spirit.  The  patriotism  and  love  for  their  leader 
which  inspired  the  Norwegians  made  them  formida})le  in  a  border 
war  of  the  kind  which  had  just  be^un,  and  as  the  Swedish  {general, 
(i.  M.  Arnifclt.  (li\  ided  his  forces  into  different  columns  instead  of 
concentrating  tlu-m  for  a  main  attack,  it  Ix'came  i)ossible  for  Chris- 
tian Auj^ust  to  meet  and  defeat  each  detachment  in  turn.  On  April 
1  ")th  (Jeneral  Armfelt  attacked  the  Norwegians  at  Lier,  not  far  from 
the  (ilommen  River,  south  of  Konpsvinger,  and  drove  them  l)ack 
across  the  river.'  But  this  was  to  be  his  oidy  success.  At  Toverud 
one  of  his  flying  columns  under  Count  Axel  Morner  was  defeated 
and  captured,  April  20th,  by  a  Norwegian  force  under  Major  Weibye, 
and  at  Trangen  anotlier  detachment  under  Major  (iahn  was  cap- 
tured by  Major  Stall'eldt.  These  victories  aroused  great  enthusiasm, 
and  the  peoi)le  contributed  liberally  to  the  support  of  the  army. 
Jacob  Aal  w  rites :  "  Every  one  hastened  to  place  his  offering  on  his 
country's  altar.  Provisions,  money,  and  clothing  jioured  in  for 
the  amiy  on  the  border,  and  the  merchant  John  CoUett  in  Cliris- 
tiania  distinguished  himself  especially  by  collecting  or  sending  pro- 
visions, and  by  personally  contributing  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
army.  Nearly  every  number  of  '  Budstikken' ^  published  lists  of 
contributions  of  this  kind.  In  that  first  war  with  Sweden  private 
charity  made  good  the  deficiency  in  the  provisions  made  by  the  public 
authorities,  due  to  the  lack  of  means  and  the  depleted  and  impover- 
ishe<l  condition  of  the  country.  After  the  war  had  lasted  two  weeks, 
Collett  could  announce  that  fifty-five,  mostly  two- tea  nuHl,  wagons  had 
been  sent  to  the  army. "  ' 

The  unsuccessful  engagements  already  fought  made  it  clear  to  King 
Gustavus  l\.  that  further  oj)erations  again.st  Norway  with  the  forces 
then  available  would  prove  unsuccessful,  and  he  ordertnl  General 
Armfelt  to  retreat  to  the  border.  The  Swedish  general  eoncentrate<i 
his  forces  at  Knningdalen.  but  he  sufVered  new  losses  in  an  engagement 
at  Prestebakke.  June  Kith,  where  over  t(H)  nien  and  twenty-seven  ofli- 

'  .Tafoh  Aal,  Eritidringrr.  Bilng  24- 

'  A  nowspapor  puMishod  in  Christiania  by  Enevold  Falsen, 

'Jacob  Aal,  Erindringcr,  p.  14. 


394  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

cers  were  taken  prisoners.  This  was  the  last  engagement  of  any 
importance  between  the  Swedes  and  Norwegians  in  this  war.  Sweden 
had  to  employ  all  her  strength  against  the  advancing  Russians  in 
Finland,  and  the  Norwegians  did  not  wish  to  carry  on  an  offensive 
war  against  Sweden.  The  friendship  which  had  been  developing 
between  the  two  peoples  had  manifested  itself  quite  clearly  at  the 
time  when  they  sought  as  allies  to  defend  their  neutrality,  but  in 
the  present  war  it  was  shown  in  a  still  more  emphatic  way.  The 
Norwegians  would  defend  their  country  with  every  possible  means, 
but  they  made  it  quite  clear  that,  although  they  had  been  forced 
into  war,  they  entertained  none  but  the  kindliest  feelings  for  their 
Swedish  neighbors. 

The  war  with  Finland  had  brought  Sweden  into  great  peril.  Her 
armies,  indeed,  won  brilliant  victories  at  Lappo,  Juntas,  and  other 
places,  and  several  of  her  generals,  as  Adlercreutz,  Dobeln,  and 
Sandels,  had  greatly  distinguished  themselves ;  but  the  lack  of  proper 
support  from  home,  and  the  treasonable  surrender  of  the  strong 
fortress  of  Sveaborg  with  military  stores,  a  hundred  vessels  of  the 
coast  fleet,  and  a  garrison  of  7000  men  made  the  situation  critical. 
On  September  14,  1809,  General  Adlercreutz  suffered  a  crushing 
defeat  at  Oravais,  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  the  Swedes  were 
expelled  from  Finland,  which  was  turned  into  a  Russian  province. 

In  1809  the  Russians  prepared  to  follow  up  their  advantage  by 
an  invasion  of  Sweden.  National  peril  and  disaster  intensified  the 
growing  ill-will  against  the  incompetent  and  mentally  unbalanced 
King  Gustavus  IV.,  who  had  involved  the  kingdom  in  this  disas- 
trous war.  It  had  long  been  evident  that  he  was  mentally  unfit 
to  direct  the  affairs  of  government,  and  a  conspiracy  was  formed  to 
depose  him.  One  of  the  leaders  of  this  movement  was  George  Adler- 
sparre,  commander  of  the  right  wing  of  the  Swedish  army  operating 
against  Norway.^  He  determined  to  lead  his  forces  against  Stock- 
holm, but  the  situation  was  so  critical  that  this  could  not  be  done 
without  the  greatest  hazard,  unless  he  could  persuade  the  Norwe- 

1  Armfelt  was  removed  after  his  many  failures,  and  Cederstrom  was  made 
chief  commander  of  the  army.  Carl  Henrik  Posse,  commander  of  the  left 
wing  of  the  army,  did  not  cooperate  actively  with  Adlersparre,  but  promised 
not  to  oppose  him. 


DKN.MAUK-NOHWAV  S    KOHKIUN    POLICY,    17U2-1H14 


395 


giuiis  to  susj)rncl  operatioas.  ('liristiiiii  Augii.st  was  expectwi  to 
attack  Swi'dru  at  the  sainc  time  that  the  Russians  were  preparing 
to  advanrc  from  tiu'  east.  The  Kussian  general  SchuvaiofT  had 
already  entered  n(;rthern  Sweilen  hy  crossing  Tornei  River,  IJarelay 
(le  Tolly  oceiipieil  rniea,  and  Russian  cossacks  from  the  Aland 
Islands  had  appeared  in  StoekJiohns  hn.^  Prince  Christian  August 
hesitated.  He  saw  Sweden's  plight,  and  reflected  ujjon  the  conse- 
•  [Uenees  to  the  North  if  the 
kingdom  sliould  he  over- 
whelmed by  Russia. 
Would  not  the  Scandina- 
vian peninsula  share  the 
late  of  Finland?  When 
.Vdlersparre  turned  to  liim 
\\  ith  the  request  to  refrain 
from  aggressive  operations 
against  Sweden,  he  prom- 
ised that  he  would  not 
(TOSS  the  horder  unless 
he  received  peremptory 
orders  from  Frederick  VI. 
to  do  so,  and  even  then  he 
would  not  enter  Swedish 
territory  without  giving 
a  ten  days'  notice.  This 
was  more  than  a  courtesy  ; 
it  was  rendering  an  enemy  a  ser\  ice  so  important  that  it  might 
have  been  construed  as  treason  if  it  were  imt  for  the  exigencies 
of  the  situation  and  the  friendship  which  really  existed  bi-tween 
the  two  i)eoples.  In  Sweden  it  was  ofHcially  stated  that  I'rince  Chris- 
tian .\ugiist  had  shown  the  country  a  greater  service  than  had  ever 
been  rendered  it  by  a  foreigner.-     The  prince  had  risked  this  step 


Fiu.  U.  —  Prince  Charles 


'  Yngvar  Nielsen.  Wcilil-Jarlsfurg.  vol.  I.,  p.  IIH.  Ciustaf  Montgomery, 
Krigcl  emcllati  Sucrigc  ocfi  liijsdaitd  180S  och  ISOU,  vol.  II.,  p.  2tW  ff.  Uustav 
Potor  Bloni,  Xorgis  Stalsforandring  i  Aarct  ISI4. 

*  II nndlingar  rorande  Svcriges  Ilistoria,  vol.  IV.,  p.  50  ff.  ;  quotod  by  Yngvar 
Nielsen,  Wcdd-Jarlsbcrg,  vol.  I.,  p.  ISO. 


396  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

for  Sweden's  sake,  and  no  one  has  ever  questioned  his  patriotism 
and  loyalty. 

Frederick  VI.  failed  to  comprehend  the  situation.  Time  and 
again  he  ordered  the  Norwegian  army  to  invade  Sweden  and  join 
the  advancing  Russians  on  Swedish  soil,  but  Christian  August,  who 
saw  that  such  a  step  would  be  suicidal,  always  found  new  pretexts 
for  postponement,  and  the  army  never  crossed  the  border.  As  soon 
as  Adlersparre  had  received  assurances  from  Christian  August,  he 
hastened  to  Karlstad,  where  he  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  and 
new  troops  constantly  joined  him  on  his  march.  But  even  before 
he  reached  Stockholm  the  king  was  arrested  by  General  Adlercreutz, 
who  had  just  returned  from  Finland.^  The  Estates  were  summoned, 
Duke  Charles  of  Sodermanland  was  placed  on  the  throne  as  King 
Charles  XIIL,  and  a  constitution  was  adopted  which  made  Sweden 
a  limited  constitutional  monarchy. 

The  victorious  advance  of  the  Russians,  which,  as  Frederick 
Sneedorff  had  predicted  in  1792,  had  become  more  than  an  imaginary 
peril  to  the  North,  revived  again  the  Pan-Scandinavian  sentiment, 
Swedish  politicians  began  to  consider  the  advisability  of  choosing 
Frederick  VI.  of  Denmark-Norway  Swedish  crown  prince,  as  the 
newly  elected  King  Charles  XIII.  had  no  heirs.  The  plan,  which 
would  lead  to  the  union  of  the  three  kingdoms,  was  supported  by 
Prince  Christian  August  and  many  leading  men  in  Norway,  espe- 
cially by  Count  Herman  Wedel-Jarlsberg ;  but  King  Frederick  him- 
self soon  defeated  it  by  his  prejudice  and  narrow-minded  absolutism, 
as  he  would  not  accept  the  crown  if  Sweden  had  a  constitution  limit- 
ing the  power  of  the  king.^  In  the  meantime  Adlersparre,  who  at 
this  moment  was  the  most  influential  man  in  Sweden,  was  endeavor- 
ing to  secure  the  election  of  Christian  August  as  heir  to  the  Swedish 
throne.  The  prince  was  very  popular  in  Norway,  and  it  was  hoped 
that  the  Norwegians  could  easily  be  persuaded  to  make  him  their 

1  King  Gustavus  IV.  and  his  heirs  were  declared  to  have  forfeited  the 
throne.  The  king  and  his  family  were  sent  to  Germany,  and  were  not  al- 
lowed to  return  to  Sweden.  He  received  a  pension  of  10,000  riksdaler, 
and  was  allowed  to  keep  his  private  property.  He  assumed  the  name  of 
Gustafson  and  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  Germany  and  Switzerland. 

^  Carl  Th.  S0rensen,  Fredrik  den  sjeltes  fortrolige  Brevveksling  med  Norge 
i  Aaret  1809,  p.  64. 


11  DKNMAKK-NORWAY'ft    FORKION    POIJ(  Y,     1792-1814  397 

kiti^'.  and  a  iinioii  l)rt\vc-('ii  Norway  and  Sweden  wcmld  tlius  be  es- 
tal)lislied.'  For  this  plan  lie  received  the  enthusiastic  support  of 
Prince  Christian  August's  chief  adviser,  Count  Wedel-Jarlsher^', 
who  soon  abandoned  his  Pan-Scandinavian  ideas,  and  developed  a 
political  policy  which  aimed  at  a  united  Scandina\ia.  That  the 
|)n>iti(>ii  taken  by  the  count  strained  to  tiic  breaking-point  the  ties 
of  loyalty  to  King  Frederick  \l.  seems  (juite  apparent,  but  Xorvvay 
had  j)aid  dearly  enough  for  the  political  blunders  of  the  01denbf)rg 
kings.  The  time  had  come  when  the  Xor^vegians  would  safeguard 
the  interests  of  their  own  country  in  any  way  which  they  might 
deem  expedient.  To  protect  Norway  against  possible  Russian  aggres- 
ion,  to  secure  peace  with  England  and  Sweden,  and  to  save  the 
country-  from  impending  famine  seemed  more  important  to  Count 
Wedel-Jarlsberg  and  his  associates  than  to  earn  the  compliments  and 
L^ood-will  of  the  king.  The  count  proposed  to  Christian  .\ugust 
tliat  the  Nonvegians  should  declare  themselves  independent  of  Den- 
uiark,  and  elect  him  king  of  Norway  ;  but  the  Prince  would  agree  to 
no  plan  which  seemed  treasonable.  He  promised  the  Swedish  mes- 
sengers, however,  that  he  would  accept  the  election  as  Swedish  crown 
I)rince  if  King  F^rederick  VI.  would  grant  him  leave  to  do  so.  In 
July,  1809,  he  was  elected  crown  prince  of  Sweden  as  Charles  August, 
and  King  Frederick  granted  him  permission  to  accept  the  proffered 
honor.  On  Si-ptenilxT  17th  of  that  year  a  treaty  of  peace  between 
Sweden  and  Russia  was  signed  at  Fredrikshamn,  by  which  l''inland 
was  ceded  to  Russia,  and  Sweden  had  to  submit  to  the  Continental 
System.  On  December  10th  peace  was  also  concluded  between 
Sweden  and  Denniark-Norway  at  Jonkoping.  The  war  with  Kng- 
land  continued,  but  in  order  to  appease  the  Norwegians,  King  Fred- 
erick agreed  to  a  propo.sal  made  by  the  Council  of  Regency  to  raise 
the  embargo  on  commerce  between  Nonvay  and  England  by  a  mutual 
agreement  with  the  English  government,  according  to  which  Nor- 
wegian merchant  ships  could  sail  to  English  harbors,  if  they  purcha.s<M 
in  London  a  license  which  would  insure  them  against  attack  by 
English  i)rivateers  and  nuMi-of-war.  This  "license  trade."  or  "neu- 
tral coiunuTcc,"  helped  greatly  to  relie\e  the  distress  in   Norway, 

'  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen  ur  Sverigea  nyarc  Historia,  published  by  C.  W. 

Bergman,  vol.  V.,  p.  IIS  Cf. 


398  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

as  grain  and  other  commodities  could  be  imported,  and  the  export 
of  timber  and  other  articles  could  be  resumed.^ 

In  1810  Prince  Charles  August  left  Norway  for  his  future  king- 
dom. His  departure  was  celebrated  with  great  festivities,  and  the 
people  showed  him  the  most  devoted  affection.  Count  Wedel- 
Jarlsberg,  who  accompanied  him  across  the  border,  had  been  unable 
to  persuade  the  prince  to  head  a  Norwegian  uprising,  but  he  had  not 
relinquished  the  hope  of  bringing  about  a  union  between  Norway 
and  Sweden.^ 

At  the  time  of  his  election  as  crown  prince,  Charles  August  was 
less  than  forty-one  years  of  age,  but  he  was  not  destined  to  ascend 
the  throne  of  Sweden.  On  May  28,  1810,  while  attending  military 
maneuvers  in  Skane,  he  died  suddenly  of  an  apoplectic  stroke. 
This  opened  anew  the  difficult  question  of  the  election  of  a  Swedish 
crown  prince,  destined  to  produce  such  important  political  changes 
in  the  North. 

50.   The  Gradual   Dissolution   of  the   Danish-Norwegian 

Partnership 

The  demand  for  national  autonomy  created  by  the  suffering  which 
Norway  had  to  undergo  during  the  war  with  England  and  Sweden 
did  not  culminate  in  an  attempt  to  sever  the  bonds  of  union  with 
Denmark  by  a  revolutionary  uprising,  but  the  growing  love  of  inde- 
pendence nevertheless  effected  a  thorough  change  in  the  relations 
between  the  two  kingdoms.  The  old  idea  that  Norway  sustained 
a  quasi  provincial  relation  to  Denmark  both  politically  and  intellec- 
tually had  vanished  in  the  powder  smoke  of  the  great  wars.  Forced 
to  rely  on  themselves  in  a  most  critical  period,  the  Norwegians  had 
become  conscious  of  their  own  ability  to  defend  themselves,  and  of 
the  necessity  of  relying  on  their  own  strength  in  days  of  trial.  A 
wave  of  patriotism  swept  over  the  country,  due  in  part  to  the  experi- 
ences in  the  war,  but  partly  also  to  the  nationalism  which  had  been 
kindled  throughout  Europe  in  the  struggle  against  Napoleon.  The 
French  Revolution   had  endued  nationality  with  a  new   meaning, 

1  Ynffvar  Nielsen,  Wedel-Jarlsbcrg,  vol.  I.,  p.  305  ff. 

2  Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  190.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  vol. 
I.,  p.  332. 


II  8ELSKABET   FOU   NUHUES   VEh  390 

as  it  had  fundamentally  cliaii^icd  tlnr  concejUion  of  llie  rights  of  man. 
With  tlie  rights  of  the  iii(hviduul,  so  vehemently  proclaimed,  was 
uNSociatcd  as  a  necessary  corollary  the  right  of  every  people  to  lead 
their  own  indei)en(lent  national  existence,  and  this  jirinciple  was 
Ix'ing  employed  as  a  new  weapon  against  Xajjoleon  in  Spain,  Ger- 
many, and  Italy.  "And  tlie  idea,  once  proclaimed,  spread  with 
astonishing  rapidity,"  says  Alison  Phillips;  "till  in  all  Europe  there 
was  not  a  race  with  a  grievance,  real  or  fancied,  against  the  estai)lished 
unler  hut  based  its  resistance  on  the  natioiuil  right  of  a  nation  to  he 
mistress  of  its  own  destinies."  '  The  Norwegian  leaders  were  enthu- 
siastic adherents  of  these  ideas,  and  tlie  national  struggle  which  had 
hitherto  been  a  dogged  resistance  of  the  binder  against  the  oppres- 
sion of  Danish  officials,  an  eifort  of  the  common  people  to  preser\e 
tlu'ir  personal  freedom,  now  entere<l  upon  a  new  stage.  New  leaders 
from  the  upper  classes  had  appeared,  men  of  learning  and  high  cul- 
ture, who  united  the  ideals  of  liberty  and  national  indei)endenee 
\\  ith  the  old  spirit  of  personal  freedom,  and  aimed  to  rear  the  Nor- 
wegian state  once  more  on  its  own  foundation.  They  would  hence- 
forth control  the  destinies  of  the  nation,  and  were  determined  to 
secure  for  it  sufHcient  autonomy  to  insure  its  unhampered  develop- 
ment. 

When  Prince  Charles  August  left  Norway,  they  seized  the  oj)por- 
t unity  to  organize,  after  the  pattern  of  the  German  Tugcmlbund,^  a 
national  society  of  which  a  Swedish  contemporary  writer  has  given 
the  f(»llowing  account:  "As  soon  as  Count  Wedel,  after  several 
unsuccessful  attempts,  realized  the  impt)ssibility  of  persuading  Prince 
Augustenborg  to  agrtf  to  the  plan  of  separating  Norway  from  1  )en- 
mark,  and  uniting  it  with  Sweden,  he  detennined  to  act  independently. 
I'or  this  ])urpose  he  originated  the  j)lan  for  SeUkahct  for  Surges 
\'el,  a  sort  of  masonic  order  which  extended  its  ramifications  to  all 
])arts  of  the  country  and  to  nearly  all  classes.  The  apparent  aim 
of  tlie  society  was  to  ])romote  agriculture  and  dilferent  branches  of 

'  Modern  Europe,  p.  «). 

*  The  Tugendhund  was  orcranizod  in  KcinipslxTj,'.  IVus.sia.  in  lSt)S.  Its 
aim  was  to  work  for  tlu-  n-or^riuii/.ation  of  tln>  Prussian  aruiy,  and  for  tho 
proper  physical  and  int)ral  training  of  tlio  younji  inon  of  tlm  <'ountrj' ;  to 
encourage  patriotism,  and  to  proparo  the  way  for  tho  throwing  off  of  the 
French  yoke. 


400  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Norwegian  industry,  but  Wedel  had  in  reality  no  less  a  plan  than 
to  make  it  the  nucleus  of  a  representative  body,  to  prepare  the  minds 
of  the  people  for  the  new  order  of  things  which  he  would  establish  in 
his  country.  .  .  .  None  but  the  principal  leaders  of  the  society  knew 
the  secret  purpose  of  its  organization."  ^ 

Not  till  after  the  society  had  been  organized  did  Count  Wedel 
and  his  father-in-law,  Peter  Anker,  ask  King  Frederick  to  grant  it 
his  royal  protection.  This  the  king  did,  though  he  disliked  the  spirit 
of  independence  shown  by  the  Norwegian  leaders.  Before  a  year 
had  passed,  the  society  had  2000  members.  It  still  exists,  and 
continues  to  be  of  great  service  in  aiding  and  encouraging  under- 
takings of  national  importance. 

In  1809  a  new  agitation  for  a  Norwegian  university  had  been  set 
on  foot,  as  the  need  of  a  higher  institution  of  learning  had  become 
more  pressing  than  ever,  since  the  war  had  destroyed  the  communi- 
cations with  Denmark.  The  demand  for  such  an  institution  had 
been  so  long  and  urgently  pressed  that  it  had  become  a  national 
issue,  and  as  soon  as  Selskabet  for  Norges  Vel  was  organized,  it 
gave  this  cause  its  earnest  support.  "This  time  such  large  means 
were  made  available,  the  nation's  demand  was  expressed  in  such 
vigorous  terms,  and  the  desire  was  backed  with  such  large  subscrip- 
tions that  the  Danish  king,  who  loved  Norway,  found  it  hazardous  to 
postpone  the  granting  of  so  reasonable  a  request,  .  .  .  Furthermore, 
there  had  been  formed  in  the  kingdom  a  body  of  men  who  took  it 
upon  themselves  to  speak  about  important  matters,  who  stood 
united  with  regard  to  plans  which  they  considered  beneficial  to  the 
country,  and  who,  on  approaching  the  government  authorities,  had 
to  a  certain  degree  dispensed  with  the  formalities  of  an  absolute 
monarchy,"  writes  Jacob  Aal.^ 

Selskabet  for  Norges  Vel  offered  a  prize  of  1000  riksdaler  for  the 
best  treatise  to  be  written  on  the  question  of  a  Norwegian  university. 
Nine  were  submitted  to  the  judges,  who  awarded  the  first  prize  of 
800  riksdaler  to  the  author  of  "Mnemosyne,"  who  proved  to  be 
Nicolai  Wergeland,  the  father  of  the  later  poet  and  patriotic  leader 

'  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen  ur  Sveriges  nyare  Historia,  vol.  V.,  p.  88.  Yng- 
var  Nielsen,  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  vol.  I.,  p.  344  f.     Erik  Vullum,  Hvorledes  Norge 

blev  frit,  p.  88  ff.  ^  Erindringer,  p.  228. 


II  UNIVERSITY    OF    CHRISTIANIA  M)\ 

Henrik  Wergeland.'  "Mnemosyne"  was  much  pruise<l  by  some. 
The  king  gave  the  author  :}()()  riksdaler  as  a  token  of  his  esteem  ;  the 
people  of  Drammen  presented  him  witli  r2(K)  riksdaler,  and  in  Tuns- 
berg  the  j)eojjle  gave  him  a  church  ollVring  of  IXMJ  riksdaler.  But 
his  treatise  iuis  been  severely  criticized,  among  others  by  tiie  Norwe- 
gian hi.storian  Ludvig  Daae.  In  Deimiark  the  learne<i  jurist  A.  S. 
0rsted  assailed  it  l)r(ause  of  tlic  bitter  criticism  of  Dciunark  iiidulg«'d 
in  by  the  author.  This  only  served  to  intensify  Nicolai  Wrrgi-land's 
anti-Danish  feelings,  and  on  a  later  occasion  he  found  an  opportunity 
to  express  it  in  an  even  more  acrimonious  way.  The  Danish  govern- 
ment found  that  they  could  no  longer  wholly  disregard  the  demand 
of  the  Norwegians,  but  they  would  compromise,  and  otfereil  to  grant 
them  permission  to  establish  a  sort  of  seminary.  This  offer  was  not 
accepted,  and  the  solution  seemed  as  distant  as  ever  when  matters 
suddenly  took  a  new  turn. 

It  had  been  rumored  at  court  that  Count  Wcdel  was  a  traitor 
who  planned  to  separate  Norway  from  Denmark,  and  the  king,  who 
gave  credence  to  these  re})orts,  summoned  Wedel  to  Denmark.  The 
count  liastened  to  present  himself  before  the  king,  and  demanded 
to  know  why  he  had  been  called.  The  king,  who  possessed  no  evi- 
dence of  his  disloyalty,  was  disconcertetl  by  his  sudden  appearance, 
and  as  a  i)lausible  excuse  he  said  that  he  wished  to  confer  with  him 
regarding  a  Norwegian  university.  By  a  rescrii)t  of  March  1,  1811, 
the  directors  of  tlie  University  of  Copenhagen  were  instructed  to 
confer  with  the  count,  who  submitted  a  declaration  regarding  the 
sentiment  in  Norway,  which  moved  the  directors  to  advise  the  grant- 
ing of  the  Norwegian  demand.  In  June  of  the  same  year  Sehkabet 
for  Xorges  I'el  started  a  subscription  among  the  wealthier  classes 
to  raise  means  for  the  founding  of  the  new  institution  of  learning. 
The  subscription,  wliieh  was  continued  for  two  years,  brought  the 
sum  of  782,000  riksdaler.  and  a  yearly  contribution  of  \:\.:\S'2  rik.s- 
daler.  In  1813  the  university,  which  was  located  at  Christiania, 
was  able  to  begin  its  work.  The  Norwegian  poets  in  Demnark  iuui 
already  returned  to  tht>ir  own  country  from  patriotic  motives.  In 
1812  the  Xorske  Sehkab  in  Copenliagen  was  dissolved,  and  when  the 
university  in  Christiania  opened  its  dtM)rs,  the  academic  and  literar>- 

'  Arne  Bergragaard,  Micolai  Wcrgcland,  Christiania.   VMS. 
VOL.  II.  —  2d 


402  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

partnership  with  Denmark  must  be  regarded  as  terminated.  A  new 
national  hterature  had  begun  to  develop  in  Denmark  in  1802,  but 
in  Norway  a  new  literary  epoch  did  not  begin  till  1830.  Of  the 
poets  who  flourished  in  the  decades  prior  to  1814  the  former  mem- 
bers of  the  Norslce  Selskah  in  Copenhagen,  Jonas  Rein,  Jens  Zetlitz, 
and  Claus  Frimann,  continued  to  write  in  the  spirit  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  their  younger  associates,  Lyder  Sagen,  Johan  Storm 
Munch,  Conrad  Schwach,  and  Simon  O.  Wolff,  shared  their  views. 
They  wrote  bombastic  patriotic  songs  and  sentimental  lyrics,  but 
as  they  were  strangers  to  the  life  and  sentiments  of  their  own  people, 
they  were  so  dominated  by  foreign  models  that  their  verse  lacked  the 
true  national  qualities.  A  new  spiritual  movement  had,  indeed, 
stirred  the  Norwegian  people,  but  it  was  of  a  purely  religious  char- 
acter, and  had  in  no  way  influenced  the  literary  tastes  of  the  higher 
classes. 

While  the  conquests  of  Napoleon  absorbed  all  attention  in  the  field 
of  politics,  and  while  a  flourishing  commerce  prior  to  the  war  with 
England  and  Sweden  created  great  traffic  and  prosperity,  especially 
in  the  cities,  the  people  throughout  many  of  the  rural  districts  were 
roused  by  a  great  revival  which  permanently  influenced  religious 
life  in  Norway.  Rationalism,  which  had  followed  in  the  wake  of 
Pietism,  had  almost  destroyed  all  true  piety  in  the  Lutheran  state 
church.  The  cultured  upper  classes  had  in  general  accepted  the 
views  of  the  Aufkldrung,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  clergy  did  not 
believe  the  gospel  which  they  were  to  preach.  Some  clergymen 
even  substituted  for  the  sermons  discourses  on  purely  secular  matters, 
and  sang  popular  ditties  in  their  churches  for  the  edification  of  their 
parishioners.  Among  the  common  people,  who  believed  the  Bible 
teachings  in  a  literal  way.  Christian  faith  lived  despite  the  lack  of 
proper  religious  instruction,  but  their  deeper  religious  sentiments 
had  never  been  stirred  by  an  appeal  to  their  faith  as  a  dominant  force 
in  their  moral  and  social  life.  Religion  had  become  associated  with 
a  lifeless  formalism  which  exercised  no  power  over  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  and  the  rationalistic  state  church  lacked  all  regenerating  power. 
It  was  left  for  the  great  revival  set  on  foot  by  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge  to 
make  their  Lutheran  faith  a  living  force  strong  enough  to  shape  new 
ethical  and  social  views. 


I'l.ATK    \1II 


n  HANS   NIEIiiKNr   HAUGE  403 

Ilauge  was  an  untutored  country  lad,  born  in  tin-  neighborhood 
of  Sarpshorj;  in  1771.  His  parents  were  pious  God-fearing  prt)ple, 
who  gave  their  ciiildren  a  thorough  Christian  training,  and  Hans 
Nielsen,  who  was  a  verv'  gifted  hoy,  (juiet,  introspective,  and  given 
to  reflection,  exhihited  (>ven  in  hoyhood  a  fervent  religious  spirit. 
An  accident  in  his  thirteenth  year  in  which  he  nearly  lost  his  life 
by  drowning  increased  his  fervor.  He  devoted  himself  sedulously 
to  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  became  convinced  that  (lo<I  had  i\]>- 
pointed  him  to  j)reach  the  gosp<I  to  his  countrymen.  I'inally, 
after  much  hesitatif)n.  he  Ix'gaii.  in  IT'.lil,  the  great  task  of  rc\i%ing 
and  purifying  the  peoj)ie's  religious  failli.  He  entered  uj)«)n  his 
work  with  the  most  self-sacrificing  earnestness,  but  also  with  a  nuHlesty 
which  always  employed  the  most  quiet  methods,  and  avoidixl  all 
disturbance  and  excitement.  In  six  years  he  traveled  over  10,()iM) 
miles,  mostly  on  foot,  preached  from  two  to  four  times  a  day,  and 
wrote  himdreds  of  pamphlets  and  devotional  books.  His  love  for 
the  common  people  was  of  the  most  genuine  sort,  and  as  he  possessed 
great  practical  ability  as  well  as  rare  talents,  he  was  often  able  to 
render  them  valuable  assistance  even  in  purely  secular  matters. 
He  taught  them  to  found  mills  and  factories,  he  even  established 
himself  as  merchant  in  Bergen,  and  developed  a  lucrative  trade  with 
Trondhjcm  and  Xordland  to  aid  his  adherents  by  his  business  in- 
sight. Ilauge  })reached  no  new  doctrine.  He  did  not  even  attemj)t 
to  organize  his  followers  into  a  new  religious  body,  but  contented  him- 
self with  preaching  the  gospel  according  to  the  confession  of  the 
Lutheran  state  church.  But  this  was  regarded  as  a  crime,  since  no 
one  but  ordained  ministers  were  authorized  to  preach.'  I  nder  the 
'  onventicle  Act  of  1711,  Hauge  was  i)rosecuted  by  the  state  oflicials 
and  the  clergy  of  the  state  church.  He  was  repeate<lly  arR'sted,  and 
liad  to  speufl  a  large  part  of  his  life  in  i)ri.son.  In  bV)4  he  was  trans- 
ixtrted  in  chains  to  Christiania,  where  he  renuiine<l  incarcerated  till 
1814.  In  ISOS,  when  tiic  Touncil  of  Regency  found  great  difficulty 
in  securing  provisions  and  supplies  because  of  the  blockade,  and 
great  anxiety  was  felt  becau.se  of  tlic  shortage  of  salt,  Hauge  otTere<J 

'A.  Chr.  Bang,  Hans  N^iclxen  Uniigc  og  hans  Samtid,  Chri.'^tiaiua.  1S7I. 
Hans  S'iclscn  Haugm  Rci.tcn,  Srhicksafr  uful  dmktcHrdige  Ercignisne  ron  ihm 
aelbst  beachrieben,  iibersetzt,  Christiaaia,   ISIO. 


404 


HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 


II 


to  erect  salt-works  which  could  produce  salt  from  the  sea  water,  if 
they  would  liberate  him.  They  accepted  the  offer,  and  Hauge  built 
several  salt-works  which  supplied  the  country  with  that  necessary 
commodity,  but  as  soon  as  he  had  accomplished  this,  he  was  re- 
manded to  prison  to  await  his  final  trial.  Not  till  after  he  had 
spent  ten  years  in  the  prison  cell  did  the  court  see  fit  to  render  its 
decision  by  which  he  was  adjudged  guilty  of  the  following  offenses : 
(a)  That  contrary  to  the  ordinance  of  1741  he  had  traveled  about 

the  country  and  preached  the 
word  of  God;  (6)  that  he  had 
encouraged  others  to  do  the 
same;  (c)  that  he  had  used 
invectives  against  the  clergy, 
which  were  not  considered 
to  emanate  from  ill-will,  and 
which,  when  taken  in  their 
proper  connection,  did  not 
seem  as  offensive  as  when 
they  were  torn  out  of  their 
connection.  The  judges  paid 
no  attention  to  the  fact  that 
Hauge  had  already  spent  a 
decade  in  prison  without 
being  convicted  of  any  wrong- 
doing. They  decided  that  he 
ought  to  pay  a  fine  of  1000 
riksdaler  and  the  cost  of  the 
trial ;  but  this  considerable  sum  exhausted  his  scant  means.  He  left 
the  prison  penniless  and  broken  in  health,  physically  unable  to  resume 
his  great  religious  work  which  he  had  so  unselfishly  performed.  His 
adherents,  the  Haugianer,  who  were  now  numbered  by  the  thousands 
all  over  the  country,  bought  him  a  small  farm  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Christiania,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1824.  Hauge  lived, 
however,  to  see  the  fruits  of  his  labor.  The  revival  which  he  had 
set  on  foot  caused  a  great  awakening,  which  for  the  first  time  made 
the  Christian  faith  a  dominant  force  in  the  people's  spiritual  life. 
He  roused  them  even  socially  to  greater  diligence  and  earnestness, 


FiQ.   10.  —  Hans  Nielsen  Hauge 


II  HANS    NIEL8EN    HAUQE  405 

a:ul  iiiiljucd  them  with  an  arck-nt  dcbirc  to  muiui^t'  thi-ir  own  local 
atlairs,  as  they  had  learned  to  govern  themselves  in  reiigicjus  matters. 
'The  tiation's  conscience  had  been  awakened,  and  before  Hauge  was 
lilx-rate*!  from  prison  some  of  the  more  fair-minded  among  the  riergy 
l>(i,Mn  to  call  attention  to  tiie  henefieial  results  of  his  work.  In  1S12 
I  lans  Pavels  wrote  in  his  diary:  "I  believe  that  Hans  Hauge  has 
done  much  more  good  than  harm  in  Norway.  His  apostolic  itineracy, 
Ills  foolish  writings,  his  followers'  and  partly  also  his  own  fanatic 

•  onduct  is  no  longer  seen;    but  that  he   has  founded  a  sect  which 
till  exists,  the  members  of  which  distinguish  themselves  by  piety, 

\  irtue,    good    order,    diligence,    and    peacefulness,    in    short,    nearly 

•  Aery thing  which  constitutes  civic  virtue,  and  tends   to  strengthen 

ciety,  none  but  the  most  biased  can  deny."  ' 

"After  Hauge  had  moved  to  Bredtvedt,"   says  his  biographer, 

Bishop  Bang,  "this  place  may  truly  be  said  to  have  been  the  center 

I  if  religions  life  in  Norway.     From  Bredtvedt  he  issueii  a  number  of 

letters  of  religious  contents  and  sent  them  to  all  parts  of  the  country-, 

and  the  influence  of  Ilauge's  religious  letters  of  that  time  can  scarcely 

l)f  truly  estimated  at  present.     To  Bredtvedt  flocked  also  year  by 

>  car  large  numbers  of  Ilauge's  adherents  from  all  parts  of  the  country." 

liven  the  clergy  of  the  state  church  began  to  recognize  the  true  im- 

piirtance  of  the  great  evangelist.     In  ISl.')  two  theological  professors, 

two  bishojjs,  and  fifteen  clergymen  visited  him  in  his  home.     Hauge 

was  already  regarded  by  many  as  a  sage  and  a  martyr.     "  When  I 

i\v  Hauge,  bent  and  suffering  frtmi  all  sorts  of  ailments,  I  had  to 

:>   to  him  in  my  heart:   this  you  have  suffered  for  Christ's  sjike," 

lid   Bishop   Bngge,  who  him.self  had  been  one  of  his  opponents.' 

Il>  the  law  of  July  27,  1S42,  the  ordinance  t)f  1711  was  repealed,  and 

lull  freedom  in  religious  matters  was  established.     "This  was  nuiinly 

due,"  says  Bang,  "to  the  clearer  understanding  among  the  i-ommon 

classes  of  the  great  cause  of  religious  liberty,  due  to  the  labor  and 

Miifering  of  Hauge  and  his  friends." 

'  Dagb^ger  for  Anrnic  1812-1813,  p.  22."). 

*  A.  Clir.  BaiifT.  //un.s  Xitlstn  Hauge  og  /lant  Samtid,  p.  48(3.      V.  rUiiuinn, 
Hans  Nielsen  Hauge,  Nordtncend  i  del  19dc  Aarhundrcdc. 


406  history  of  the  norwegian  people  ii 

51.  Events  Leading  to  the  Separation  of  Norway  and  Denmark 

After  the  death  of  Prince  Charles  August,  the  Swedish  govern- 
ment had  to  choose  a  new  successor  to  the  tlirone.  The  party 
which  had  been  in  favor  of  the  prince  and  the  ultimate  union  of 
Norway  and  Sweden  proposed  to  elect  his  brother,  the  Duke  of 
Augustenborg ;  the  party  representing  the  Pan-Scandinavian  idea 
of  uniting  the  three  Scandinavian  countries  favored  King  Frederick 
VI.  of  Denmark-Norway ;  ^  some  preferred  the  Prince  of  Oldenburg, 
but  the  choice  finally  fell  upon  one  of  Napoleon's  marshals,  Berna- 
dotte,  Prince  of  Pontecorvo,  who  became  Swedish  crown  prince 
under  the  name  of  Charles  John.  It  was  thought  that  by  this 
choice  Sweden  would  gain  the  friendship  of  Napoleon,  and  Ber- 
nadotte  was,  furthermore,  a  man  of  many  excellent  qualities ;  a  great 
general,  an  experienced  and  talented  statesman,  who  would  act  with 
energy,  and  whose  word  would  have  weight  in  the  councils  of  the 
nations.^ 

The  problems  which  Charles  John  had  to  deal  with  were  not  easy. 
Sweden  had  suffered  much  in  the  late  war.  Its  commerce  and  in- 
dustry were  disorganized,  and  its  finances  were  in  confusion.  He 
could  not  speak  Swedish,  and  he  was  a  stranger  both  to  the  people 
and  the  country.  At  first  he  had  to  remain  a  silent  spectator,  but 
in  a  relatively  short  time  he  became  the  real  leader  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  brought  dispatch  and  energy  both  into  diplomacy  and 
administration. 

Sweden  had  not  observed  the  rules  of  the  Continental  System 
very  strictly,  and  as  Napoleon  in  1810  made  special  efforts  to  compel 
obedience  to  his  demands  on  this  point,  he  issued  an  ultimatum  re- 
quiring the  Swedish  government  to  declare  war  against  England, 
their  old  ally,  within  five  days.  Refusal  to  comply  would  have 
gravely  imperiled  the  kingdom,  and  war  was,  accordingly,  declared ; 
but  through  a  secret  understanding  with  the  British  authorities  it 
was  agreed  that  it  should  only  be  a  sham  war,  and  that  amicable 

^  Many  prominent  Danes  \vrote  pamphlets  to  show  the  advantage  of  a 
united  Scandinavian  North.  Among  these  were :  Grundtvig,  Sehimmel- 
man,  Moltke,  H0st,  and  others.       Sehinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  V.,  p.  268  ff. 

*  Minne  aj  Stalsminisleren  Greve  Guslaf  af  Wetterstedl,  Svenska  Akademiens 
Handlingar,  1888,  p.  140.     Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  247  f. 


II  THARLES    JOnN    HWRDIHII    <  ROWN    PRINCK  4()7 

rrlatioiiK  should  continue.  ( "liarlos  .loliri  was  rrsolvod  from  the 
niitsrt  to  upliold  the  rights  and  dij^nity  of  liis  kingdom,  and  was  in 
no  way  inclined  to  suhinit  to  the  hurnihatinj;  dictates  of  XafK)Ieon. 
lie  saw,  prohahly  more  clearly  than  any  one  else,  that  the  jjreat 
I  inperor's  j)owcr  rested  on  a  very  weak  foundation,  and  that  a  new 

iilition  would  soon  be  organized  against  him.  Tiie  growing  es- 
trangement between  France  and  Russia  in  ISll  also  convinced  him 
that  he  would  .soon  have  to  choose  sides  in  a  war  between  tlu'se  two 
leading  ('ontinental  powers.  Almost  from  the  time  of  his  election 
in  1810  he  liad  seen  the  necessity  of  gaining  the  friendship  of  Russia 
;i^  a  support  against  the  aggression  of  Napoleon,  and  I''m[)eror  Alex- 
ander was  making  friendly  ad\ances  to  secure  liis  cooperation  in 
I  ase  of  a  war  with  France.  Charles  John  would  take  no  definite 
tand,  but  circumstances  soon  compelled  him  to  incline  more  strongly 
towards  the  jiowerfnl  eastern  neighbor.  In  conformity  with  this 
policy  he  soon  abandoned  the  plan  of  recovering  Finland,  a  hope 
entertained  by  many  leading  men  in  Sweden  at  the  time,  and  revived 
instead  the  plan  of  uniting  Nonvay  and  Sweden,  which  in  his  mind 
w  as  equivalent  to  extending  the  Swedish  borders  to  the  North  Sea. 

When  Nai)oIeon  found  that  Cliarles  John  would  not  submit  to 
every  demand,  the  relations  between  France  and  Sweden  soon  grew 
strained.  In  ISll  the  French  ambassador  was  recalled  from  Stock- 
holm, and  French  and  Danish  privateers  attiieked  Swedish  mer- 
chant vessels  in  the  Baltic'  Under  these  circumstances  Sweden 
might  be  ex})eeted  to  join  the  enemies  of  France  for  her  own  protec- 
tion in  case  new  encroachments  should  aggravate  the  situatif)n.  In 
1811,  prior  to  his  invasion  of  Russia,  Naj^oleon  seized  Swedish 
Pomerania,  an  overt  act  of  hostility  which  led  to  an  alliance  between 
Sweden  and  Russia,  conclud*^!  April  o,  1SI2.  In  this  compact 
Emj)eror  Alexander  promised  definitely  to  aid  ( "harles  John  in  secur- 
ing Norway  as  a  eomy)ensation  for  I-'inland.  In  a  spirite<|  letter  to 
Napoleon,  Charles  John  had  demanded  to  know  why  I*«)merania 
had  been  t)ceupied  by  the  French,  contrary  to  all  treaties.  "With- 
out seeking  the  lionor  and  power  which  surrounds  your  Maji'sty," 
he  wrote,   "  I   only  ask  not  to  be  considered  your  vassal.     Your 

•  Ynp^•ar  Niolson.  I mibcretningtr  fra  dsteirigake  Geaandter  t  Kj$htnhat'n 
1807-1812,  Forhandlinger  i   Videnskabs'SeUkabet  i  Chruliania,  1882.  p.  f». 


408  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Majesty  rules  over  a  large  part  of  Europe,  but  your  dominion  does 
not  extend  over  the  country  to  which  I  have  been  called.  To  defend 
this  land  is  the  extent  of  my  ambition,  and  I  consider  this  the  task 
which  Providence  has  given  me."  ^  Napoleon's  only  answer  was 
further  encroachments,  and  Charles  John  found  it  necessary  to  cement 
still  closer  his  friendship  with  Russia.  Peace  was  concluded  between 
Sweden  and  England,  and  also  between  Russia  and  England  at 
Orebro.  By  a  convention  at  Abo,  August  30,  1812,  Alexander  prom- 
ised that  not  only  Norway  but  also  Seeland  should  be  given  to  Sweden, 
and  Charles  John  was  to  receive  an  army  of  35,000  Russians,  of  which 
25,000  should  be  concentrated  in  Sk§,ne  for  an  attack  on  Denmark,^ 
as  he  wished  to  secure  possession  of  Norway  before  taking  part  in  a 
general  war  against  France.^  He  encouraged  Alexander  to  pursue 
the  Fabian  tactics  of  avoiding  pitched  battles  with  Napoleon,  but 
by  retreating  and  laying  the  country  waste,  to  lure  him  ever  further 
from  his  base  of  operations.  The  expedition  against  Denmark  could 
not  be  undertaken  that  year,  however,  as  the  summer  was  already 
far  advanced,  and  before  the  next  campaign  opened,  the  situation 
was  wholly  changed  through  the  destruction  of  Napoleon's  Grand 
Army  on  the  snow-covered  plains  of  Russia. 

At  this  juncture  Denmark  was  still  the  ally  of  Napoleon.  In 
December,  1812,  both  Russia  and  England  had  made  overtures  to 
King  Frederick  VI.  to  join  them  in  the  war  against  France.  Norway 
would  have  to  be  surrendered  to  Sweden,  but  compensation  would 
be  given  in  northern  Germany,  possibly  even  in  Holland.  This 
plan  did  not  appeal  to  King  Frederick,  and  he  refused.^  But  the 
retreat  of  Napoleon  and  the  destruction  of  his  army  made  the  situa- 
tion critical  for  Denmark-Norway,  as  a  general  uprising  throughout 
northern  Germany  brought  the  war  to  the  very  border  of  the  king- 
dom, and  France  could  give  Denmark  no  protection  against  the 
large  armies  which  advanced  in  pursuit  of  Napoleon's  shattered  forces. 
In  Norway  an  army  could  scarcely  be  brought  into  the  field,  as  the 

^  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Aktmcessige  Bidrag  til  Sveriges  poHHske  Historic  1812, 
Forhandlinger  i  Videnskabs-Selskabet  i  Christiania,  1876.  B.  von  Schinkel, 
Minnen,  vol.  VI.,  p.  113. 

*  Recueil  de  lettres  de  Charles  Jean,  Stockholm,  1825,  p.  55. 
'  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  VII.,  p.  12. 

*  Carl  Th.  S0rensen,  Kampen  om  Norge  i  Aarene  1813  og  18 H,  p.  44  ff. 


II  K I  FORTS    OF    (  IIAKLKS    JOHN    To    SECURE    NORWAY  4()9 

country  was  sufreriiig  from  a  .serious  faniinc,  due  to  the  almost  total 
(Top  failure  in  1812.  Hut  Charles  .John  attempted  even  now  witli- 
out  succcs.s  to  persuade  Kiii^;  l-'redrrick  \'!.  to  rt-dc  Norway  ;  ntithi  r 
could  he  he  prevailed  upon  to  change  iii>  jxiiitjcal  jxdicy  to  the  extent 
of  seeking  a  reconciliation  with  England,  though  he  was  urged  to  do 
so  by  his  most  influential  minister,  Rosencrantz,  and  even  hy  Prince 
Christian  Frederick,  heir  to  the  throne  of  Demnark.  He  decided 
instead  to  remain  neutral,  though  this  did  not  meet  with  the  a[>|)ro\al 
of  the  allied  pow(TS. 

Charles  John  had  not  been  able  to  take  active  measures  towards 
securing  Norway,  and  he  knew  that  a  long  delay  might  wreck  his 
plans.  Dcivmirk'i^  rhnrgc  d'ajfairc.i  m  Stockiiolm  hml  suggesteii  that 
the  bi.shopric  of  Trondhjem  should  be  cedeti  to  Sweden ;  from  Rus- 
sian sources  it  had  been  hinted  that  a  change  in  tlie  i)lans  was  neces- 
sa^^•,  and  England  remained  indifferent  and  would  not  support  his 
designs  on  Norway  unless  he  used  his  forces  on  tlie  Continent  in  co- 
operation with  the  allies.  Circumstances  forced  him  to  yield.  He 
promised  to  raise  a  force  of  30,000  men,  which  togetlier  with  3o,(HK) 
Russians  should  cooperate  with  the  allies  against  Napoleon  under 
his  own  command,  and  in  return  England  agreed  to  supj)ort  his 
demand  for  the  cession  of  Norway.  Hut  his  plan  might  still  be 
shatt(Ted.  Austria  sui)|)(>rted  Demnark,  as  tlie  great  statesman 
Metternich  wished  to  attach  to  himself  the  smaller  European  states 
in  the  hope  that  as  soon  as  Napoleon  was  vancpiished  he  might  secure 
for  Austria  the  leadership  in  P^uropean  politics.  In  that  event  tlie 
legitimate  j)rinces  would  b(>  restoretl  to  their  thrones  and  j)os.s<'ssions, 
and  he  was  not  disposed  to  destroy  an  old  Icgitinuite  moruirchy  for 
the  benefit  of  Charles  John,  the  parvenu  who  emerged  fnmi  ob.scurity 
to  enter  tlie  chaniietl  circle  of  tlie  crowned  heads  of  Flurope.  H«»th 
in  St.  Pet«Tsburg  and  London  Metternich  had  proteste<l  again.st  an 
attack  on  Denmark  at  a  moment  when  all  the  European  powers 
ha<l  begiui  to  talk  of  peace.  E\cn  Ku^sia  began  to  show  signs  «)f 
Danish  sympathy.  I'rincc  Dolgorouki  was  .sent  to  Coju-nhagen 
with  a  letter  from  Emperor  Alexander,  stating  that  at  the  time  when 
he  sanctioned  vSwtxlen's  ])lan  of  securing  Nonvay.  he  ditl  not  know 
Denmark's  real  position ;  that  he  had  thought  that  Denmark  would 
gladly  part  with  Norway  in  return  for  more  valuable  possessions  in 


410  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

northern  Germany ;  but  since  this  did  not  please  the  king,  he  would 
now  postpone  the  matter.  King  Frederick  was  urged  to  join  the 
allies,  and  take  active  part  in  the  operation  against  Napoleon,  and 
Dolgorouki  added  enough  orally  to  make  it  quite  clear  that  the  ques- 
tion of  ceding  Norway  would  be  dropped  altogether  if  Denmark 
would  cooperate  with  the  allies.  But  King  Frederick  would  not 
join  the  coalition  in  active  war  operations  unless  the  possession  of 
Norway  was  definitely  guaranteed  to  him.^  At  this  moment  Charles 
John  seems  to  have  abandoned  the  hope  of  securing  the  whole  of  Nor- 
way. On  April  10,  1813,  he  dispatched  an  ultimatum  to  King  Fred- 
erick, stating  that  unless  he  ceded  the  bishopric  of  Trondhjem  to 
Sweden,  and  joined  the  coalition  in  active  operations  against  Napo- 
leon, he  would  attack  Deimiark-Norway.^  While  awaiting  a  reply, 
he  received  the  news  of  Dolgorouki's  secret  mission.  He  also  learned 
that  the  35,000  Russian  troops  which  had  been  promised  had  been 
ordered  to  march  in  another  direction.  This  palpable  breach  of 
faith  on  the  part  of  Russia  drove  Charles  John  into  violent  fury. 
He  wrote  to  Emperor  Alexander  demanding  the  troops  which  had 
been  promised.  He  also  asked  that  Dolgorouki  should  be  recalled 
from  Copenhagen,  and  that  diplomatic  relations  between  Russia 
and  Deiunark  should  cease.  The  Swedish  ambassador  at  Copen- 
hagen was  immediately  recalled,  as  Denmark  refused  to  cede  any 
part  of  Norway.  Thus  matters  stood  when  operations  against  Napo- 
leon began  in  the  spring  of  1813. 

On  April  15th  Napoleon  left  Paris  and  took  personal  command  of 
the  large  army  which  he  had  organized,  and  the  decisive  campaign 
of  1813  was  begun.  A  Swedish  army  of  30,000  men  had  landed  in 
Pomerania,  witli  which  Charles  John  was  to  cooperate  with  the  allied 
forces,  but  he  refused  to  take  part  in  active  operations  until  Russia 
should  place  under  his  command  the  35,000  men  which  had  been 
promised.  He  was  willing,  however,  to  make  one  concession  with 
regard  to  Norway.     Instead  of  demanding  the  whole  kingdom  he 

1  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Aktmcessige  Bidrag,  Forhandlinger  i  Videnskabs-Sel- 
skabet  i  Chrisliania,  1876,  no.  7,  p.  31  flf.  Carl  Th.  S0rensen,  Kampen  om 
Norge,  p.  100  ff. 

^  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  VII.,  p.  61  ff.  Correspondence,  Dispatches, 
and  Other  Papers  of  Viscount  Castlereagh,  vol.  VIII.  Minne  of  Statsministeren 
Greve  Gustaf  af  Wetterstedt,  p.  206  ff. 


U  CUARI.es    J(JIIN    .VND    THK    l-OWiLUS  411 

would  be  satislieci  witJi  the  Ijishopric  of  Troudlijein,  which  bliould 
be  permanently  incorjiorated  in  Sweden.  But  Russia  demanded 
th;it  he  should  immediately  join  the  allies  without  furtiier  conditions. 
On  May  L'lst  Napoleon  defcatod  the  armies  of  the  coalition  at  Hauzon. 
and  the  allies  were  hij^hly  displeased  because  Charles  John  reniaint-d 
inactive.  On  .June  4th  both  Russia  and  Prussia  concluded  an  arnu- 
stiee  with  Napoleon  at  Poisehwitz  without  consulting  either  Kn^land 
or  Sweden.  But  in  a  personal  interview  with  Emperor  Alexander 
and  King  Frederick  William  III.  of  Prussia  at  Trachenberjj,  near 
Breslau,  Charles  John  again  won  the  favor  of  the  tw(;  monarclis. 
.Again  tliey  renewed  their  assurances  to  Swe<len,  and  they  also  adopted 
his  plan  for  tJie  next  camjniign  in  case  peace  witli  Napoleon  could 
not  be  arranged.  According  to  this  i)lan,  the  forces  of  the  allies 
should  be  divided  into  three  armies.  The  Northern  aniiy  of  Swedes, 
Russians,  and  Prussians  under  the  command  of  Charles  John  should 
fonn  the  right  wing,  the  Silesian  aniiy  of  Prussians  and  Russians  under 
General  Bliicher  should  form  the  center,  and  the  Bohemian  army 
of  Austrians,  Russians,  and  Prussians  under  the  Austrian  field  nuir- 
shal.  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  should  form  the  left  wing.  These 
armies,  forming  a  half-circle,  should  converge  on  the  point  where 
Napoleon  was  stationed.  When  the  armistice  expired.  August  lOth, 
Austria  joined  the  allies,  whose  amiies  in  the  field  now  innnbered 
479,l)UU.  Against  these  forces  Napoleon  could  place  an  army  of 
about  44().U00,  mostly  raw  recruits.  lu  his  attempt  tt)  break  tiiis 
half  circle  of  iron  which  tlireatened  to  crush  him,  he  was  not  success- 
ful. He  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  on  Schwartzenberg,  August  20th 
and  27th,  but  his  marsiuds  were  unable  to  carry  out  successfully 
the  parts  assigned  to  them.  Macdonald  was  defeated  by  Bliicher 
at  Katzbach,  and  Marshal  Vandamme  was  defeattxl  and  capturtnl 
at  Kulni.  Oudinot  failed  to  take  Berlin,  and  Ney,  who  was  sent  to 
take  cliarge  of  tlie  operations,  was  defeateil  at  Dennewitz.  The 
armies  of  the  allies  pressed  fonvard  into  Saxony,  where  the  deci.sive 
battle  of  Ix'ip/ig  was  fought.  October  l()th  U*  I'.Uli.  in  whii-h  Napo- 
leon was  defeated. 

The  Swedish  troops  had  taken  little  part  in  tiie  actual  fighting, 
as  Charles  John  evidently  sought  to  save  his  forct^s  for  an  attack  on 
Demnark.      But    after   his    retreat   Napolnui    hun.self   said    to    the 


412  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

Swedish  general  Skoldebrand,  who  had  been  made  prisoner  of  war : 
"No  one  has  done  me  so  much  harm  as  your  crown  prince.  Do 
you  beUeve  that  if  it  were  not  for  him  I  should  have  been  here  at 
this  moment?  I  should  still  have  been  in  northern  Germany.  I 
myself  tell  you  so,  and  you  may  believe  my  word."  ^ 

King  Frederick  VI.  continued  to  the  last  to  exercise  a  paternal 
care  for  his  kingdom  of  Norway  to  the  greatest  extent  possible  under 
the  circumstances.  Prince  Frederick  of  Hessen,  who  had  succeeded 
Charles  August,  was  an  inactive  man,  who  did  not  win  the  favor  of 
the  people,  and  in  the  spring  of  1813  Prince  Christian  Frederick  was 
dispatched  to  Norway,  in  the  hope  that  this  young  and  talented  heir 
to  the  throne  might  arouse  the  people's  love  for  the  union.^  In 
his  instruction  to  the  prince  the  king  said :  "  Since  Norway  is  far 
distant,  it  makes  it  difficult  for  the  sovereign  himself  to  be  present 
in  the  kingdom.  They  need  therefore,  especially  in  time  of  war,  to 
have  a  person  who  can  rule  the  realm,  otherwise  it  cannot  be  expected 
that  any  system  can  be  established  in  the  administration.  This, 
then,  is  the  thing  especially  required  of  you,  and  you  are  requested 
to  continually  travel  about  and  seek  to  prevail  on  the  people  to  show 
the  love  which  they  owe  me.  Whenever  they  complain,  you  must 
answer  them  that  your  presence  as  statholder  and  commander  of 
the  military  forces  is  a  new  evidence  of  my  regard  and  love  for  the 
Norwegian  people.  This  important  tie,  without  which  no  nation 
can  long  endure,  the  love  of  the  people  for  their  sovereign,  and  vice 
versa,  you  must  attempt  to  strengthen."  In  his  effort  to  counteract 
Swedish  influence  in  Norway  Prince  Christian  Frederick  was  quite 
successful.  The  twenty-six-year-old  prince  ^  was  gifted,  well  edu- 
cated, jovial,  and  pleasing.  He  had  fine  features,  loved  merry 
company,^  and  maintained  a  greater  dignity  and  stricter  etiquette 

*  A.  F.  Skoldebrand,  Memoiren. 

*  A.  Faye,  Norge  i  181 4,  p.  2  ff.  Henrik  Wergeland,  Norges  Konstitutions 
Historic,  Samlede  Skrifter,  vol.  IX.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Bidrag  til  Norges 
Historic  i  1814-     Carl  Th.  S0rensen,  Kampen  om  Norge,  vol.  I.,  p.  135. 

'  Prince  Christian  Frederick  was  a  son  of  Prince  Frederick,  a  younger 
half-brotlier  of  Christian  VII.,  and  heir  presumptive  to  the  throne  of  Den- 
mark-Norway. He  was  the  nearest  heir  to  the  throne,  as  Frederick  VI. 
had  no  male  heir. 

*  Claus  Pavels,  Dagbogs-Optegnelser  for  Aarene  1812-1813,  p.  102.  Ludvig 
Daae,  Det  gamle  Christiania,  p.  341  f. 


II  PRINCE    CHRI8TIAN    FRKDERKK    IN    NORWAY  413 

tliaii  liis  pri'ik'cr.ssors.  IIo  soon  f;uiiu-<l  tlit*  lovi-  and  admiration 
(if  the  people,  hut  he  was  not  able  to  win  to  his  side  the  most  influ- 
ential man  in  the  kingdom,  Count  WedcUJarishcrg.  Tlxc  two  met 
in  'i'un.slxT^,  and  Wcdel  told  Prince  Christian  Frederick  that  if 
lie  would  become  king  of  N(>nva>  as  an  independent  kingdom,  he 
would  support  him  to  the  last,  that  he  nuist  either  drive  the  Swedish 
crown  prince  from  the  North,  or  allow  himself  to  be  driven  out. 
Hut  so  decisive  a  step  the  prince  wo\dd  not  take,  and  Count  Wtxlel 
remained  an  inactive  spectator,  who  placed  no  confidence  in  the 
ability-  of  Prince  Christian  Frederick  to  soKr  the  difficult  problems 
confronting  him.  In  a  conversation  witii  Jacob  Aal,  Count  Wedel 
aid:  "We  shall  now  see  who  will  rule  the  North,  Charles  John  or 
(  hristian  Frederick,"  and  there  is  no  dt)ubt  that  his  sympathy  was 
with  the  former.' 

The  arrival  of  Christian  Frederick  in  Nor\\ay  iuui  a  whoU'some 
effect,  and  tended  to  strengthen  tiie  i)eo])le's  loyalty  to  the  union. 
Hut  the  king's  attempt  to  protect  the  Norwegian  coast  against  the 
Iviglish  was  not  only  a  failure,  but  a  mi.stake.  The  English  did  not 
plan  any  attack  on  Norway.  English  privateers  hovered  around 
the  coast,  and  seized  Nor\vegian  vessels,  but  the  regular  commerce 
with  England,  which  was  as  advantageous  to  the  English  as  to  the 
Norwegians,  was  not  seriously  interferetl  with  at  this  time.  King 
I'Vedcrick,  nevertheless,  disi)atched  to  the  coast  of  Nonvay  a  new 
battleship,  the  "Najad,"  which  had  been  recently  built.  Several 
Mualler  vessels  were  added,  and  this  flotilla  was  place<l  in  the  com- 
mand of  an  able  captain,  II.  P.  Holm.  The  Nonvegians  frowncxl 
at  this,  as  they  realized  that  it  would  only  challenge  tiie  Engli>h  to 
more  active  hostilities,  and  the  venture  ended,  as  might  be  exi>ected, 
in  .speedy  disaster.  An  English  man-of-war.  the  "  Hictator,"  with 
.sixty-four  guns,  in  command  of  the  young  captain  Steward,  accom- 
panied l\v  several  smaller  vessels,  discovertnl  the  "Najad,"  and  pur- 
sued it  into  a  narrow  gap  near  Lyng0r,  where  a  fierce  duel  was  fought 

At  the  ago  of  twonty,  Prince  Christian  Pre<l«'rick  wa,**  marritMl  to  Char- 
lotte Frodorikke  of  MofklenhurK-Schworin,  wlio  bore  him  two  sons,  one  of 
whom  dit>d  in  childhood.  The  other  horanie  Kinp  Prodoriok  VII.  of  Don- 
mark.     The  prince  and  his  wife  wore  divorced  l>ofore  he  came  to  Norway. 

'  Yng\ar  Nielsen.  Wfdd-Jarlsbrrg,  vol.  II..  p.  17,  Jacob  Aal,  Erin- 
dringer,  p.  308.     J.  H.  V'ogt,  OpUgndscr,  p.  35  ff. 


414  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

in  which  the  Danish  ship  was  destroyed.  The  Norwegian  gunboat 
flotilla  was  notified,  but  arrived  too  late  to  prevent  the  "Dictator" 
from  escaping  through  the  same  narrow  passage  where  it  entered.^ 

After  the  battle  of  Leipzig,  Charles  John  was  to  advance  with  the 
northern  army  against  Marshal  Davout,  who  was  stationed  on 
the  lower  Elbe  with  an  army  of  25,000  men.  To  this  plan  he  will- 
ingly agreed,  as  it  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  follow  out  his  own 
designs  against  Denmark.  He  felt  that  the  moment  had  now  come 
when  he  must  secure  possession  of  Norway,  or  leave  the  question  to 
a  general  peace  conference,  where  he  would  have  small  chance  of 
being  supported  by  the  legitimate  princes.  He  dispatched  some 
Prussian  and  Russian  forces  against  the  French,  and  with  his  own 
army  he  turned  northward  to  attack  Holstein.  An  invasion  of 
Denmark  could  now  be  undertaken  without  incurring  any  blame,  since 
Frederick  VI.  had  declared  war  against  Russia  and  Prussia  before 
he  received  the  news  of  Napoleon's  defeat  at  Leipzig.  Holstein  was 
quickly  overrun,  and  in  order  to  prevent  an  invasion  of  Schleswig  and 
Jutland  the  Danish  commander.  Prince  Frederick  of  Hessen,  con- 
cluded an  armistice.  Charles  John  now  renewed  his  original  demand 
for  the  cession  of  the  whole  of  Norway,  and  the  situation  made  hkn 
anxious  to  reach  a  speedy  agreement.  Austria,  which  still  supported 
Denmark,  had  sent  a  special  envoy,  Count  Bombelles,  to  Copenhagen 
to  advise  King  Frederick  to  cede  the  bishopric  of  Trondhjem,  but 
the  king  still  hoped  that  the  intervention  of  Austria  might  change 
the  situation.  He  sent  a  special  envoy,  Edmund  Bourke,  to  Kiel, 
accompanied  by  Bombelles,  to  negotiate  with  Charles  John  for  a 
prolongation  of  the  armistice.  The  crown  prince  would  not  grant 
a  long  respite,  but  he  agreed  to  extend  the  time  till  January  5th,  in 
order  that  Bourke  might  confer  with  his  government.  He  also  sub- 
mitted his  ultimatum  in  which  he  demanded  either  the  cession  of 
the  bishopric  of  Trondhjem  at  once,  and  the  rest  of  Norway  when  a 
general  peace  conference  assembled,  or  the  whole  of  Norway  at  once, 
in  which  case  Denmark  would  receive  Swedish  Pomerania  and  one 
million  riksdaler  as  a  compensation.^    Bourke  and  Bombelles  returned 

^  Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  281  ff. 

*  Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  VII.,  p.  313  ff.  Minne  af  Statsministeren  Greve 
Gj,staf  af  Wetlerstedt,  p.  287  ff.     Yngvar  Nielsea,  Norge  i  1814- 


II  TQE   TREATY    OF    KIEL  415 

to  Copenhagen,  and  Charles  John  also  (lispatclicd  a  lttt<r  t()  King 
I'Vederick,  urging  him  to  accept  the  tenns  ofrerc<l.  All  hoj)e  of  an 
iiiteneiition  of  Austria  fiiuilly  vanished.  Russia  and  Kngland  re- 
niaine<l  firm  in  drniandiug  the  cession  of  Nonva\ ,  and  Austria  was 
at  last  obligetl  to  support  this  demand  to  avoid  a  rupture  with 
her  allii's.  On  Jaiuiar>  4th  Hourke  again  arrived  in  Kiel  U)  open 
|)eace  negotiations,  and  Charles  .John  declared  in  a  speech  to  tlie  as- 
semhlcd  diplomats  that  if  tlie  treaty  (jf  jjeace  was  not  signed  witiiin 
forty -eight  hours  he  would  renew  hostilities,  and  tlic  Danish  monarchy 
would  he  destroyed.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  push  matters 
to  a  hasty  conclusion,  for  tJie  English  minister,  Castlereagh,  had  sent 
an  imperative  order  that  he  sliould  immediately  cross  tlie  Elbe  and 
join  in  the  operations  against  Napoleon.  This  order  was  received 
January  VMh,  and  the  peace  was  not  yet  signitl.  Disobedience 
might  cost  him  the  friendsliij)  of  England  and  shatter  his  whole  plan.* 
I  le  prevailed  on  the  English  ambassador,  Thornton,  not  to  make  the 
"pdcr  known  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  during  the  night  the  work  on 
ilie  treaty  was  carried  on  with  the  greatest  possible  speed.  On  Jamiar>' 
14,  1814,  the  treaty  of  Kiel  ^  between  Sweden  and  Denmark  was 
signed.  Peace  was  also  concluded  between  Deimiark  and  England. 
By  the  treaty  of  Kiel  Frederick  VI.  ceded  Xonvay  to  the  king 
of  Sweden,  and  according  to  article  l\.  of  the  treaty  Xor^vay  should 
remain  a  kingdom  united  witli  Sweden.  Because  of  the  haste  with 
which  the  treaty  was  drawn  up,  the  Nonvegian  possessions,  Ice- 
land, Greenland,  and  the  Faroe  Islands,  were  not  included  in  tlie 
cession.  Through  this  oversight  these  possessions  were  separated 
from  Norway,  and  continue  to  remain  united  with  Demnark.  The 
king  t)f  Sweden  ceded  to  Deiunark  Swedish  I'omerania  and  the  is- 
land of  Uiigen.  He  promised  as  king  of  Norway  to  pay  to  Denmark 
that  part  of  the  Danish-Nonvegian  state  debt  which  would  justly 
fall  on  Norway,  and  to  use  his  influence  in  the  general  peace  congress 
to  secure  further  compensation  for  Denmark.' 

*  Kong  Christian  VIII's  Dayhog  fra  liiginttidcn  i  Sorgc,  p.  7  f.  Wettor- 
stedt.  .\finne,  p.  302. 

*  Gustav  Peter  Blom,  Norges  Statsforandring  i  Aarct  ISI4,  Hilag  III., 
p.  254.  L.  M.  B.  Aubert.  Xorgcs  Jolkcrdsligc  Stilling,  p.  09  ff.  C.  A.  Bro- 
berg.  For  ikke  100  Aar  siden. 

*  L.  M.  B.  Aubort,  Norges  folkcreUlige  Stilling,  p.  09  ff. 


416  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

On  the  15th  of  January  Charles  John  wrote  to  his  son,  Prince 
Oscar :  "  My  dear  child :  Peace  has  been  concluded.  Norway  is 
united  with  Sweden,  and  forms  a  separate  and  independent  king- 
dom," This  was  an  unreserved  recognition  of  the  full  meaning  of 
the  treaty,  but  he  also  seems  to  have  entertained  other  ideas  regard- 
ing the  relation  of  the  two  kingdoms,  which  did  not  presage  well  for 
the  future.  The  same  day  he  wrote  to  Count  Essen  in  Stockholm 
that  the  Norwegian  fortresses  of  Fredrikshald,  Kongsvinger,  Fred- 
rikstad,  and  Akershus  should  at  once  be  occupied  by  a  force  of  6000 
men.  "I  believe,"  he  concludes,  "that  a  larger  force  will  not  be 
needed,  as  Norway  is  to  be  taken  possession  of,  not  as  a  province, 
but  only  to  be  united  with  Sweden  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  with  it 
a  single  kingdom." 


THE    MODKILN    i'KlilOD 
52.   Norway   Gains   IIkr   National    Independfate  i\  1814 

In  an  ojx'n  Icttrr  of  January  IS,  1S14,  Kinj^  Frederick  \'I.  an- 
nounced to  the  Norwegian  i)eople  that  tlieir  country  had  heen  cedt^ 
to  the  kinj^  of  Sweden.  He  released  tliein  from  their  oatli  of  loyalty, 
and  bid  them  farewell  in  tenns  which  reveal  the  deepest  emotion.* 
In  Norway  the  news  did  not  immediately  become  known.  The 
communications  between  the  two  kingdoms  had  bren  interrupted 
by  the  war,  and  as  the  Norwegian  newspapers  contained  Httle  or 
nothing  but  local  news  items,  the  j)eople  had  to  gather  what  they 
knew  of  foreign  affairs  largely  from  rumors,  which  were  often  ex- 
aggerated and  contradictory.  They  knew  that  the  outcome  of  the 
war  wagetl  in  southern  Denmark  would  be  of  importance  to  Norway, 
but  no  reliable  reports  had  revealed  the  true  state  of  affairs,  when 
the  paper  "Tiden"  on  January  25th  suddenly  brought  the  ghul  tid- 
ings that  peace  had  again  been  established  in  the  North.  Tlie  condi- 
tions were  not  mentioned,  though  the  editor  had  been  infomietl  of 
the  treaty  through  a  private  lett(T ;  but  when  the  truth  became  known, 
tiie  first  outburst  of  jo\'  ga\r  wa>'  to  anger  and  resentment,  as  the 
ptH)ple  felt  that  they  had  been  i)artere<l  awa>  in  a  manner  disgrace- 
ful to  a  free  peo])li'.  They  had  not  been  consulted  by  either  of  the 
contracting  ])arties,  hence  the  treaty  of  Kiel  could  not  be  binding 
on  tliem.     To  countenance  it  would  be  national  dishonor. 

The  strong  national  spirit  and  lo\e  for  constitutional  liberty  which 
had  been  awakened  in  Norway,  as  well  as  in  otlwr  parts  of  Knrope. 
in  tlie  closing  decades  of  the  eighteenth  ci-ntury  and  the  opening  of 
the  nineteenth  had  long  since  been  tinged  with  a  desire  for  national 
autonomy,  if  not  lor  in(K'pen(h'nce.     At  the  time  when  the  peace  of 

'  Oustav  Petor  Bloin,  \orges  iStatsforatulring  i  Aarcl  IS  1 4.  Bilag,  p.  257. 
A.  Faye,  Morge  i  tSl^,  p.  9  Cf. 

VOL.  II  —  2e  417 


418  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Kiel  was  concluded,  there  was  no  general  desire  for  a  union  with  Sweden 
on  any  terms,  and  when  the  union  with  Denmark  was  terminated, 
the  Norwegians  felt  that  they  were  free  to  work  out  their  own  national 
destiny.  Denmark  might  dissolve  the  old  union,  but  it  could  not 
create  for  Norway  a  new  union  with  Sweden  without  the  consent 
of  the  Norwegian  people.^  The  presence  of  Prince  Christian  Fred- 
erick also  buoyed  up  their  courage.  He  could  give  the  country  a 
stable  government,  and  around  him  as  a  legitimate  successor  to 
the  throne  they  could  rally  in  defense  of  their  independence. 

On  the  evening  of  January  24th,  the  day  before  the  news  was 
broached  by  "Tiden,"  King  Frederick's  first  courier,  C.  L.  V.  R0mer, 
reached  Christiania,  and  submitted  to  Prince  Christian  Frederick 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  together  with  an  order  that  he  should 
surrender  Norway  to  the  Swedish  authorities,  and  return  to  Copen- 
hagen. This  order  the  prince  refused  to  obey.  In  his  diary  he 
wrote :  "  That  the  king  can  believe  that  the  Norwegians  will  surrender 
voluntarily — that  he  thinks  that  I  would  be  mean  enough  to  desert 
them  now  —  I  do  not  understand  it.  They  would,  indeed,  be  justi- 
fied in  throwing  stones  at  me,  if  I  could  desert  a  people  who  love  me, 
and  place  their  whole  confidence  in  me.  And  I  should  leave  even 
without  attempting  to  defend  them  —  Never  I  not  while  I  live ! " 
He  left  Christiania,  visited  one  of  his  most  influential  advisers, 
Peter  Anker,  at  Eidsvold,  and  journeyed  through  Gudbrandsdal  to 
Trondhjem.  Everywhere  the  people  welcomed  him  with  great 
enthusiasm  as  their  deliverer,  as  it  had  now  become  generally  known 
that  Norway  had  been  ceded  to  Sweden,  though  it  had  not  yet  been 
ofiicially  announced.  In  Trondlijem  they  even  requested  him  to 
call  an  Assembly  of  Estates  to  frame  a  constitution  for  the  kingdom. 
He  returned  to  Christiania  resolved  to  ascend  the  throne,  and  to 
rule  according  to  the  old  "  Kongelov"  untU  he  could  find  opportunity 
to  grant  a  new  constitution. ^ 

But  the  friends  of  popular  sovereignty  and  government  by  the 
people  did  not  remain  inactive.  Inspired  by  the  example  of  the 
North  American  colonies  and  the  French  Revolution,  they  resolved 
not  only  to  declare  their  independence,  but  to  frame  a  constitution 

*  L.  M.  B.  Aubert,  Norges  folkeretslige  Stilling,  p.  95  ff. 

*  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norge  i  I8I4. 


II  NORWAY   CAINS   HEU   NATIONAL    INDKrENDENCE    IN    1814       419 

whirk  should  embody  the  principles  of  drniocrucy  which  had  been 
proclaimed  by  tlie  fathers  of  the  American  Ucpublic  and  the  I'rench 
I>(iliti(al  pliil<>s()j)h(Ts.  Christian  Maj^nus  l-'aiscn,  son  nf  the  jjutriot 
and  poet  Enevoid  Falscn,  invited  Peter  Anker,  Professor  Gcjjfge 
>\  rrdrup,  L.  S.  Platau,  and  Joh.  G.  Adler  to  a  meeting  at  his  country 
n sidence,  Voliebtek,  near  (hristiania,  where  he  read  to  them  the 
draft  of  a  constitution  wliich  he  had  franie<l  with  tlie  assistance  of 
Adler,  and  not  lonj;  aftt'^^vartis  Professor  S\er(lrui)  "'"^  Peter  Anker 
were  invited  to  attend  an  Assembly  of  Notables  which  had  been 
umraoned  by  Christian  Frederick  to  meet  at  Eidsvold,  Februar}'  16, 

A  number  of  the  leading  men  in  Nonvay  assembled  at  Eidsvold. 
Prince  Christian  Frederick  proposed  that  he  should  be  jdaced  on 
the  throne  by  rifjht  of  succession,  but  tliis  was  opi)osed  by  a  strong 
"arty,  whose  ciiief  spokesman  was  Professor  Sverdrup.     In  a  private 

nversation  with  the  prince  he  implored  him  not  to  seize  the  crown 
in  a  manner  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  all  the  enlightened  men  of  tlie 
nation.  "The  rights  which  Frederick  VI.  has  renounced  reverts  to 
the  people,"  he  added.  "From  the  hands  of  the  peojjle  you  will 
rrceive  the  crown,  which  will  be  the  more  lustrous  since  the  people 
have  given  it  to  you."  In  the  assembly  the  members  declare<l 
tliat  as  free  men  they  would  not  submit  to  the  provisions  of  tlie 
treaty  of  Kiel.  Regarding  the  question  of  succession  to  tlie  throne 
many  supported  Sverdrup,  and  Christian  Frederick  yielded  to  the 
LTiieral  desire  on  this  point.-  He  was  chosen  regent  ad  interim,  and 
agreed  to  summon  a  general  constituent  assembly  to  meet  at  Eids- 
M>ld.  When  a  constitution  had  been  framed,  a  king  would  be 
jilaced  on  the  throne  by  election  to  exercise  executive  powers  accord- 

•  A.  Fayo,  Norgc  i  1814,  p.  22.  Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  3U)  (T.  Hon- 
rik  Werpoland,  Norgea  Konatitutions  Historie,  Samlcdc  Skriflcr,  vol.  IX., 
p.  95.     T.  H.  Asehohouc,  Norges  nnvarende  Stnts/nrfntnitig,  vol.  I.,  p.  5  ff. 

The  offifiial  pap«>r,  ^'Tiden,"  i)uhliBli(>d,  iniiru'diately  after  the  mission  of 
Norway  to  Swodeii  liad  been  annoutu-cd,  an  offir  of  a  pn'inium  f«>r  u  tpjatise 
on  tho  best  form  of  >jov»Tnni(>nt  for  Norway.  A  rrquost  \va«  also  nmd«'  for 
the  loan  of  tlie  oonstitutionH  of  all  free  countries,  and  corainentaries  on  the 
same,  topetiier  with  Adam's  Drfcnae  of  the  h'cpuhlicnn  (•'orrrnmrnt.  and 
Journal  for  liigsforfatning  ng  Lovgivning.  Henri k  VVerReland,  Sorgm  Kortr 
tiUutions  Hialoric,  Samlcde  Skrifter,  vol.  IX.,  p.  14. 

*  T.  H.  Aseheiioug,  Xorgca  nuvcrrendc  Slatsforfatning,  vol.  1.,  p.  G  ff. 


420  HISTORY    OF  THE  NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

ing  to  its  provisions.  Circumstances  had  made  it  necessary  for  the 
scion  of  the  autocratic  Oldenburg  dynasty  to  bow  to  the  sovereign 
will  of  the  people. 

In  an  open  letter,  dated  February  19th/  Prince  Christian  Frederick 
announced  in  the  customary  autocratic  phraseology  that  since  the 
assembly  at  Eidsvold  had  declared  that  they  would  not  submit  to 
Sweden,  he  had  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  nation,  had  assumed 
the  title  of  regent,  and  would  do  everything  in  his  power  to  prevent 
disorder,  and  to  maintain  peace  with  every  foreign  power  which 
should  not  attempt  to  trample  on  the  rights  of  the  Norwegian  people. 
In  the  same  letter  he  also  published  the  rules  according  to  which 
the  members  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  should  be  chosen.  After 
religious  services  had  been  held  in  the  principal  churches  in  each 
parish,  the  people  should  take  an  oath  to  maintain  the  independence 
of  Norway,  and  to  sacrifice,  if  need  be,  their  lives  for  the  fatherland ; 
whereupon  two  electors  should  be  chosen  in  each  parish,  one  of  which 
should  be  a  bonde  (farmer).  These  electors  should  meet  in  each 
amt  and  choose  three  delegates  to  the  Constituent  Assembly,  one  of 
whom  should  be  a  bonde.  Also  the  army  and  navy  should  send  dele- 
gates, a  truly  unique  step,^  probably  taken  by  the  prince  to  identify 
these  important  organizations  more  closely  with  the  national  cause.' 

After  concluding  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  Charles  John  led  the  northern 
army  westward  to  cooperate  with  the  allies  against  France.     He  had 

1  Gustav  Peter  Blom,  Norge  i  1814,  p.  99. 

2  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norgc  i  1814,  p.  46  ff.  Gustav  Peter  Blom,  Norge  i 
1814,  p.  140.  A.  Faye,  Norge  i  1814,  P-  23  £f.  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Norges 
nuvcerende  Statsforfatning,  vol.  I.,  p.  6  ff. 

3  The  stand  taken  by  Norway  was  applauded  even  by  the  English  press. 
The  Morning  Post  and  The  Courier  contained  articles  commenting  on  events 
in  Norway,  and  expressing  sympathy  with  the  attempt  of  the  Norwegian 
people  to  establish  their  independence.  The  Morning  Post  said:  "We  did 
not  deem  it  just  to  guarantee  Norway  to  Sweden,  as  we  could  easily  see  that 
the  hatred  between  the  two  nations  would  make  the  union  a  source  of  civil 
strife  and  internal  war.  .  .  .  The  resolute  will  of  the  Norwegian  nation 
has  now  been  so  clearly  expressed  tliat  we  hope  it  will  not  be  disregarded. 
Sweden  would  only  have  gained  rebellious  subjects,  whereas  it  can  now  gain 
a  brave  ally."  See  Gustav  Peter  Blom,  Norge  i  1814,  P-  264.  The  Courier 
stated  that  England  "only  reluctantly  gave  her  consent  to  the  eager  desire 
of  Sweden  to  annex  Norway."  Henrik  Wergeland,  Samlede  Skrifter, 
vol.  IX.,  p.  124. 


NORWAY    GAINS    IIKU    NATIONAL    INDEPENDENCE    IN     1M4        421 


>  iiri-tl  Norway  1)\  treaty,  hut  tin*  task  of  taking  possession  of  it 
was  left  to  the  Swetlish  government,  at  the  head  of  whieh  stood  the 
(■Id  Kiiii^  C'iiarli's  Xlll.  and  liis  minister  of  state*.  Lars  von  Engestnim, 
Ix.tJi  of  whom  failed  to  understand  tlie  real  nature  of  the  situation. 
They  seemed  to  think  that  the  acquisition  of  Norway  was  now  an 
aceomplishnl  fact,  and  that  the  work  of  bringing  tlie  country-  under 
Swedish  administration  could  be  done  at  leisure.  The  idea  that 
the  Norwegians  might  re- 

:  t  did  not  occur  to  them, 
neither  did  tlu'V  know  the 

ciitiment  and  real  char- 
acter of  the  Norwegian 
|)eoj)le.     Yngvar  Nielsen 

ays  :  "  At  this  important 
moment  few  men  in 
Sweden  had  any  knowl- 
rdge  of  the  Norwegian 
l>eople;  and  only  few  un- 
derstood what  steps  they 
might  be  inclined  to  take. 
.  .  .  Only  a  small  minor- 
ity remembered  what  had 
led  to  the  election  of 
Charles  August,  and  little 
gratitude  was  expressed  to 
the  peojjle  which  in  1S09 
had  helped  to  save  Sweden.  On  this  jxiiiit  the  majority  was  blind,  a 
fact  which  produced  its  result,  and  in  its  bliiulness  the  govenunent  sur- 
passed the  rest."  Count  von  Essen  was  ajipointed  governor-general 
of  Norway.  George  Adlersj)arre,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolution 
in  1809,  was  offered  the  i)osition  of  governor-general  in  the  two  north- 
ern provinces,  but  he  declined,  as  he  did  not  favor  the  plan  of  attempt- 
ing to  rule  Norway  by  Swedish  governors.  Against  this  unwise  policy 
he  repeatedly  wariunl  the  government,  but  his  advice  was  not  heedeti. 
Count  von  Rosen,  who  had  been  appointwi  governor  of  Trondelagen, 
was  forthwitli  (li>patched  to  Christiania  by  Governor  General  von 
Essen  to  negotiate  with   Trince  Chri.stian   Frederick   regartling  tlie 


Fui.    11.  — Charlea  Xiil 


422  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

transfer  of  Norway  to  the  Swedish  authorities,  but  he  was  told 
by  the  prince  that  his  mission  was  useless,  as  the  Norwegians  had 
declared  their  independence,  and  were  resolved  to  maintain  it. 

On  Sunday,  February  25th,  a  special  service  was  conducted  in 
the  church  of  Our  Savior  in  Christiania,  and  the  congregation  took 
an  oath  to  maintain  the  independence  of  the  country.^  Similar 
services  were  conducted  in  all  parishes  throughout  the  kingdom  accord- 
ing to  the  open  letter  which  the  prince  had  addressed  to  the  Norwe- 
gian people.  The  taking  of  the  oath,  and  the  solemn  invocation  of 
God's  blessing,  brought  the  question  of  national  independence  close 
to  the  people's  hearts,  and  inspired  them  with  a  most  earnest  devo- 
tion to  the  national  cause. 

Hitherto  Prince  Christian  Frederick  had  sought  the  advice  of 
influential  private  citizens,  but  before  entering  upon  his  duties  as 
regent  he  created  a  royal  council  or  cabinet,^  the  members  of  which 
should  act  as  his  official  advisers,  and  assist  him  in  his  administrative 
duties.  General  Gottschalk  Haxthausen  was  made  minister  of  fi- 
nance, Jonas  Collett  minister  of  the  interior,  M.  O.  L.  Sommerhjelm 
minister  of  justice,  Niels  Aal  minister  of  commerce,  and  Carsten  Anker 
minister  of  manufacturing  and  mining.  A  department  of  foreign 
affairs  was  to  be  created  later,  and  education  was  to  be  placed  in 
charge  of  a  committee  consisting  of  Professor  Sverdrup,  Professor 
Treschow,  and  Bishop  Bech.  Carsten  Anker  did  not  take  charge  of 
the  department  to  which  he  had  been  appointed.  He  was  sent  in- 
stead as  special  envoy  to  England,^  as  Prince  Christian  Frederick 
hoped  that  England  might  be  moved  to  look  with  favor  upon  the  Nor- 
wegian people's  struggle  for  independence,  and  that  the  English  gov- 
ernment might  possibly  undertake  to  mediate  between  Norway  and 
Sweden.  Anker  was  well  acquainted  in  England,  where  he  had  many 
connections  both  with  business  houses  and  statesmen,  but  his  mission 
proved  unsuccessful.  The  English  prime  minister,  Lord  Liverpool, 
told  him  that  if  the  Norwegians  persisted  in  keeping  the  Danish 
prince,  and  continued  their  struggle  for  independence,  England  would 
be  obliged  to  help  Sweden.     Though  Anker  was  disheartened,  he 

•  Kong  Christian  VIII.,  Dagbog  fra  Regenttiden  i  Norge,  p.  49. 

*  F.  Bsetzmann,  Del  norske  Slatsraad  I8I4-I884. 

'  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Aklslykker  vedkommende  Stormagternes  Mission,  Skrifter 
udgivne  aj  Videnskabs-Selskabd  i  Christiania,  1897,  p.  15  ff. 


II       MEETINO    OP   THE    ("ONSTITrENT    A8SKMBLY    AT    EID8VOLD  423 

(lid  not  leave  England  immediately,  and  he  was  soon  j)revented  from 
lejjarting,  as  he  was  placed  under  arrest  for  an  old  debt  whieh  the 
Danish  Asiatic  Company  owed  some  English  merchants.  He  was 
soon  released,  but  had  to  remain  in  I^ondon  for  a  time.  ITiis  gave 
him  time  to  renew  his  dijjlomatie  activity,  but  nothing  could  be 
.iccomplished,  as  the  English  government  remained  obdurate,  and 
refused  to  negotiate  with  him. 

")3.   The  Meeting  of  the  roNSTmnKNT  Assembly  at  Eid.svold. 
TiiK  Framing  of  the  Norwegian  Constitution 

The  delegates  to  the  Constituent  As.sembly  were  summoned  to 
meet  at  Eidsvold.  Carsten  Anker's  beautiful  country-  seat,  April  10, 
lSl-4.  The  roads  in  Norway  at  that  time  were  still  in  poor  condition, 
and  a  spring  thaw  had  made  them  almost  impassable,  still  tlie  dele- 
gates succeeded  in  reaching  their  destination  in  time.  I'rince  Chris- 
tian Frederick  also  arrived  from  Christiania  to  br  present  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  assembly.  "He  came  accompanied  by  his  cabinet,"  says 
Jacob  Aal,'  "  and  a  few  light  infantry,  mounted  and  on  foot,  paraded 
before  him.  His  whole  conduct  during  his  stay  in  Norway  prior 
to  his  election  as  king  was  exceedingly  i)lain.  He  kept  but  few 
liorses  and  no  exj)ensive  i^iuipages.  At  his  tabic  tliere  was  no  luxury, 
and  he  was  not  extravagant  in  regard  to  expenditure.  He  conducttHi 
liimself  as  a  private  citizen,  and  acquainted  himself  with  the  simple 
Norwegian  customs.  Though  he  did  not  shun  pleasure,  he  did  not 
seek  it  in  the  expensive  forms  prevalent  at  tlie  courts,  and  he  di.s- 
played  no  princely  pomp.  One  cannot  compare  the  jjrince-regent, 
iir  even  the  king  of  Norway,  with  those  kings  who  seem  ti)  .s«'ek  pn>- 
tection  for  their  royal  privileges  in  tlie  si)lendor  of  their  thn)ne.  His 
democratic  manners  were  in  k(vping  with  tlie  customs  of  tlie  country, 
whose  throne  he  hoped  to  ascend." 

After  attending  religious  services  in  the  old  Eid.s\(»itl  church,  the 
delegates   assembletl    in   Carsten    Anker's   spaciiMis   mansion.     The 

'Jacob  Aal.  Erindringcr,  p.  380.  V.  (\  W.  SihlM-rn.  Ihighog  pan  Ridsrold 
1814,  HistorUk  Tiilsskrift.  forste  ra>kk»<.  vol.  I.,  p.  2f).S  ff.  W.  V.  K.  C'hri.stio, 
Dagbog  ittider  Rigs/nntntnlirigen  paa  Eidsvnlii  frn  lOde  April  til  lite  Mai 
tSH:  Nnrske  Samlinger,  vol.  II.,  p.  663  flf.  H.  J.  N»«i,  Den  norske  Onmd- 
lovs  Husloric  forlall  for  t'olkei. 


424  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

first  day  was  devoted  to  the  examination  of  the  credentials  of  the 
delegates,  and  in  the  evening  they  all  assembled  for  a  festive  supper. 
"Here  could  be  seen  representatives  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
of  all  classes  and  dialects,"  writes  Nicolai  Wergeland,  one  of  the 
delegates,  "courtiers,  b0nder,  amtmsend,  lensmsend,  ministers,  dea- 
cons, colonels,  corporals,  learned  and  unlearned,  of  high  and  low 
estate,  officials,  merchants,  and  landed  proprietors.  All  had  as- 
sembled for  the  sacred  purpose  of  laying  the  foundation  for  the  regen- 
eration of  their  country.  Though  they  were  not  equal  in  knowledge, 
they  were  all  equally  upright  in  purpose,  and  equally  worthy  of 
respect."  "  It  was  a  picture  of  Norway,"  says  Yngvar  Nielsen,  "as 
it  was  and  as  it  was  to  be."  ^ 

The  "men  of  Eidsvold,"  as  the  members  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly  have  been  called,  numbered  one  hundred  and  twelve, 
though  no  delegates  arrived  from  the  two  northern  districts,  Nordland 
and  Finmarken.  Among  them  were  found  the  most  able  leaders 
in  the  kingdom,  men  like  Christian  Magnus  Falsen,  W.  F.  K.  Christie, 
Wedel-Jarlsberg,  George  Sverdrup,  Nicolai  Wergeland,  Jacob  Aal, 
Peter  ^Motzfeldt,  Severin  L0venskiold,  Peter  Anker,  and  others. 
A  serious  divergence  of  opinion  on  very  fundamental  questions  soon 
manifested  itself.  The  question  whether  the  prince  had  been  ele- 
vated to  the  regency  because  of  an  inlierited  right  to  the  throne,  by 
virtue  of  which  he  possessed  sovereign  power,  or  whether  sovereignty 
was  now  exercised  by  the  Assembly  as  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  threatened  to  cause  a  serious  clash.  The  question  had  been 
raised  by  Nicolai  Wergeland  in  connection  with  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
be  addressed  to  the  prince.^  He  desired  to  have  a  motion  passed 
by  which  it  would  be  made  evident  that  the  Assembly  exercised 
sovereign  power,  but  even  those  who  agreed  with  him  in  principle 
would  not  make  this  question  an  issue  at  that  moment,  and  Werge- 
land's  motion  was  lost. 

After  the  Assembly  had  disposed  of  this  matter,  a  committee  of 
fifteen  was  elected  to  draft  a  constitution  which  should  form  the  basis 

»  Norge  i  1814,  p.  114. 

*  Nicolai  Wergeland,  En  politisk  Tale  til  det  norske  Folk,  med  Bilag  af 
dem  Forfatteren  fremsagde  i  Rigsforsamlingen  paa  Eidsvold,  Christiania,  1814, 
p.  56  ff.  Henrik  Wergeland,  Norges  Konstitutions  Historic,  Samlede  Skrifter, 
vol.  IX.,  p.  155. 


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II  THE    FR.\MING    OF  THE    NORWEGIAN    CONSTITUTION  425 

for  the  deliberations  of  the  Assembly.'  /Vmoii^  the  niemlKTs  of 
this  committee  were:  Falsen,  Svenlrup,  Aal,  Wedel-JurLslxTg, 
Wergehmd,  and  Diriks.  Kleven  fundamental  principles  were  soon 
aj^reed  ui)on  and  siil)mitted  to  the  Assembly,  ten  of  which  were 
adoj)t«'<l  in  the  following  form  : 

1.  Nonvay  is  tn  be  a  limited  hereditan*  monarchy:  it  shall  be 
a  free,  independent,  and  iii(ii\i>ible  kingdom,  and  the  regent  shall 
have  the  title  of  king. 

2.  The  people  .shall  exercise  the  lawmaking  power  through  their 
rep^esentati^•es. 

3.  The  peoj)le  shall  have  the  right  to  tax  themselves  thmugh 
their  representati\es. 

4.  The  right  to  declare  war  and  conclude  peace  shall  be  vested 
in  the  regent. 

5.  The  regent  shall  possess  the  power  of  pardon. 

6.  The  judicial  (lei)artment  shall  be  separate  from  the  legislative 
and  executive  departments. 

7.  Freedom  of  the  press  shall  be  established. 

8.  The  Evangelical-Lutheran  Church  shall  be  the  state  church 
of  Xonvay,  but  all  religious  sects  shall  have  the  right  to  worsliip 
according  to  their  own  faith.  Jews  shall  be  excluded  from  the 
kingdom. 

y.  The  freedom  <»f  industry  .sliall  not  be  limited  by  further  re- 
strictions. 

10.  No  personal,  mixed,  or  hereditary  privileges  shall  hereafter 
be  granted. 

The  eleventh  point,  proposing  uniform  compulsory-  militan.*  ser- 
vice, was  not  adopted. - 

After  the  main  features  of  the  constitution  had  thus  been  out- 
linetl,  the  labor  of  drafting  the  in.strument  itself  was  earrie<i  fonvard 
with  great  vigor.  The  committee  basitl  its  work  on  the  consti- 
tution which  had  been  framed  by  Falsen  and  Aiiler  prior  to  tlie  meet- 
ing of  tlie  notables  at  Eid.svold.     But   this  document,  which   was 

'  Qustav  Peter  Bloni,  Ddyhoy  under  liiyKfor.sdrnlittgcn  pan  EiiUvold,  Ui«- 
torisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie  nckko,  vol.  I.,  p.  Ki  IT.  X.  J.  (irpgorscn.  S'orgea 
Historic  i  1814,  p.  00  fT. 

*J.  11.  Darre,  Dnybog  under  Rigaforsamlingcn  i  18H,  Histvrisk  Tidstkrijt^ 
f0rste  rsekke,  vol.  IV.,  p.  390  ft. 


426  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

patterned  on  the  French  constitution  framed  at  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution, was  a  work  of  no  great  merit/  and  its  whole  tenor  was  changed. 
The  committee  sought  to  eliminate  all  revolutionary  spirit  and  to 
avoid  the  pitfalls  of  obscure  language  and  doctrinaire  liberal  ideas 
of  revolutionary  theorists,  which  might  create  endless  discussion 
and  insuperable  difficulties.  The  Eidsvold  constitution  is  clear 
and  concise,  features  which  are  nowhere  more  desirable  than  in  a 
document  of  that  kind.  It  is,  also,  more  conservative  than  the 
original  draft  submitted  by  Falsen  and  Adler,  even  to  such  an  extent 
that  some  features  which  seem  essential  to  true  democracy,  as  for 
example  that  of  trial  by  jury,  and  unrestricted  suffrage  of  adults, 
were  not  included  in  it.  But  minor  defects  of  this  kind,  which  usually 
adhere  to  all  such  documents  in  their  original  form,  w^ere  easily  reme- 
died by  amendments  and  later  legislation.  On  the  whole,  the  consti- 
tution framed  by  the  "men  of  Eidsvold"  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able instruments  of  the  kind  ever  written,  whether  we  consider  the 
sound  democratic  principles  which  it  embodies,  or  the  clearness  and 
calm  dignity  with  which  they  are  expressed.  The  authors  were 
members  of  the  official  upper  classes,  who  possessed  ;^both  the  learn- 

1  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiske  Historic  1815-1885,  p.  87.  Ludvig  Kr. 
Daa,  K.  Magnus  Falsen,  Et  Bidrag  til  Norges  Konslitutions  Historie,  p.  23. 
Yngvar  Nielsen,  Christian  Magnus  Falsen,  Nordmmnd  i  del  19de  Aarhundrede. 
Henrik  Wergeland,  Norges  Konslitutions  Historie,  Samlede  Skrifter,  vol. 
IX.,  p.  203. 

A  part  of  this  constitution  is  found  in  Jacob  Aal's  Erindringer,  Bilag  73, 
p.  757.     The  principles  of  popular  sovereignty  are  stated  very  clearly : 

7.  The  sovereignty  is  lodged  in  the  people.  No  part  of  the  people  can 
exercise  the  power  of  the  whole  people. 

8.  All  power  has  its  origin  in  the  people. 

14.  The  people  cannot  be  bound  by  laws  except  those  which  they  them- 
selves create  through  their  chosen  representatives. 

15.  The  laws  are  a  free  and  solemn  exercise  of  the  will  of  the  people. 

As  a  statement  of  general  principles  these  paragraphs  are  very  lucid, 
but  they  are  too  abstract  to  become  part  of  a  constitution.  Several  other 
delegates  prepared  outlines  of  constitutions,  among  others  Nicolai  Werge- 
land. See  Historiske  Samlinger  udgivne  af  den  hisloriske  Kildeskriftkom- 
mission,  vol.  III.,  Nicolai  Wergelands  Grundlovsudkast  udgivet  af  G.  Tank. 
This  draft  was  long  considered  lost.  See  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Bidrag  til  Norges 
Historic  i  1814,  vol.  I.,  p.  241.  Erik  Vullum,  Kristian  Magnus  Falsen, 
Grundlovens  Fader,  p.  11.  J.  E.  Sars,  Historisk  Indledning  til  Grundloven. 
T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Norges  nuvmrende  Stals/orfatning,  vol.  I.,  p.  13  ff.  Erik 
Vullum,  Hvorledes  Norge  blev  frit,  p.  253  ff. 


I':.ATK    X 


IIkkm AN    W  i.i)i;i,-.)  \ui.>iti:K( 


W.    I'     K     (   liiti-^riK 


CiKOKi.    SVKKDUI  r 


Christian   M.m.nc.h  Kai^kn. 


Il  THE    FIl.^IIN'O    OF    THE    NORWEGIAN    CONOTITLTIO.N  427 

ing  and  the  influence  necessary  to  insert  whatever  provihioiiH  they 
mi^ht  desire.  They  were  in  the  majority  in  the  Ashenibly,  and  en- 
joyed the  full  confidence  of  the  people.  They  i)ossejisetl  the  power, 
and  hud  the  opportunity  to  perpetuate  tliat  power  by  ct)nstitutional 
provisions,  wiiich  would  h;ive  aroused  no  resentment.  But  they  under- 
stood that  hberty  was  the  Norwegian  pet)ple's  ancient  lieritage,  a 
fruit  of  their  own  unreniittiufj  strujjj^le  tiin)Ugh  the  ages,  and  they 
knew,  even  as  Statholder  Gyiileniove  iiad  perceived  over  a  c-eiitury 
earlier,  that  a  free  kingdom  of  Norway  could  only  be  maintained  by 
the  b^)ider,  who  represented  the  strength  of  the  nation,  and  who  had 
preserved  the  freedom  of  the  people  thn^ugh  the  centuries  of  the 
union  with  Dennuirk.  'IVue  to  these  princij)les,  which  had  l)een 
reenforced  by  the  republican  ideals  of  a  govermnent  by  the  i>eopIe 
and  for  the  people,  they  chose  with  unselfish  patriotism  to  make  a 
constitution  for  the  kingdom  so  truly  democratic  in  spirit  that  it 
lodged  all  power  in  the  hands  of  the  common  people,  and  deprived 
both  king  and  upper  classes  of  the  power  of  exercising  political 
leadership.  So  clear  are  its  provisions  on  tliis  j)oint,  that  although 
it  has  had  to  undergo  the  severest  test  of  analytical  controversial 
interi)retation  for  well-nigh  a  hundred  years,  the  closest  scrutiny 
has  only  revealed  how  thoroughly  it  has  insured  to  the  people  full 
liberty,  sovereign  power,  and  democratic  popular  government. 

With  regard  to  tiie  question  of  establishing  a  constitutioiuil  gov- 
ernment, and  of  insuring  the  autonomy  of  tlie  kingdom,  full  unanimity 
of  opinion  prevailed  among  the  delegates.  But  on  the  vital  ques- 
tion of  absolute  independence  they  were  divided  into  two  parties. 
A  large  group,  to  which  belonged  such  influential  leaders  as  Wedel- 
Jarlsberg,  Nicolai  Wergeland,  Peter  Anker,  Jacob  Aal,  Severin  Uiven- 
skiold.  and  Gustav  Peter  Blom.  prefern-d  union  with  Swetien,  as 
they  feared  that  Norway,  with  ita  limited  resources,  would  not  be 
able  to  support  a  government,  or  to  maintain  an  army  and  navy. 
The  course  pursued  by  those  who  desired  ct»mplete  independenc-e 
would,  in  their  opinion,  ruin  the  already  disorganiziMJ  finances  of 
the  country,  and  would  tlirow  away  the  miliuiry  and  ctinunercial 
advantages  which  could  be  gained  through  a  union  with  Sweden. 
Their  opposition  to  tlie  will  of  the  great  powers  might  even  jet)p- 
ardize  the  opj)ortunity  of  securing  a  constitution,  aud  if  they  sue- 


428  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

ceeded  in  placing  Christian  Frederick  on  the  throne,  they  would  only 
bring  about  a  new  union  with  Denmark,  as  the  prince  was  heir  to 
the  Danish  throne.  But  the  independence  party  stood  firm  and 
self-confident,  as  it  was  supported  by  public  sentiment,  and  embraced 
the  majority  of  the  delegates.  Its  leader  was  the  ardent  liberalist 
Christian  Magnus  Falsen,^  a  disciple  of  Noailles  and  Mirabeau, 
chairman  of  the  constitutional  committee,  and  the  most  influential 
man  in  the  Assembly.  He  has  even  been  styled  "  the  father  of  the 
constitution,"  an  epithet  arising  from  the  fact  that  he  had  submitted 
the  Falsen-Adler  draft.  He  was  Prince  Christian  Frederick's  special 
friend  and  supporter,  and  had  bent  his  energy  on  securing  full  inde- 
pendence for  Norway  in  the  hope  that  the  prince  would  be  placed 
on  the  throne,  an  effort  in  which  he  was  ably  assisted  by  other  leaders 
within  his  party.^ 

As  no  difference  of  opinion  existed  regarding  the  question  of  con- 
stitutional government  and  national  autonomy,  no  difficulty  was 
experienced  in  adopting  the  constitution.  On  May  16th  it  was 
read  in  its  final  form  and  accepted  by  the  Assembly,  after  all  its  pro- 
visions had  been  carefully  considered  in  detail. 

Tlie  British  politician  and  writer  Samuel  Laing  says  of  the  Nor- 
wegian constitution :  "  There  is  not  probably  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind another  instance  of  a  free  constitution,  not  erected  amidst 
ruins  and  revolutions,  not  cemented  with  blood,  but  taken  from  the 
closet  of  the  philosopher,  and  quietly  reared  and  set  to  work,  and 
found  to  be  suitable  without  alteration  to  all  ends  of  good  govern- 
ment. The  reason  of  this  apparent  singularity  is,  that  all  the  essen- 
tial parts  of  liberty  were  already  in  the  country.  The  property  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  whole  people.  The  ancient  laws  and  institutions 
affecting  property  were  in  full  operation,  and  were  conceived  and 
administered  in  the  verv'  spirit  of  liberty.  As  far  as  regards  property, 
these  laws  and  institutions  left  nothing  for  the  most  liberally  consti- 

'  Ludvig  Kr.  Daa,  Bemerkninger  om  Begivenhederne  i  Norge  i  Aaret  1814, 
Forhandlinger  i  Videnskabs-Selskabet  i  Christiania  1858,  p.  190  ff.  Yngvar 
Nielsen,  Christian  Magnus  Falsen,  Nordmcend  i  del  19de  Aarhundrede.  Erik 
Vullum,  Kristian  Magnus  Falsen,  Grundlovens  Fader. 

'  Gustav  Peter  Blom,  Norges  Statsforandring  i  1814,  p.  121  ff.  A.  Faye, 
Norge  i  1814,  p.  59  ff.  J.  E.  Sars,  Historisk  Indledning^  til  Grundloven, 
p.  159  ff.     Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  354  flf. 


I 


II  Till      IK\MI\<i    OF    TIIK    NOKWKi.IAN    CONSTITUTION  429 

tutt'il  jiss('iiil)ly  to  legislate  iiixm.  As  far  as  regards  personal  rights, 
the  mild  and  cMli^litcncd  adiiiini.^tration  of  Dciiinark,  although 
under  an  arl)itrary  form,  had  left  few  general  grievances  to  be  re- 
dressed. Tliere  was  nothing  in  the  condition  of  the  peoi)l«',  the 
state  of  jjroperty,  tlic  civil  or  religious  establishments  which  did  not 
fit  in  with  a  free  constitution,  in  which  legislative  power  was  vestetl 
in  the  people,  niese  had  all  emanated  from  the  people  in  ancient 
times;  and,  there  being  no  hereditary  privileges,  and  power,  or 
property  vested  in  any  class  of  the  connnunity,  had  been  hande<l 
down  uiibnikcu  through  ages.  The  new  constitution  was  but  a 
superstructure  of  a  building  of  which  the  foundations  ha<l  been  laid 
and  the  lower  walls  constructed,  eiglit  centuries  before,  by  the  an- 
cestors of  the  present  generation."  ' 

The  main  features  of  the  government  established  by  the  Eidsvold 
constitution  and  later  amendments  are,  briefly,  as  follows:  The 
Storthing  (the  National  Legislative  Assembly)  consists  of  123  repre- 
sentatives elected  by  the  people  for  the  period  of  three  years.  The 
kingdom  is  divided  into  elective  districts,  but  if  more  than  one  repre- 
sentative is  chosen  from  a  district,  it  is  divided  into  as  many  sub- 
districts  as  then-  arc  representatives.  All  citizens,  men  and  women, 
who  are  twenty-five  years  of  age  have  the  right  to  vote.-  A  repre- 
sentative to  the  Storthing  must  be  thirty  years  of  age.  He  must 
have  resided  in  the  kingdom  ten  years,  and  must  have  the  right  to 
vote  in  the  district  where  he  is  elected.  One  who  has  been  member 
of  a  ministry  may  also  be  elected  to  represent  a  district  in  which  he 
has  no  right  to  vote.  The  Storthing  assembles  on  the  fir>t  weeknlay 
after  the  Idth  of  .lanuary  each  year,  and  remains  in  session  .so  long  as 
it  finds  it  necessary.  I'nder  extraordinary-  circum.stances  it  may  be 
summoned  into  extra  session  by  the  king  at  any  time.  Though  all 
members  are  chosen  in  the  same  way  and  at  the  same  time,  they 
organize  themselves  into  two  branches  according  to  article  seventy- 

'  Samuol  Lainj,',  Joumnl  of  a  Residence  in  S'orway  during  the  Yearx  IS34, 
18S5,  and  IS.iH  (London,  IS.VI),  p.  MH. 

*  In  1901  all  wonu'ti  who  paid  taxes  to  the  amount  of  -HX)  kroner  in  the 
cities  and  3(X)  kroner  in  the  country  received  the  right  to  vote  in  local  elec- 
tions. In  1007  they  ro<'oivod  \\w  richt  to  vote  al.so  in  general  election.'*,  but 
with  considorahlo  restriction."*.  In  lOK?  the.so  restrictions  wen'  removed,  and 
women  received  the  right  of  suffrage  on  the  same  conditions  as  men. 


430  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  JI 

three  of  the  constitution.  "The  Storthing  selects  from  its  members 
one-fourth  to  form  the  Lagthing  ;  the  remaining  three-fourths  consti- 
tute the  Odelsthing."  This  organization  remains  for  the  three  years' 
term  for  which  the  members  are  elected.  Each  branch  chooses  its 
own  president  and  secretary.  Two-thirds  of  the  members  of  each 
constitute  a  quorum.  All  bills  must  be  introduced  in  the  Odelsthing, 
either  by  a  representative  or  by  the  ministry.  If  it  receives  a  ma- 
jority vote  it  is  sent  to  the  Lagthing,  and  if  it  is  passed  also  in  this 
branch  of  the  Storthing,  it  is  sent  to  the  ministry  to  be  signed  or  vetoed 
by  the  king.  If  the  Lagthing  does  not  pass  the  bill,  it  is  returned  to 
the  Odelsthing,  which  may  again  return  it  to  the  Lagthing  with 
or  without  amendments.  If  the  two  houses  fail  to  agree,  they  meet 
in  joint  session  to  discuss  the  measure,  which  may  then  be  passed 
if  it  receives  two-thirds  of  the  votes.  A  measure  vetoed  by  the  king 
becomes  a  law  if  it  is  passed  in  the  same  form  by  three  separately 
elected  Storthings. 

The  king  chooses  his  own  ministers,  who  are  responsible  to  the 
Storthing,  and  whose  advice  he  must  hear  in  all  important  ques- 
tions. The  ministry  consists  of  the  minister  of  state,  and  not  less 
than  seven  other  ministers,  all  of  whom  are  heads  of  administrative 
departments.  The  ministers  may  take  part  in  the  deliberations  of 
both  branches  of  the  Storthing,  but  they  have  not  the  right  to  vote. 
The  parliamentary  form  of  government  prevails,  according  to  which 
the  ministry  must  have  the  confidence  and  support  of  a  majority 
in  the  Storthing,  Throughout  the  period  of  union  with  Sweden, 
1814-1905,  the  ministry-  consisted  of  two  parts.  The  minister  of 
state  and  two  other  ministers  should  always  stay  in  Stockhohn,  the 
rest  of  the  ministry  should  remain  in  Christiania.  The  king  might 
appoint  his  eldest  son  viceroy  of  Norway,  or  he  might  appoint  a 
fitatholder,  who  might  be  either  a  Swede  or  a  Norw^egian. 

The  Judiciary.  —  Commissions  of  arbitration  (Jorligelseskommis- 
sioncr)  are  found  in  all  herrcds  and  cities,  and  in  all  villages  of  more 
than  twenty  families.  Before  a  suit  is  brought  into  court,  an  attempt 
must  be  made  by  the  parties  to  the  quarrel  to  arrive  at  a  settlement 
by  appearing  before  this  commission.  The  object  of  this  very  useful 
institution  is  to  avoid  expensive  and  useless  litigation. 

A  lower  court,  corresponding  in  a  general  way  to  our  justice  court. 


II  THE    FRAMING    OF   THE    XOHWEMAN    CONSTITUTION  431 

is  the  meddonuirpt.  'V\\v  jiulj^c  of  tlii.s  0(»urt  selects  by  lot  two  men 
to  assist  him  in  nndrriiiji;  the  decision.  Most  cases  may  be  appealed 
from  this  court  to  the  higtiuituLsrrt,  or  jurv'  court.  Further  apy)cal 
may  be  made  to  the  superior  courts  and  the  High  Court  of  Justice, 
h^iesUret. 

After  the  constitution  had  been  adopted,  the  Eidsvold  Assembly 
miglit  have  secured  peace  witii  Etij^land  aiul  the  a]lie(l  ])owcrs.  by 
pursuing  the  more  conservative  policy  advocated  In-  the  union  party. 
They  could  have  offered  the  Non\'egian  crown  to  Charles  John  on 
the  condition  that  he  should  accept  the  Eidsvold  constitution,  a 
demand  wliich  would  have  ])een  supported  ])y  the  English  govern- 
ment. England's  treaty  obligations  would  thereby  have  been  ful- 
filled, and  as  the  popular  sentiment  in  Great  Britain  was  strongly 
in  favor  of  the  Norwegians,  a  union  with  Sweden  could  have  been 
formed  on  tenns  most  favorable  to  Norway.  But  the  independence 
party,  led  by  the  ardent  Falsen,  who  was  strongly  attached  to  Prince 
Christian  Frederick,  would  countenance  no  compromise,  or  remain 
satisfied  with  anything  short  of  absolute  independence.  Tliis  was, 
indeed,  a  high  and  worthy  aim,  in  perfect  accord  with  the  liberal 
and  national  tendencies  of  the  age,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  it  was  the 
wisest  policy  to  hazard  everything,  even  the  constitution  itself,  for 
the  sake  of  obtaining  a  form  of  independence  which  cool  judgment 
c<juld  scarcely  regard  as  within  the  realm  of  pt)ssibility.  Such  a 
course  would  inevitably  lead  to  war  with  Sweden,  and  the  English 
government  had  already  declared  to  Carsten  Anker  that  under  those 
circumstances  England  would  support  Charles  John.^ 

But  however  wi.sely  prudence  may  reason,  it  is  not  always  on  the 
side  of  absolute  justice.  The  undaunted  spirit  of  fretMloni  which 
looks  to  tlie  ideal,  and  refuses  to  be  fettered  b>'  coinj)r()niises,  may 
justly  claim  our  sympathy,  and  the  world  will  forever  pay  homage 
to  those  who  in  tlie  darkest  hours  of  a  nation's  existence  ask  only 
the  one  question,  what  is  right,  and  sacrifice  all  to  maintain  it.  Of 
such  a  spirit  of  courage  and  devotion  liberty  and  progress  are  ulti- 
mately born,  and  no  statesman  can  analyze  its  sulitle  and  far-reaching 
itifltlence.  The  Norwegian  people  felt  once  more  their  old  strength ; 
they  had  experienced  the  first  raptures  of  independence,  and  a  new 

'  N.  J.  Qregcrsen,  Norges  Historie  i  1S14,  P-  121  ff. 


432  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

ivge  had  whispered  hopes  of  new  national  greatness.  Hesitation 
could  no  longer  halt  their  steps,  or  reconcile  them  to  a  national  in- 
dependence only  half  accomplished.  All  would  be  sacrificed  that 
all  might  be  gained ;  a  solemn  resolve  which  sheds  its  own  enduring 
luster  on  the  memories  of  Eidsvold.  The  constitution  was  dated 
May  17,  1814,  and  on  the  same  date  the  Assembly  elected  Chris- 
tian Frederick  king  of  Norway.  The  work  was  finished,  and  the 
president,  George  Sverdrup,  announced  in  solemn  voice :  "  Reared 
within  the  confines  of  Norway  is  the  old  Norwegian  throne  on  which 
Haakon  Adelstein  and  Sverre  were  seated,  and  from  which  they  ruled 
the  kingdom  with  wisdom  and  power.  .  .  .  God  save  Norway  1 " 
And  the  Assembly  repeated  the  refrain. 

With  the  choice  of  independence  followed  also  the  problem  of 
defending  it,  and  this  became  the  more  difficult  because  the  supply 
of  money  as  well  as  of  provisions  and  war  material  was  very  limited. 
Prince  Christian  Frederick  had  already  issued  unsecured  paper 
money  to  the  amount  of  three  million  riksbankdaler,  but  this  could 
only  serve  as  a  temporary  makeshift.  Early  in  the  session  the  Assem- 
bly had  appointed  a  committee  to  examine  the  financial  conditions 
of  the  kingdom,  and  this  committee  submitted  a  report  which  after 
much  spirited  discussion  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  "Eidsvold  guar- 
antee," a  measure  which  provided  that  the  Assembly  should  guar- 
antee the  existing  public  debt,  provided  that  the  new  lawmaking 
assembly,  the  Storthing,  should  give  its  sanction.  A  like  guarantee 
was  also  given  for  the  issue  of  paper  money  to  the  amount  of  fourteen 
million  riksdaler,  the  estimated  budget  for  the  coming  year.^  This 
proved  the  willingness  of  the  people  to  shoulder  all  burdens  neces- 
sary to  maintain  their  newborn  independence. 

54.   The  War  of  1814.    The  Cona^ention  of  Moss  and  Union 

WITH  Sweden 

Up  to  the  time  when  he  was  elected  king  of  Norway,  Prince  Chris- 
tian Frederick  had  played  successfully  his  part  as  leader  of  the  inde- 
pendence movement.  He  was  in  s>Tnpathy  with  the  Hberal  ideas 
embodied  in  the  constitution,  and  so  long  as  the  problem  had  been 

'  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  vol.  II.,  p.  207  ff. 


II  THE   WAR    OK    1814  433 

t(j  rouse  the  jjutriotic  seiitiincnt  of  the  NonvoKian  pc(jplc  iii.s  best 
<|ii!ilities,  his  eloquence,  his  youthful  enthusiasm,  and  lofty  senti- 
ments had  shone  with  eharniin^  luster.     But  he  was  wholly  unfit 
to  lead  tile  kingdom  through  the  period  of  storm  and  struggle  which 
now  confronted  it,  and  which  lie  iiiniself  had  been  instrumental  in 
creating,     lie  was,  al)o\c  all,  a  man  of  peace,  who  clung  with  visionary 
optinii.sm  to  the  evanescent  hope  that  some  fortunate  circumstance 
might  save  Norway.     From  the  start  he  placed  all  his  hope  in  diplo- 
matic negotiations,  and  several  envoys  were  sent  to  England  and 
other  countries  in  the  attempt  to  gain  the  favor  of  the  great  powers. 
All  these  ell'orts  were  unsuccessful,  but  he  was  so  devoid  of  love  and 
Udent  for  nulitary  aii'airs  that  he  did  not  even  use  the  time  and  oppor- 
tunity to  put  the  anny  in  condition  for  efficient  ser\'ice,  though  he 
must  have  foreseen  that  if  he  allowed  matters  to  come  to  the  final 
issue  a  clash  with  Sweden  would  be  unavoidable.'     On  May  ISth, 
before  he  had  formally  accej)ted  the  Norwegian  throne,  he  received 
letters  that  envoys  from   Russia  and  Prussia  were  on  their  way  to 
Norsvay  to  declare  on  behalf  of  those  powers  that  they  would  never 
recognize  Nonvay  as  an  independent  kingdom,  and  that  they  would 
helj)  Sweden  to  .subdue  Norway.     Similar  declarations  had  been 
rt'divcd  from  England.     "For  two  hours  I  walked  up  and  down  in 
my  room,"  says  the  prince  in  his  diary.     *"  Is  this  a  warning,  or  is  it 
a  trial  sent  by  heaven  ? '  I  asked  myself.     *  Can  I  hesitiite  ?     It  is, 
after  all,  only  words,  threats.    It  is  quite  natural  that  the  great  powers 
desire  peace.  ...     If  they  see  that  I  and  the  Norwegian  people 
stand  firm,  they  will,  jierchance,  hesitate  to  destroy  a  peaceful  peo])le 
and  again  light  the  torch  of  war  in  the  North.'  "  -     After  having  con- 
soled  himself  with  this  kind  of  reasoning  he  decided  "to  make  a 
i^reat  resolve,"  i.e.,  tt)  accej)t  the  crown;    for,  he  adds,  "what  will 
not  one  do  for  a  people's  welfare  through  faith  in  God  ?  "     And  what 
had   he  done   fop  the  ])eople's  welfare?     He  had,   indetnl,   bn)Ught 
matters  to  a  crisis,  but  in  that  crisis  he  soon  lost  courage.     He  was 
unable  to  make  the  higii  resolve  of  obtaining  a  ])eaceful  settlement 
of  the  difficulty  on  terms  advantageous  to  Norway,  and  then  to 

'Carl  Th.   S0renson,    Kampen  om   Norge,   vol.    11..    p.   21.').     .1.    E.   Sars, 
Uditigl  over  Norges  Historic,  vol.  IV.,  p.  342  f. 

'  Kotig  Christian  V Ill's  Dagbog  fra  RegenttiJeu  i  iWorge,  p.  113  ff. 
VOL.   II  —  2f 


434  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

depart  from  the  kingdom ;  neither  was  he  able  to  act  with  energy  in 
attempting  to  carry  out  his  own  plans.  He  accepted  the  throne 
rather  with  the  hope  that  some  fortuitous  circumstance  might  enable 
him  to  keep  it.^  The  thought  of  fighting  to  the  last  trench  in  defend- 
ing it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  a  part  of  his  resolve.  The  available 
military  forces  in  Norway  at  that  moment  numbered  not  less  than 
20,000  men,  while  Sweden  could  muster  only  about  16,000,  so  long 
as  Charles  John  was  still  on  the  Continent.  A  resolute  leader  would 
scarcely  have  suffered  such  an  opportunity  to  pass  without  attempting 
an  aggressive  movement,  when  it  was  clear  that  war  could  not  be 
averted.  But  this  thought  found  no  favor  with  the  timid  king. 
According  to  the  plan  for  military  operations  outlined  by  the  king 
and  his  staff,  the  war  was  to  be  wholly  defensive.  The  Norwegian 
army  should  be  stationed  on  the  Glommen  River  to  oppose  the  Swedes, 
if  they  should  attempt  an  invasion,  an  event  which  was  rapidly 
approaching. 

After  Napoleon  had  been  deposed,  April  1,  1814,  the  Russian 
Emperor  promised  Charles  John  an  army  of  30,000  men  for  the  pur- 
pose of  subjugating  Norway.  England  promised  ample  subsidies, 
and  agreed  to  blockade  the  Norwegian  coast  with  six  men-of-war, 
and  Austria  and  Prussia  would  send  envoys  to  inform  Christian 
Frederick  that  the  decision  of  the  powers  with  regard  to  the  union 
of  Norway  and  Sweden  was  irrevocable.  Having  received  such  assur- 
ances of  support,  Charles  John  returned  to  Sweden  accompanied 
by  some  troops  collected  in  Germany.  "The  reenforcements  which 
I  bring  you  number  almost  30,000  men,"  he  wrote  to  Count  Hessen, 
"  among  others  the  regiment  of  Royal  Suedois  which  is  organized  in 
Germany,  and  which  to-morrow  lands  at  Carlshamn.  ...  I  will 
have  from  15,000  to  20,000  Russians,  and  about  10,000  or  12,000 
Prussians;  but  I  fear  that  the  want  of  provisions  will  compel  me 
to  reduce  the  number  in  active  service.  I  have  also  asked  Emperor 
Alexander  to  send  a  corps  of  5000  or  6000  men  from  Archangel  to 

'  The  hope  which  Charles  John  seems  to  have  entertained  of  being  placed 
on  the  throne  of  France  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon  was  shared  by  Christian 
Frederick,  who  in  that  event  might  have  been  chosen  crown  prince  of  Sweden. 
The  three  Northern  kingdoms  might  then  again  have  become  united  under 
the  same  king.  See  Kong  Christian  VIITs  Dagbog,  p.  112.  Jacob  Aal, 
Erindringer,  p.  369. 


II  THK    WAH    OF    1H14  4.'{,5 

Trondlijem.  When  Norway  is  iittacked  at  once  at  tliree  or  four  places, 
it  is  reason;ii)lc  to  suppose  that  tht*  fi^jht  will  soon  l)e  over."  He 
immediately  niol)ilizrd  the  available  Swedish  forces,  which  were 
dispatched  to  the  Xorv^cpian  hordrr.  reenforeed  by  the  auxiliary* 
troops  which  he  had  brought. 

King  Christian  Frederick  continued  to  the  ver>'  la.st  to  hope  liiat 
England  iiii^'lit  intervene  in  behalf  (»f  Norway.  Whi-n  he  received 
no  further  dispatelies  from  Carsten  Anker,  he  sent  I'eter  Anker. 
his  brotlier,  to  London ;  later  also  Christie  and  P.  V.  Ilosenkilde. 
But  all  these  efforts  were  of  no  avail.  The  Noruejjian  commissioners 
were  ordered  to  leave  England,  and  I.  I*.  Morirr  was  sent  to  Norway 
to  communicate  tiie  only  terms  which  the  Engli.>h  goveriunent  would 
offer.'  If  Nonvay  would  consent  to  a  union  with  Sweden,  England 
would  use  her  influence  to  .secure  for  the  Nor^veJ;ian  people  a  guarantee 
of  their  ccmstitutional  liberty.  This  offer  was  not  acccptetl,  and  tlie 
English  blockade  of  the  coast  of  Norway  was  begim  on  May  31st, 

In  Enp;land  public  sentiment  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  wjurse 
pursued  by  the  government.  The  note<l  Sir  PhiHp  Eraiicis  wn)te 
to  lyord  Grey  on  May  9th  with  regard  to  Norway,  asking  if  any  one 
could  mention  a  situation  when  the  king  of  England  would  have  the 
right  to  give  Ireland  to  France,  whether  such  a  transfer  would  give 
France  the  right  of  ownership,  and  if  it  would  be  treason  for  the  Iri>h 
to  defend  their  independence.-  Lf)rd  Grenville  calle«l  it  a  cruel  in- 
justice to  attempt  to  coerce  the  honest  and  innocent  Norwegian  peo- 
ple. Tlie  aim  of  the  lilockade,  he  said,  could  only  be  to  produce  a 
famine  in  Norway.  But  if  tliis  was  tlie  first  use  whicJi  England 
would  make  of  her  good  fortune,  she  ought  to  jidopt  the  new  doctrine 
that  profit  is  to  be  preferred  to  moral  right  and  the  establishetl  laws 
of  all  nations.  In  the  House  of  I^)rds,  Grey  championetl  the  cau.sc 
of  Norway  with  great  elofiuence,  l)iit  when  the  (|ue>ti<>n  was  vj)ted 
upon,  the  ministry  was  sustained  witli  a  hundrnl  and  fiftivn  votes 
to  thirt\-f(>ur.^     In  the  House  of  ('omnions.  Sir  Ch.  W>iuir.  James 

'  Clans  Pnvols  Biografi,  ng  Diigh^ncr.  oditod  by  Clans  Pavolfl  Kiis,  p.  107. 
Vnpvar  N'iol.son.  Bidrag  til  Xonjrs  Historic  i  ISl-i,  ^"l-  1I-.  P-  l-'H  (T. 

*  Honrik  WiTgeland,  Xorgcs  Konslitutioi^s  Historic,  HamMe  Skrifttr, 
vol.  IX..  p.  3G2  (T. 

'  Among  the  lord.s  who  voted  in  favor  of  N*orw«>ginn  indopondonoo  wrn» : 
Groy,  Essex,  Sussex,  Grenvillo,  Ro.slyn,  Clifton.  (tloc«^t«r.  Fitf.wilKam, 
Stanhope,  Lauderdale,  and  Norfolk.     A.  Kayo,  \orgc  i  /6'/^,  p.  1--J  B. 


436  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Mackintosh,  and  others  spoke  with  great  effect  in  support  of  the 
Norwegians.  Lambton  declared  that  he  viewed  with  abhorrence 
the  sacrifice  of  a  brave  people  on  the  altar  of  political  agreements. 
Both  in  prose  and  poetry  the  people  of  England  expressed  their 
sympathy  with  the  Norwegian  people  in  their  struggle  for  independ- 
ence, but  the  government  stood  firm,  supported  by  a  majority  in 
both  houses.^ 

The  Danes,  too,  sympathized  with  their  Norwegian  brethren,  and 
many  a  sailor  who  was  able  to  elude  the  blockading  squadron  brought 
his  cargo  of  grain  from  the  Danish  coast.  "When  winter  passed, 
and  the  sea  became  navigable  with  small  vessels,"   says  Henrik 

*  Charlotte  Wardle  wrote  a  poem  in  praise  of  Norwegian  freedom,  and 
on  May  17,  1814,  the  following  poem  appeared  in  The  Star: 

Norwegia  to  Britain 

Lovest  thou  thy  freedom  —  by  her  holy  shrine, 
If  yet  a  drop  of  British  blood  be  thine, 

0  Britain  1  I  conjure  thee  —  spare  the  brave! 
Nor  join  the  crew,  that  would  my  realms  enslave ! 
Blast  not  the  laurel,  which  thy  fathers  wore. 

By  foul  invasion  of  my  Norway's  shore, 
Whose  hardy  sons,  Uke  those  of  Runnymede, 
For  freedom  pant,  and  dare,  Uke  them,  to  bleed  I 

0 1  let  not  history  stain  her  honest  page, 
Bright  with  the  triumphs  of  the  present  age. 
With  the  sad  tale,  that  Britain  drew  her  sword 
To  bend  Norwegians  to  a  foreign  lord. 

That  she,  who  fought,  all  Europe's  realms  to  free. 
Uplifts  her  arm  —  to  murder  liberty ; 
And  aims  her  steel  to  stab  her  in  the  cell. 
Where  still  she  deigns  amid  wild  woods  to  dwell. 
Beneath  the  snow-clad  pines  and  mountain's  shade. 
For  nature's  free-born  sons  by  natiire  made. 

Blush,  Britain,  at  the  deed !     With  conscious  pride. 
Call  back  to  memory  how  thy  Sidney  died ! 
And,  emulous  of  all  the  noble  fires, 
That  warm'd  with  holy  zeal  thy  patriot  sires, 
Stand  forth  the  champion  of  my  sons'  great  cause, 
While  Heaven  and  Earth  unite  in  loud  applause ! 
To  save  —  not  vanquish  —  speed  across  the  waves. 
And  chaunt  with  them :   "We  never  will  be  slaves." 

Henrik  Wergeland,  Samlede  Skrifter,  vol.  IX.,  p.  378. 


n  THK    WAU   OF    1814  437 

WCrj^t'liiiul,  "a  st'crrt  j)utli  stri'tclRHl  from  northern  Jutland,  wluTt* 
iil)en  boats  miKlit  cross  the  stormy  sea.  swarminj;  with  i)rivateeni. 
And  in  the  rear  of  tliese  l)oats,  half  hurietl  in  grain,  many  a  young 
man  with  his  jacket  collar  turned  uj)  and  his  pipe  in  his  nioutli  would 
Mirvey  the  broad  expanse  of  the  sea,  and  with  anxious  heart  he  would 
try  to  penetrate  the  ocean  mists,  lutt  for  fear  of  death  —  for  trim 
sail  I  trim  sail  I  was  the  word  —  but  in  order  to  catch  the  first  glimpse 
of  the  Norsve^'ian  coast." 

On  June  o(lth  the  envoys  of  the  great  powers  arrived  in  T'liris- 
tiania:  Count  von  Steigentesch  from  Austria,  General  OrlolT  from 
Russia,  August  Forster  from  England,  and  Count  Martens  from 
Prussia,  to  demand  of  Christian  IVederick  tiiat  he  should  abide  by 
the  trcat>'  of  Kiel,  as  tlie  great  powers  would  never  recognize  him  as 
king  of  Norway.  They  offered  an  annistice  of  three  months'  dura- 
tion, and  a  ])artial  susj)ension  of  the  blockade  on  condition  that  the 
three  Xonvegian  fortresses  Fredriksten,  Fredrikstiul,  and  Kongsvinger 
should  be  surrendered  to  the  Swedes,  that  the  Norwegian  forces 
should  evacuate  the  district  between  tliese  fortresses  and  the  Glom- 
men  Uiver,  and  that  Christian  Frederick  should  surrender  to  the 
Constituent  Assembly  all  tlie  powers  which  had  been  conferred  upon 
him.  The  king  summoned  his  cabinet  and  a  few  other  leaders 
to  a  meeting  at  his  summer  residence,  lie  told  them  of  tlie  terms 
offered  by  the  envoys,  and  as  he  regarded  them  as  favorable,  he  di*- 
clarcd  his  willingness  to  abdicate,  if  thereby  a  great  calamity  might 
be  averted,  but  he  was  willing  to  die  for  the  cause,  if  the  representa- 
tives of  the  nation  should  choose  war  with  all  Europe  rather  than 
union  with  Sweden,  based  on  a  guarantee  of  tJie  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  Norwegian  people.  The  cabinet  members  as  well  as  tlie  otlier 
leading  men  jiresent  were  all  agreeil  that  the  Nonvegian  fortresses 
could  not  lu'  surrendered  to  v'^weden,  as  this  would  be  a  violation  of 
the  constitution,  and  might  cause  internal  disturbances. 

In  answer  to  the  ultimatum  of  the  powers  the  king  sent  a  ci»urte<ui8 
note  to  the  envoys,  in  which  he  indicated  his  willingness  to  yield 
on  certain  conditions.  He  outlined  some  UKKlitications  of  their 
demands  which  would  be  accejitabU-.  and  als<i  the  main  features  of 
the  union  with  Sweden,  and  the  changes  which  wouM  be  retjuired 
in   the   Norwegian    constitution,    in    case   an    agn-ement   should    l>e 


438  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

reached.^  The  foreign  envoys  then  left  Norway,  accompanied  by  the 
two  Norwegian  commissioners,  Colonel  Peterson  and  Captain  Holstein, 
wlio  were  empowered  to  negotiate  an  armistice.  They  found  Charles 
John  in  Uddcvalla.  The  crown  prince  refused  to  accept  the  terms 
offered,  and  he  was  impatient  with  Orloff,  who  spoke  in  favor  of  the 
Norwegians,^  but  he  prevailed  on  the  envoys  to  return  to  Norway 
and  attempt  once  more  to  arrange  a  peaceful  settlement.  In  a 
second  interview  with  Christian  Frederick  at  Moss,  they  told  him 
that  Charles  John  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  three  fortresses 
before  an  armistice  could  be  arranged.  This  he  could  not  grant, 
and  no  further  negotiations  were  attempted.  In  proclamations  to 
the  Norsvegian  people  and  the  Norwegian  army  King  Christian 
Frederick  announced  that  Charles  John  had  demanded  his  abdication 
and  the  cession  of  the  fortresses,  that  the  negotiations  for  a  peaceful 
settlement  had  failed,  that  Swedish  troops  had  already  entered 
Norwegian  territory,  and  that  valiant  fight  for  freedom  and  father- 
land was  now  their  sole  remaining  hope. 

At  the  same  time  King  Charles  XIII.  issued  a  proclamation  to  the 
Norwegian  people,  exhorting  them  to  pause  and  reflect,  lest  the  inno- 
cent and  guilty  should  alike  be  overwhelmed  by  the  unavoidable 
disasters  of  war.  Their  effort  to  maintain  their  independence,  he 
said,  was  contrary  to  their  own  interests  as  well  as  to  the  true  and 
unchangeable  principles  of  political  science.  He  declared  the  Constit- 
uent Assembly  which  had  been  assembled  at  Eidsvold  by  Christian 
Frederick  to  be  unlawful,  a  violation  of  the  undisputable  rights  of 
Sweden,  of  all  lawful  governments,  and  of  the  rights  of  the  Norwegian 
people  themselves.' 

The  Swedish  fleet  left  Stromstad  July  26th,  and  landed  a  force  at 
Hval0erne  to  take  possession  of  these  islands,  from  which  the  small 
Norwegian  garrison  had  already  been  withdrawn.  The  fleet  then 
proceeded  to  Krager0en,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fortress  of 
Fredrikstad,  where  an  army  of  6000  men  was  landed  without  opposi- 

»  Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  473  ff.  A.  Faye,  Norge  i  18H,  p.  128.  B.  von 
Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  350,  contains  Charles  John's  answer  to  a 
letter  sent  by  Christian  Frederick  on  the  same  occasion. 

»  Schinkel,  Mi7inen,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  190  ff. 

» Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p.  482  ff.  Niels  Aal,  Erindringer  fra  1814. 
Gustaf  Bjorlin,  Kriget  i  Norge  i  1814. 


II  THE    WAU   OF    1K14  489 

tioii.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Iljenimn,  wlio  luM  this  important  plat-e 
witli  a  garri.s«jn  of  1200  men,  rctreatj-ii  in  precipitate  lia-ste  without 
"ilTerinK  resistance.  Tlie  Swedes  placed  batteries  in  ixmilion  on  tlie 
Inland,  and  he^an  llie  boniljanhnent  of  Fredrikstad.  The  fortress 
was  old,  and  eoidd,  i)robably,  not  have  withstood  a  long  siege,  but 
its  disgraceful  surrender  even  before  a  single  man  of  the  garrison  had 
l»een  hurt  gave  the  Swedes  a  great  advantage  at  the  very  beginning 
i)f  the  campaign,  and  served  to  disi)irit  the  Norwegian  army.  "Tiie 
remarkable  thing  about  this  capitulation,"  says  B.  von  Scliinkcl, 
"is  tluit  riiristian  Frederick  himself  advisal  the  cr)mman(lant  to 
surrender  the  fortress  by  a  dis|)atch  written  the  same  date  (August 
;d)  by  his  adjutant,  Colonel  Hrock ;  that  IJrock  himself  brought  the 
dispatch,  though  the  fortress  had  capitulated  even  before  his  arrival." 
it  was  a  ])icce  of  military  cowardice  only  equaled  by  later  acts  of 
tlie  faint-hearted  king. 

A  Swedish  detaclmient  of  2500  men  under  General  Gahn  was  sent 
again.st  the  Xorvsegian  border  at  Sol0r  with  instructioiLs  to  march 
It)  Kongsvinger,  and  attack  tlie  NorAvegian  army  in  the  rear.  On  his 
march  he  encountered  a  Norwegian  force  of  about  the  same  size 
under  Licutcnant-Cdioiiel  Krebs,  who  retreated  slowly  to  a  fortified 
position  at  Lier.  (lahn  attacked  the  Norwegians  (tn  August  '2d, 
but  was  repulsed  with  considerable  lo.ss.  He  tlien  retreated  to  Ma- 
trand,  where  he  pitched  his  camj>,  but  Krebs  resolved  to  surprise 
him.  In  the  night  a  force  of  800  men  approached  Matrand  from  the 
front,  while  a  force  of  1000  men  were  nniking  a  detx)ur  through  the 
mountains  to  fall  upon  the  rear  of  tJie  Swedish  army.  The  battle 
which  began  in  the  early  morning  of  August  5th  was  bhxHly  and  .stul>- 
born.  The  detadunent  nuiking  the  detour  had  to  march  farther 
than  exi)eeted,  and  arrived  an  hour  too  late,  but  they  seizetl  tlie 
baggage  trains,  and  Ciahn  was  able  only  with  great  diHiculty  to  extri- 
cate his  forces.  I'ourteen  «)fKcers  and  'A\-  nun  were  taken  prisoners. 
The  entire  baggngc,  including  eighteen  wagon  lo.ids  of  ammunition, 
togctlier  with  one  licKl  piece  ;ind  sixty  lior>c.s.  fell  into  the  hamls  of 
the  Norwegians.^ 

'  Schinkol,  Minrirn,  vol.  VIIl.,  p.  2(M  (T.  Carl  Th.  Sdrt'nsen,  Kamprn  om 
Xnrf/r,  vol.  II.,  p.  :V29  fT."  A.x»«l  Motzfoldt,  Norge  og  Svcrige  i  1809  of  1814. 
Sigurd  Ibsen,  Unionen. 


440  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Gahn's  defeat  at  Lier  and  Matrand  proved  that  under  able  officers 
the  Norwegian  forces  were  able  to  contend  successfully  even  w^ith  the 
veteran  armies  of  Sweden,  but  the  chief  leadership  was  hopelessly 
incompetent.  The  king,  who  acted  as  commander-in-chief,  was 
not  only  the  very  personification  of  timidity,  but  he  selected  for  the 
highest  positions  those  who  pleased  him,  rather  than  those  who  were 
most  competent  and  best  qualified  for  the  place.  Seiersted,  who 
became  his  chief  of  stafT,  and  Haxthausen,  in  whom  he  placed  special 
confidence,  were  agreeable,  but  not  very  able  men.  Those  who  had 
served  with  distinction  in  former  wars,  but  were  of  a  sterner  type, 
like  Staflfeldt,  Stabell,  and  Krebs,  were  kept  in  subordinate  positions. 

But  even  the  ablest  leaders  would  scarcely  have  been  able  to 
carry  to  a  successful  issue  the  war  with  Sweden  supported  by  the 
allied  powers  both  on  land  and  sea.  The  forces  under  Charles  John 
already  numbered  40,000  men,  while  the  Norwegian  army  did  not 
exceed  27,000.  At  sea  the  situation  was  still  more  unfavorable. 
Sweden  had  four  ships  of  the  line,  five  frigates,  one  brig,  and  eighty- 
five  smaller  war  vessels,  while  Norway  had  only  eight  brigs,  one 
schooner,  and  one  hundred  and  eight  smaller  craft.  An  English 
squadron  blockaded  the  coast,  and  Russia  and  Prussia  were  ready 
to  send  additional  troops  to  help  Sweden.  B.  von  Schinkel  very 
aptly  observes  that  Krebs'  victory  at  Lier  and  Matrand  "shows 
clearly  what  the  enthusiasm  and  warlike  spirit  of  the  Norwegians 
might  have  accomplished  under  other  circumstances;  now  it  was 
only  an  ignis  fatuus  glimmering  in  a  hopeless  night." 

The  Swedes  advanced  steadily,  and  no  serious  effort  was  made 
to  stop  them.  When  Field  Marshal  Essen  approached  with  the  second 
corps  of  the  Swedish  army  through  Enningdalen,  the  small  Norwe- 
gian force  under  Spr0ck  had  to  retreat,  and  General  Vegesack  laid 
siege  to  Fredriksten  with  an  army  of  6000  men.  Butensch0n,  who 
was  stationed  at  Svinesund  with  another  small  force,  was  compelled 
to  withdraw  to  avoid  being  cut  off  by  Essen's  advancing  army.  King 
Christian  Frederick  hastened  forward  to  Rakkestad,  where  a  large 
part  of  the  Norwegian  army  had  been  concentrated,  but  instead  of 
fighting  a  battle,  he  ordered  a  general  retreat,  and  the  Norwegians 
had  to  withdraw  across  the  Glommen  River.  In  the  meanwhile 
several  engagements  were  fought,  but  none  of  them  was  of  any  great 


IM.ATK    XI 


II  THE    CONVENTION    OF    MOSS    AND    UNION    WITH    8WKDKN        441 

significance.  After  tlic  Nvithdrawal  of  the  Non^egiau  anny  across 
the  Glommen  Hiver,  Charles  John  again  resorted  U)  negotiati<jns  in 
tlie  hope  of  bringing  the  war  to  a  speeiiy  close.  Hitht-rto  he  ha<i 
been  snccessfiil,  l)ut  experience  in  the  .\apoh*onic  wars  ha<i  shown 
him  that  a  united  people  who  were  determined  to  defend  their  liberty 
and  independence  to  the  last  extremity  were  capable  of  a  resi.stanee 
which  niiglit  prove  dangerous.  The  sympathy  expresse<l  for  the 
Norwegians  both  in  England  and  elsewhere  must  also  have  convince<l 
him  that  the  aid  of  the  allies,  who  were  developing  tlitir  reactionary 
system  of  political  readjustment  of  Europe  in  the  interest  of  the 
legitimate  princes  and  the  maintenance  of  peace,  might  be  an  uncer- 
tain factor  to  depend  upon  if  the  struggle  should  be  ten)  long  drawn 
out.  On  August  7th  Carsten  Tank,  one  of  King  Christian  Fretlerick's 
former  ministers,  and  Provost  Ilount,  a  member  of  the  Eidsvold 
Constituent  Assembly,  arrived  at  the  king's  headciuarters  with  peace 
propositions  from  Charles  John,  lie  otlered  to  conclude  an  anni- 
stice,  and  to  accept  the  Eidsvold  constitution  only  with  such  nuKli- 
fications  as  would  l)e  necessitated  by  a  union  of  Sweden  and  Norway, 
if  Christian  Frederick  would  call  a  special  session  of  the  Stortliing, 
deliver  his  crown  into  the  hands  of  the  ministers,  and  leave  Norway. 
These  were  essentially  the  same  conditions  which  he  had  reject*-*! 
before  the  war.  The  king  called  a  meeting  of  his  cabinet  and  .some 
of  the  leading  officers  of  the  army  to  consider  the  peace  propwsal. 
General  Seiersted,  his  chief  of  stiifT,  stated  that  the  anny  wouhl 
be  unable  to  defend  Christiania,  and  General  Haxthausen.  head 
of  the  connnissariat.  informed  tliein  that  the  available  army  snj)plies 
would  not  last  above  a  week.  I  nder  these  circumstances  tlie  <-abinet 
counseled  him  to  yield,  and  he  disjjatched  a  lettiT  to  Charl»*s  John, 
stating  that  he  would  surrender  his  crown  to  the  Storthing,  if  he 
could  insure  thereby  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  the  Nonvegian 
j)eople.'  He  now  transferred  his  head(iuarters  to  Moss,  where  tiie 
negotiations  were  continued.  To  the  mend)ers  of  his  cabinet  and 
other  leading  men,  including  Falsen,  Christie.  Sverdrup,  and  Hiriks, 
he  described  the  truly  alarming  situation.     He  showwi  that  in  case 

'  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  20:{  (T.  Jaooh  Aal.  Erinfiringrr. 
p.  5()3  fT.  A.  Fayo,  S'orge  i  1S14,  p.  l.>:3  fT.  YnRvar  Niolwn,  Hidrag  lU 
Norges  Hinlorie  i  1814- 


442  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

of  an  attack  Christiania  would  have  to  be  abandoned,  and  that  the 
reserves  commanded  by  Armfeldt  had  provisions  only  for  two  days. 
He  considered  further  resistance  hopeless,  and  ordered  two  of  his 
ministers,  Jonas  Collett  and  Niels  Aal,  to  negotiate  with  the  Swedish 
envoy,  General  Bjornstjerna,  who  had  arrived  in  Moss.  Before 
evening  the  same  day,  August  13th,  they  were  ready  to  submit  to 
the  king  and  his  cabinet  the  terms  under  which  an  armistice  could 
be  arranged.  King  Christian  Frederick  was  to  abdicate  immedi- 
ately, and  to  transfer  the  executive  authority  to  his  cabinet,  who 
should  exercise  it  until  the  Storthing  could  find  opportunity  to  make 
provisions  for  a  temporary  administration.  Hostilities  should  cease, 
and  the  blockade  should  be  raised.  Sweden  should  guarantee  to 
Norway  the  Eidsvold  constitution  without  any  other  changes  than 
those  which  a  union  of  the  two  kingdoms  would  necessitate,  and 
which  the  Storthing  should  deem  acceptable.  The  fortress  of  Fred- 
riksten,  which  was  still  defending  itself  bravely  against  the  Swedes, 
was  to  be  surrendered.^  These  conditions  were  accepted  by  Chris- 
tian Frederick  and  his  cabinet,  and  the  armistice  was  signed  at  Moss, 
August  14,  1814.  The  same  day  he  dispatched  his  adjutant,  Major 
Brock,  to  Charles  John,  who  ratified  the  agreement  concluded  by  his 
representatives.  On  August  30th  King  Charles  XIII.  of  Sweden 
issued  a  proclamation  ratifying  the  promises  made  by  the  crown 
prince,^  according  to  which  "  the  kingdom  of  Norway,  without  being 
regarded  as  a  conquered  country,  in  the  future  shall  be  an  independent 
state  united  with  Sweden ;  and  its  present  constitution  shall  be  prop- 
erly protected,  after  the  changes  necessitated  by  the  union  of  the  two 
countries  shall  have  been  made." 

During  the  negotiations  at  Moss  King  Christian  Frederick  was 
in  a  very  distressed  state  of  mind.  "  He  suffered  such  mental  agony," 
writes  Blom,  "  that  it  was  feared  that  he  would  lose  his  reason."     His 

» Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norge  i  1814,  p.  337  ff.  Jacob  Aal,  Erindringer,  p. 
503.  A.  Faye,  Norge  i  1814,  p.  156.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Om  Konventionen  i 
Moaa,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie  raekke,  vol.  V.  Historiske  Samlinger  ud- 
givne  af  den  norske  historiske  Kildeskriftkommission,  Diplomatiske  Aktstykker 
fra  1814,  vol.  III.,  p.  215  ff. 

»  Kong  Christian  VJII's  Dagbog  fra  Regentliden  i  Norge,  p.  183  ff.  Yngvar 
Nielsen,  Om  Konventionen  i  Moss,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  tredie  raekke,  vol. 
V.     Oscar  Joseph  Alin,  Den  svensk-norska  Unionen,  vol.  I.,  p.  46  ff. 


II  THE   CONVENTION    OF    MOSS    AND    UNION    WITH    SWEDEN        443 

'  official  act  us  king  was  to  issue  a  rescript  through  which  he  a.>i- 
ibletl  the  Storthing  for  an  extra  session.     He  did  not  preside  at 

II  opening,  hut  retired  ahnost  hcart-hrokcn  ta  the  royal  residence 
:'  Ladegaards0en,  and  on  ()ctol)er  lltli  the  president  of  the  Stor- 
liiiig  road  a  communication  from  the  king  in  wiiich  he  armounced 
liis  abdication,  and  released  the  Norwegian  people  from  their  oath 

III  idicgiaiu'c.  Shortly  after  he  l)oardc<l  a  sliif)  and  rcturntnl  to  Den- 
mark. "He  was  followed  across  the  island  (Ladegaard.s0en)  by  per- 
sniis  of  his  nearest  surroundings,"  says  Blom,  "and  as  it  was  late 
ill  the  evening,  he  was  esc()rte<l  by  torch-bearers.  When  he  had 
liidden  farewell  to  those  who  followed  him,  he  boarded  the  yacht, 
:i:iii  the  torches  were  extinguishe<l  in  the  sea.     It  resembknl  a  pro- 

^ion  of  mourning,  and  both  he  and  those  who  followed  him  were, 
undoubtedly,  deeply  moved."  ^ 

Prince  Christian  Frederick  had  pn)ven  himself  a  weak  leader. 
(  i>\int  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  who  had  always  been  opposed  to  him.  called 
him  "the  petticoat  king,"  ^  and  A.  Faye  observes  that  the  expression 
<.t  a  y)rominent  man  before  the  bar  of  the  supreme  court  that  "he 
\\;is  a  declaimer  without  energy,  a  boaster  without  courage,  and  a 
( liamier  without  actuality  "  expressed  quite  accurately  the  people's 
opinion  of  him  shortly  after  the  great  drama  was  ended.'  But,  how- 
ever weak  his  leadership,  and  however  faulty  his  maiuigement  of 
affairs  during  his  short  reign  of  less  than  five  months,  he  had  rendered 
Norway  an  important  service  in  her  stniggle  for  independence, 
which  entitles  him  to  grateful  remembrance.  Tlie  repudiation  of 
the  treaty  of  Kiel,  the  organizaticMi  of  the  popular  sentiment  int«>  a 
definite  movement  with  a  fixed  pun)«>se.  and  the  calling  of  the  (\instit- 
uent  Assemble  at  Eidsvold  were  inii)ortant  stei)s  which  were  made 
possible  because  the  people  could  rally  about  him  as  the  scion  of  the 
old  royal  family.  Hy  lending  his  royal  name  and  influence  to  the 
national  cause,  and  by  supporting  it  witli  liberal-minded  enthusiasm, 
he  gave  it,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  a  consecration  which  it  never 
could  have  received  without  the  presence  of  a  leader  of  royal  blood. 

After  King  Christian   Frederick's  abdication    tlu-  four  remaining 

»  Oustav  Potor  Blimi,  \orgcs  Statsforandring,  p.  228. 
•  YnpTvar  Xiolson.  Wedcl-Jnrhberg,  vol.  II..  p.  264. 
•A.  Faye,  Norge  i  ISl-U  p.  lOo. 


444  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

members  of  his  cabinet,  Rosencrantz,  Sommerhjelm,  Collett,  and  Niels 
Aal,  were  to  act  as  a  regency  ad  interim.  Their  first  care  was  to 
prevent  any  violation  of  the  armistice,  and  to  protect  the  Storthing 
in  its  deliberations ;  but  they  also  sought  to  secure  supplies,  and  to 
make  necessary  preparations  in  case  hostilities  should  be  resumed.^ 
On  October  13th  the  Swedish  commissioners  met  with  the  Storthing 
to  negotiate  concerning  the  union  of  the  two  kingdoms.^  Many  of 
the  representatives,  among  others  Count  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  spoke 
in  favor  of  union,  but  all  were  agreed  that  it  could  not  be  based  on 
the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  but  that  the  Storthing  would 
decide  the  question  of  its  own  free  accord.  The  armistice  would 
terminate  on  October  21st,  but  the  deliberations  were  continued 
until  the  20th,  when  the  question  was  finally  submitted  to  a  vote, 
with  the  result  that  only  the  four  representatives  from  Bergen  voted 
in  the  negative  in  obedience  to  instructions  from  their  constituents. 
Of  these  the  able  and  well-poised  Christie,  president  of  the  Storthing, 
was  one,  but  he  was  personally  in  favor  of  union,  and  declared  that 
he  would  abide  loyally  by  the  decision  made.  He  was  made  a  member 
of  the  committee  which  together  with  the  Swedish  commissioners 
should  undertake  the  revision  of  the  constitution,  necessitated  by  the 
union  with  Sweden.^  For  this  task  he  possessed  the  best  qualifications. 
His  great  talents  and  extensive  knowledge,  his  dignified  presence,  and 
courteous  and  pleasing  manners  had  made  him  a  great  favorite  even 
among  the  Swedish  commissioners,  and  he  soon  became  the  leading 
spirit  in  the  committee.  The  work  advanced  without  very  serious 
difficulty,  and  on  November  4th  the  Storthing  ratified  the  revision, 
as  completed  by  the  committee.  On  the  same  day  Charles  XHI. 
of  Sweden  was  elected  king  of  Norway.  On  November  9th  Charles 
John  arrived  in  Christiania  to  submit  the  king's  oath,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  Storthing  the  crown  prince  himself  took  the  same 
oath  to  uphold  the  Norwegian  constitution.*    November  4,  1814, 

'  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  vol.  II.,  p.  265.  Historisk  Tidsskrift, 
tredie  raekke,  vol.  IV.,  p.  150  ff. 

»  Slorthings-Eflerretninger  1814-1833,  vol.  I.,  p.  121  ff. 

'  Erik  Vullum,  Unionen  og  dens  Fremtid,  p.  70.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Detffirste 
overordentlige  Storthing,  Optegnelser  og  Aktstykker. 

*  L.  M.  B.  Aubert,  Kieler-Traktatens  Opgivelse,  p.  7  fif. ;  ibid.,  Norges  folk- 
eretslige  Stilling,  p.  91  ff. 


II  THE    CONVENTION    OK    MOSH    AND    UNION    WITH    ^WKOKN       -145 

marks  tlie  compli'tion  of  tlic  union  l)rt\Vfrii  Norway  and  .Swttlj-ri, 
though  the  "  Act  of  riiioii"  (Uigsaktt'ii),'  in  which  tlie  cr)n(litioria 
of  union  arc  fully  outlined,  was  not  adopted  until  the  following  year. 

This  document  was  prepared  hy  the  constitutioiuil  coniniittee  (»f  the 
Swedish  Rij,'sdag,  and  contained  the  provisions  which  had  heen  in- 

rrtcd  in  the  Nonvc^'lan  constitution  regarding  the  union  of  the 
two  kinj^'doiiis.  It  was  suhinittcd  to  the  Norwegian  Storthing,  which 
ratilicd  it  -July  l>lst.  The  Swedish  Kigsdag  a{)proved  it  August 
It,  1815.  The  Act  of  Union,  like  the  constitution  of  Norway,  recog- 
nized the  union  as  resting,  not  on  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  but  on  the  free 
consent  of  the  Norwegian  i)eople,  and  the  conii)lcte  efjuality  of  the 
two  realms.  In  a  government  hill  j)rcscntcd  to  the  Swedish  Higs<lag 
April  12,  1815,  the  king  says:  "When  two  peoples  of  their  own  free 
will  submit  to  the  same  government,  everything  tending  to  pnxluce 
a  ditrcrcnce  between  them  in  their  relations  to  the  common  ruler 
siiould  be  carefully  cleared  away.  Othenvise  the  union  will  s<Kmer 
or  later  be  disrupted,  and  one  people  will  oppress  the  other,  or  their 
\  iolcnt  separation  will  sow  the  seeds  of  discord,  which  will  prtniuc^ 
MTious  dissensions  for  centuries.  If  grave  con.se(iuences  have  re- 
sulted from  the  lack  of  attention  to  this  principle,  which  experience 
has  shown  to  be  tnie,  how  much  the  more  necessarj'  is  it  not  to  pay 
due  heed  to  it  at  present  when  it  is  our  aim.  not  oidy  to  create  a 
Scandinavian  power  of  two  free  nations  which  have  long  been  enemies, 
l)Ut  also  to  create  muttud  confidence  and  true  friend.ship  between 
them.  For  the  attainment  of  this  object  j)erfcct  e^juality  l^etwi-en 
them  should  be  established  by  determining  their  mutual  rights  witii- 
nut  regard  to  the  number  of  inhabitants  or  the  pnulucts  of  each 
country."     The  i)erfcct  equality  was,  nevertheless,  not  established 

^'The  treaty  of  Kiel."  says  Samuel  Lainp.  "if  it  had  oven  lM<<<n  foumlitl 
iin  any  just  or  admitted  prinoiplo  of  the  law  of  nations,  was  r»'nt)un(HMl  by 
tliis  acceptance  as  a  pround  of  ripht  to  the  Rovorcipnty  of  the  Non*'p<ft*n 
nation.  At  the  present  day,  when  the  excitement  and  (wca-nion  which  rbvo 
rise  to  the  nefarious  treaty  are  past,  and  its  ohjivt  ha.s  Uvn  aocompliHhed 
upon  just  principle,  no  Sw(>dish  cabinet  could,  in  the  face  of  civilizjHl  and 
moral  nations,  have  the  e(Tn)ntery  to  claim  ri^'hts  over  the  Norw«via"  people 
as  emanating  from  a  treaty  so  repugnant  to  all  principle."  Journal  of  a 
Residence  in  Xnrway  during  (he   Years  ISS4,  lS.i-'>,  <ind  IS.'if). 

'  A  C.  Drolsura,  Das  Konigrcich  Sorwcgen  aU  soutrrdnrr  Stoat,  Berlin, 
1905. 


446  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

ill  practice,  as  diplomacy  and  foreign  affairs,  as  well  as  the  representa- 
tion of  both  kingdoms  at  foreign  courts,  remained  in  the  hands  of 
the  Swedish  government.  But  this  was  a  practice  based  on  no  express 
right,  as  no  such  privilege  was  granted  Sweden  by  the  Act  of  Union. ^ 

55.   Sentiments  and  Conditions  after  1814 

The  union  with  Sweden  had  been  forced  upon  Norway  by  the 
European  powers,  who  had  not  yet  learned  to  pay  attention  to  the 
principle  of  nationality  as  an  important  factor  in  international  poli- 
tics. In  the  North  and  elsewhere  they  were  carving  out  states 
by  geographical  metes  and  bounds  on  their  military  charts  without 
regard  for  the  character  and  sentiment  of  the  people,  that  great 
force  which  was  to  carry  Europe  through  the  extraordinary  develop- 
ment of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Norwegians  entered  the  union 
with  dignified  loyalty,  but  the  new  relation  had  no  root  in  their 
deeper  sentiments.  They  accepted  it  as  an  unavoidable  destiny, 
but  with  sadness,  not  with  joy,  as  they  felt  that  their  ideals  had 
been  bedimmed,  and  their  right  to  work  out  their  own  destiny  had 
been  infringed  upon.  In  the  storms  and  struggles  of  1814  they  had 
succeeded  in  winning  constitutional  liberty  and  political  independence, 
while  the  nations  of  Europe  were  yet  groaning  under  the  oppression 
of  a  medieval  political  and  social  system.  No  country  in  Europe 
had  been  so  fortunate,  and  no  people  had  better  reason  to  rejoice. 
But  the  disappointment  arising  from  the  military  fiasco  of  the  war, 
due  to  Christian  Frederick's  incompetence,  and  the  necessity  of 
entering  into  a  union  with  Sweden  under  compulsion  eclipsed  for 
a  period  every  advantage  which  had  been  gained,  and  filled  the  minds 
of  the  people  with  sadness  and  bitter  thoughts.  Many  did  not  even 
stop  to  consider  that  full  liberty  and  independence  had  been  guar- 
anteed the  Norwegian  people  under  the  Eidsvold  constitution  and 
the  Act  of  Union.  They  thought  that  since  the  king  of  Sweden  was 
also  to  be  king  of  NorvN^ay,  they  had  been  subjected  to  Sweden  in  the 
same  way  in  which  they  had  before  stood  under  Danish  overlordship, 
an  erroneous  idea  which  for  a  time  caused  Norwegian  patriots  many 

»J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  VI.,  1,  p.  145.     J.  Utheim,  Grundloven 
om  Norges  Utenrigsslyre. 


n  sHPrriMEKTa  avd  roNomoNR  after  1^14  447 

IxartHclu's.  TIk'  ^reut  liiiaiicial  <li^tn*ss  uiul  tlif*  iuifavf»ral)lt'  •■coiiomic 
idiiditions  also  hej^aii  to  he  felt  more  keenly  after  the  excitement 
■f  the  stnifjple  was  over,  and  the  routine  of  peaceful  vocations  wm 
resumed  in  the  customary  way.  The  private  fortunes  even  <»f  the 
wcjilthiest  families  had  hccu  wrecked  (hiriiij;  the  lonj^  pcrio<l  of  war 
and  l)lncl<a(h',  and  crop  t'aihircs  had  pnxhiced  f»reat  suffering.  From 
1S15  to  IK18  tlie  croj)s  were  also  ver\  jKKtr,  and  the  fisheries  failed. 
n  that  tlic  export  of  codfisli  was  reducefl  to  almost  one-half  of  what 
it  had  been  before  the  war.  ^Vhe  hunber  trade  witli  luighind  was 
ilccHning,  as  the  EngHsh  goverrmient  had  begmi  to  encourage  im- 
p<»rtation  of  lumber  from  Canada.  The  imj)ortati(tn  of  grain  from 
Dciunark  was  also  rendered  dillicult,  because  Norway  was  i)lace<i 
among  the  least  favored  nations  in  regard  to  trade  with  that  countr\'. 
The  finances  of  the  kingdom  were  wholly  dis(trganiz<*d,  and  it  had 
MO  public  creflit.  About  twenty-five  million  riksdaler  of  u!isecure«l 
paper  money  was  iii  circulation,  and  this  currency  was  steadily 
laliing  in  value,  tli(Mii:li  the  Eidsvold  guarantee  had  establish«fl  a 
ratio  of  'A.7F)  pajxT  riksdaler  to  every  silver  riksdaler.  This  guarantee 
had  proven  useless,  and  a  hundred  specie  rik.s<ialer  was  already  worth 
!.")()()  riksbank  paper  dalcr.  (Maus  Pavels,  chaplain  at  Akershus, 
writes  in  his  diary,  January  10,  1K15,  that  besides  his  fuel  bill  he 
had  used  for  his  household  that  year  'A7,\'''>7  riksdaler.  that  besides 
this  sum  he  had  spent  oOOO  or  (>()(l()  riksdaler  of  his  own  money,  and 
yet  he  had  not  lived  extravagantly.'  The  people  were  unable  to  pay 
their  taxes,  the  treasury  was  empty,  and  clerg>inen  and  government 
(ifhcials  did  not  receive  their  salaries.  Under  these  circum.stances 
the  warm  sympathies  for  l)eninark  and  its  royal  h<nise  soon  gave 
way  to  a  feeling  of  hostility  and  bitterness,  as  it  was  thought  that 
the  Danish  governnicnt  was  resp(»nsible  for  much  of  the  economic 
distress  from  which  the  country  was  suffering. - 

The  first  problem  confronting  the  government  was  how  to  reor- 
u'anize  the  finances  and  to  bring  about  a  revival  of  commerce  in 
ordtT  that  the  most  aeut<'  <iistress  might  be  relieved.     The  Swt-dish 

'  CMaus  Pavi'ls,  DiKjhoijs-Optiijmhrr  iSI/i-ISlS.  p.  6. 

*  The  most  violent  expri>ssion  of  anti-Dnnisli  foolinsr  wft.x  a  tr»>atlso  pub- 
liahod  by  Nicolai  Werfiroland  in  ISUi  ontitlod.  Hn  mndftrrdig  Herttning  on 
Danmarks  poUtiskc  Forbryddse  mod  Morge  Aar  905  til  1814- 


448  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Field  Marshal  Henrik  von  Essen  had  been  appointed  statholder  in 
Norway  to  exercise  the  highest  administrative  authority  in  the  name 
of  the  king.  Peter  Anker  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  ministry 
as  minister  of  state,  his  associates  being  Professor  Treschow,  minister 
of  church  and  education;  Sommerhjelm,  minister  of  justice;  Diriks, 
minister  of  the  department  of  police;  Collett,  minister  of  the  interior; 
Wedel-Jarlsberg,  minister  of  commerce  and  finance;  Hegermann, 
minister  of  war;  and  P.  Motzfeldt  and  Christian  Krohg,  members 
of  the  Swedish  branch  of  the  Norwegian  ministry.^  Count  Wedel- 
Jarlsberg  had  received  the  most  difficult  portfolio,  but  no  one  was 
so  well  qualified  to  wrestle  w^ith  the  difficult  financial  situation,  and 
he  became  the  virtual  head  of  the  ministry.^  But  the  ministers 
exercised  in  the  beginning  very  limited  power  beyond  what  pertained 
to  the  routine  work  of  their  own  departments.  The  king  was  accus- 
tomed to  exercise  the  administrative  power,  and  the  statholder, 
acting  in  his  name,  became  the  real  head  of  the  administration,  as 
the  ministers  were  not  yet  accustomed  to  assert  their  rights  arising 
from  their  duties  and  responsibilities  under  the  constitution.  The 
Storthing  alone  could  be  relied  upon  to  carry  through  the  needed 
reforms. 

The  first  regular  Storthing  which  assembled  in  July,  1815,  passed 
several  bills  for  the  reorganization  of  the  finances.  The  unsecured 
paper  money  should  be  withdrawn  from  circulation,  but  the  question 
whether  the  bills  should  be  redeemed  at  their  par  value  of  3.75  riks- 

*  The  Eidsvold  constitution  provided  a  minimum  number  of  five  depart- 
ments, but  by  the  revision  of  November  4,  1815,  the  number  was  changed 
to  eight,  with  the  further  provision  that  the  minister  of  state  and  two  other 
ministers  should  always  stay  in  Stockholm.  The  king  also  had  the  right  to 
make  his  eldest  son  viceroy  of  Norway,  or  he  might  appoint  a  statholder, 
who  might  be  either  a  Swede  or  a  Norwegian.  In  1815  a  department  for 
the  marine  was  created,  but  in  1818  the  number  of  ministers  was  reduced 
to  five,  as  the  departments  of  justice  and  police  were  consoUdated,  and  like- 
wise also  the  departments  of  the  interior  and  of  justice  and  finance.  In 
1822  an  auditing  department  was  added,  and  these  six  departments  remained 
unchanged  during  the  reign  of  Charles  John.  F.  Baetzmann,  Det  norske 
Statsraad.  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Norges  nuvcerende  Statsforfatning,  vol.  I.  Erik 
Vullum,  Unionen  og  dens  Fremtid,  p.  93  ff. 

*J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  Historie,  vol.  VI.,  1,  p.  144  ff.  Yngvar  Nielsen, 
Grev  Herman  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  Nordmcend  i  det  19de  Aarhundrede.  J.  E. 
Sars,  Norges  politiske  Historie  1815-1885,  p.  270  ff. 


II  8ENTIMKNTS    AND    foNDITIo.NS    AFTKU    IM14  449 

(iulcr  in  i)a|)('r  to  l.OO  rikxIaUr  in  hpi-tie  was  loiij;  ilchattti,  and  it 
was  finally  ilecidid  tliat  sincf  tlie  Eidsvold  ^uarantfe  hud  proven 
a  failure,  it  should  he  left  out  of  consideration,  and  a  speeial  tax 
should  he  levied  for  their  r«'deniption  at  eurrent  value.  This  was 
ecpiivalent  to  deelarinj;  a  state  haukruptex ,  i)ut  it  was.  undouhtedly, 
necessar>'  in  order  to  forestall  utter  ehaos,  as  the  pui)lic  hurdt-n^ 
already  exeeeded  the  i)eople's  ahility  to  pay  taxes.  The  hud^et 
for  the  year  represented  the  large  sum  of  li.liOO, ()()()  specie  daler.  and 
as  the  treasury  was  empty,  and  the  credit  exceetlingly  poor,  this 
sum  would  have  to  he  raised  hy  taxes.  It  was  also  decided  to  create 
a  new  sj)ecie  curriMicy  with  the  specie  daler  as  the  monetary  unit.' 
and  a  Bank  of  Norway  was  to  he  organized  with  a  capitjd  .stock  of 
not  less  than  two  million,  and  not  more  than  three  million  specie 
daler,  to  be  divided  into  shares  of  200  specie  daler  each.  These 
were  to  be  sold  to  private  individuals,  l)ut  only  3791  shares  could 
be  ilisposed  of,  and  the  levying  of  an  extra  tax  had  to  be  rest)rted 
to  in  order  to  secure  the  minimum  capital  stock. ^ 

Christie,  who  had  served  as  president  of  the  Storthing  till  ISIS, 
retired  at  the  close  of  that  session,  highly  honored  by  his  countrj'men 
as  a  great  patriot.  All  realized  that  he  had  guided  the  deliberations 
of  that  l)ody  with  great  tact  and  ability,  as  he  had  btrn  one  of  the 
ablest  leaders  in  the  day.s  of  1S14. 

No  parties  had  yet  developed,  but  a  divergence  of  o])inion  and 
interests  between  the  official  classes  and  the  hdmkr  had  inanifesteti 
itself  as  a  distinct  reaction  against  the  liberalism  of  the  ini'u  of  Kids- 
void.  The  great  reactionary  movement  which  sifter  the  downfall 
of  Xai)oleon  sj)read  over  all  lMirop<*,  the  ])oliti(al  creed  of  Metternich. 
accei)te(l  by  the  1  iol>  .Mliaiicc  as  the  iiifallihjc  gniilr  for  all  true  states- 
men, could  not  l)ut  exert  an  inlluence  also  upon  Norway.  Tin*  denn^- 
cratic  principles  embodied  in  the  constitution  represent  the  ideals  of 
tlie  most  liberal-minded  and  far-sighted  jjatriot  leaders.  In  the  critical 
days  of  Eidsvold   they   had  dared   to  pursue  the  thought  of  ailLSti- 

'  The spocie  daler  \vii.st»qiKiI  to  four  krouiT,  or  :il>out  $l.0S.  It  wiw  divided 
into  tivo  ort  and  \'1()  ^killing. 

*  SlorthitigK-E/lcrrelningcr  1SI4-1SSS,  vol.  I.,  p.  4«)2  fT.     Yntrvar  Nielson. 
Wedel-Jiirlshcrg.  vol.  III.      J.  K.  Sars.   Snrgrs  lILilorir.  vol.  VI..    1.  p.   l/i?  fT. 
Ytigvar  Kielson.  Herman    Wrdd-Jarlnlu-rg,  Xordmirtul  i  dri  I9de  Aarhundrcde. 
B.  E.  Beudixtni,  FA  Omrids  av  Norgcs  Handcishistoru,  p.  45  (T. 
VOL.  a  — 2  a 


450  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

tutional  freedom  to  its  logical  conclusion,  a  free  nation,  a  government 
by  the  people  and  for  the  people.  But  the  era  of  high  ideals  and 
great  feelings  was  now  past,  and  social  conditions  were  not  as  demo- 
cratic as  the  provisions  in  the  constitution.  The  old  class  spirit 
reasserted  itself,  and  the  official  class,  failing  to  grasp  the  full  mean- 
ing of  what  had  been  done  at  Eidsvold,  settled  down  to  their  accus- 
tomed ways  in  the  belief  that  they  would  continue  to  enjoy  their 
old  powers  and  privileges.  The  binder  were  not  yet  able  to  assert 
the  rights  and  powers  granted  them  by  the  constitution,  and  it  was 
possible  for  the  upper  classes  during  the  first  session  of  the  Storthing 
to  legislate  in  their  own  interest  as  if  no  democratic  government 
existed.  The  constitutional  provision  regarding  general  and  uni- 
form military  service  was  wholly  disregarded,  and  in  the  Storthing 
of  1816  Judge  Weidemann  proposed  that  the  soldiers  should  be  re- 
cruited among  the  binder,  but  that  the  officers  should  be  chosen 
from  the  bureaucracy.  A  motion  to  maintain  the  provision  of  the 
constitution  was  voted  down,  and  a  bill  was  passed  providing  that 
only  the  young  men  of  the  country  districts  should  be  compelled  to 
serve  in  the  army.  Other  equally  reactionary  measures  were  proposed. 
Only  officials  were  appointed  to  the  Lagthing,  as  it  appears,  in  an 
effort  to  create  an  aristocratic  upper  house,  and  this  body  also  passed 
a  bill  providing  that  allowances  and  mileage  for  the  representatives 
should  be  figured  according  to  their  social  standing,  "so  that  all 
might  live  according  to  their  rank."  A  constitutional  amendment 
was  also  proposed,  according  to  which  the  representatives  of  the  rural 
districts  should  not  constitute  above  one-third  of  the  total  number 
of  representatives,  and  the  other  two-thirds  should  be  distributed 
among  the  remaining  "four  estates":  civil  officials,  clergy,  military 
oflBcers,  and  the  merchant  class.  These  very  distinct  traces  of  re- 
actionary autocratic  ideas  show  that  the  Norwegian  democracy  was 
yet  in  its  infancy,  but  it  developed  rapidly  because  of  the  powers 
and  privileges  granted  the  common  people  by  the  constitution. 

56.   The  Reign  of  Charles  John.    The  Relation  to  Sweden 

King  Charles  XIII.  died  February  5,  1818,  at  the  age  of  seventy, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Charles  John,  who  since  his  return  from  the 


TIIK    UEK;\    of    CIIAHLKS    JOHN.       TIIK    UELATION   TO    8WKDKN       451 

Napoleonic  wars  luid  exorcised  tlic  leading  influence,  espcfiaUy  in 
diplomacy  and  forei^jn  atTairs.  In  Sweden  lie  enjoyed  great  popu- 
larity, lie  had  earned  a  well-merited  reputation  as  a  militar>  leader, 
the  Xonvcgian  campaign  had  heen  swiftly  terminate<i,  and  he  had 
secured  Xorwa>',  as  many  believed,  as  a  cijmpensation  for  I'irdand.' 
The  Swedish  people  greeted  his  accession  to  the  throne  witli  enthu- 
siasm, feeling  that  hencefortli  there  would  he  only  one  kingdom  and 
one  peoi)lc  on  the  Scandiiuivian  peninsula.  But  tliose  who  were 
better  informed,  and  had  watched  events  more  closely,  wen-  not  so 
well  pleased.  They  realized  that  Xoruay  had  become  an  indejiendent 
state,  that  it  was  in  no  scn.se  a  part  of  Sweden,  and  that  (  harlcs 
John  had  but  imperfectly  fulfilled  the  long-cheri.shed  hope  of  Sweden 
of  getting  compensation  for  Finland.  They  could  reconcile  them- 
selves to  what  had  happened  only  on  tlic  supposition  that  the  work 
of  con.solidating  the  two  kingdoms  would  be  continued  until  Norway 
should  be  fully  incorporated  in  Sweden.  .\xel  (labriel  Silverstolpe 
expressed  quite  a  general  Swedish  sentiment  when  he  said  that  the 
two  kingdoms  might,  indeed,  be  regarded  as  one  coimtry,  but  it  was 
left  to  make   the   Swedes  and   Nonvcgians  one  people.-     Charles 

'  A  groat  divorgonco  of  views  regarding  tho  nature  of  the  union  botween 
Norway  and  Sweden  soon  manifested  itself.  The  Swedes  regarded  tho 
treaty  of  Kiel  as  the  basis  of  tlu>  union.  Aocordiiig  to  this  theory.  Sweden 
had  been  granted  possession  of  Norway  with  full  title  of  ownership.  H.  L. 
Rydia  held  that  by  the  treaty  of  Kiel  Sweden  only  .sf>oured  iMTUUHsion  or 
right  to  seeure  Norway,  that  the  union  rested  on  the  treaty  of  Moss,  not  on 
that  of  Kiel.  See  Herman  Ludvig  Rydin,  Fvnninfun  tiullart  Stiri<ji-  och 
Norge.  But  Oscar  Joseph  Alin  and  the  younger  sehool  of  Swedi.sh  historian* 
held  that  tho  basis  of  the  union  was  the  treaty  of  Kiel.  800  Oscar  Joseph 
Alin,  Den  svensk-norska  Unioticn;  C.  A.  Reuterskiold.  Til  Uclyitning  nf  d«n 
avensk-norska  Ujiinrm  Forfntiiiiigcn  och  dca  tidliynre  I'lrerkliugshistoria ;  Otto 
Varenius,  Uninnsfitrfntningcn  ur  sveusk  och  norsk  Synspunkt;  Nils  Kdf'n. 
Die  schwcdisch-nonrcginchc  Union  und  der  Kichr  Fricde.  The  Norwi^ijinnn. 
who  refused  to  aecept  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  entered  into  by  Swinlen 
and  Denmark,  daimi'd,  i)roperly  enough,  that  the  union  was  ba-M-il  on  tho 
treaty  of  Moss,  by  which  Swedi-n  agre<'d  to  aceept  the  Eids\<i|i!  constitution, 
and  to  recognize  Norway  aw  a  soven^ign  Icingdoni  unitj^l  with  Sweden  under 
a  common  king,  Stw  J.  E.  Sars,  Den  norsk-svenskc  I'nion*  kisloruke  Htt9- 
grund;  Den  norsk-sreuskc  I'niousslrid,  and  other  e*»yiys  on  tliis  subject, 
Snmlcde  Verkrr,  vol.  111.,  p.  610  IT. 

*  Sveriges  Hislnrin,  edited  bv  Emil  Ilildebrand.  vol.  V..  pnrt  IX..  p. 
286  ff. 


452  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

John  was  well  aware  of  the  brewing  discontent,  but  he  felt  sure  that 
he  would  be  able  to  carry  through  amendments  to  the  Norwegian 
constitution  which  would  destroy  the  sovereignty  of  the  people, 
and  subject  them  to  the  supremacy  of  Sweden.  He  thought  that 
the  Norwegians  possessed  neither  the  power  nor  the  ability  to  resist 
him  on  this  point,  and  his  constant  onslaught  on  the  Norwegian 
constitution  is  one  of  the  important  features  of  this  reign. 

But  the  hindrances  in  the  way  of  an  amalgamation  of  the  tw^o 
peoples  or  a  consolidation  of  the  two  kingdoms  were  far  greater  than 
Charles  John  had  anticipated.  The  statement  made  by  a  contem- 
porary observer  that  Norway  and  Sw^eden  were  "like  two  tw^ins 
grown  together  in  the  back,  and  therefore  continually  turning  away 
from  one  another,  the  one  looking  eastw^ard  and  the  other  w^estw^ard,"  ^ 
expresses  a  truth  which  has  been  of  the  greatest  significance  in  the 
development  of  the  two  nations,  Sw^eden,  facing  eastward,  has 
stood  under  the  influence  of  central  Europe ;  Norway,  facing  west- 
ward, has  been  strongly  influenced  by  the  more  liberal  French  and 
English  ideas.  Sweden  had  been  a  great  military  power,  and  was 
ruled  by  a  proud  and  powerful  nobility ;  the  Norwegians  were  a 
nation  of  freeholding  binder  accustomed  to  a  high  degree  of  personal 
freedom,  and  they  were  rapidly  developing  under  their  newly  won 
political  independence  to  become  one  of  the  most  democratic  peoples 
in  the  world.  And  as  for  their  ability  to  defend  their  constitutional 
liberties,  the  king  found  that  they  possessed  a  skill  in  statescraft, 
and  a  resolute  determination  to  defend  their  rights,  which  he  had 
not  expected.  Finally  there  was  the  most  conspicuous  obstacle, 
the  constitution  itself,  which  the  king  had  sworn  to  uphold,  a  charter 
of  liberty  as  firmly  established  and  as  solemnly  approved  as  any  docu- 
ment of  the  kind  that  ever  existed.  In  the  face  of  such  obstacles 
an  attempt  at  amalgamation  must  seem  impolitic  if  not  imprudent. 
Samuel  Laing  says :  "  If  there  be  any  meaning  in  the  word  amalgama- 
tion, it  must  be  to  render  Norway  an  integral  part  of  the  kingdom  of 
Sweden,  governed  by  the  same  laws,  wdth  the  same  constitution,  and 
subject  to  the  same  taxes.  It  w^as  forgotten  by  the  Swedish  ministry, 
that  the  very  structure  of  society  and  property  in  the  two  countries 
is  founded  on  totally  different  principles :   in  the  one  on  the  feudal, 

'■  Sveriges  Historia,  vol.  V.,  part  II.,  p.  286  ff. 


THK    KKlCiX    OF    CllAKLKS    JOHN.       THK     HKLATION    TO    SWhULN       453 

in  the  other  on  the  luhil  {o(iel)  [jrinciph' ;  so  that  even  if  l)oth  desiretJ 
it,  they  could  not  assinnhite  tlieir  institutions  without  such  a  total 
subversion  of  all  social  arranj^ements  and  rij^hts  of  property  in  one 
or  other,  as  would  exceed  the  most  violent  revolution  in  modern 
times.  The  Swedish  lej^islative  body  consists  of  nobility,  derjjy, 
burgesses  of  towns,  and  peasantry,  forming  distinct  chambers,  and 
voting  by  chambers,  at  a  general  diet.  To  give  to  a  legislative  body 
or  diet,  so  constituted,  tlie  power  to  impo.se  taxes  and  frame  laws 
affecting  the  property  of  a  nation  having  no  representatives  in 
such  a  diet,  and  no  similar  classes  of  the  conmumity  in  its  social 
structure,  could  not  be  attempted  by  the  most  arbitrary  goverrmient, 
in  an  age  wiien  i)roi)erty,  especially  in  a  commercial  countr>'  con- 
nected with  others  as  Norway  is,  must  be  resi)ected."  ' 

Even  before  ascending  the  throne,  Charles  John  seems  to  have 
given  encouragement  to  the  discontent  of  Xor\vegian  binder,  due  to 
the  heavy  taxes  and  the  hard  times,  no  doubt  in  the  hope  that  if  the 
Norwegian  govermnent  became  unpopular,  a  change  in  the  consti- 
tution could  be  more  easily  effected.  In  1816  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Roslein,  who  represented  himself  as  his  secret  agent,  came  from  Swe- 
den, and  traveled  about  in  the  eastern  districts  of  the  kingdom,  tell- 
ing the  people  that  the  Storthing,  wliich  was  a  ver>'  expensive  insti- 
tution, was  the  cause  of  the  high  taxes  and  the  hard  times,  tliat  if 
tlie  king  received  more  power,  everytliing  would  be  ililVerent.  In 
several  districts  the  people  held  public  meetings  and  indulgetl  in 
loud  complaints  and  seditious  tidk.  Ilalvor  Hoel  in  Iledemarken 
even  collected  a  band  of  about  two  hundred  followers,  and  marcheti 
against  Christiania,  but  they  were  met  by  a  military  fi»ree.  and  were 
persuaded  to  return  home.  Iloel  himself  was  later  triixi  and  sen- 
tenced to  prison  for  the  term  of  three  years,  but  he  was  soon  par- 
doned by  the  king.  The  disturbance  was  not  of  a  serious  character, 
but  Charles  John  was  susjjected  of  having  aidixl  it,  and  this  causetl 
an  anti-Swedish  feeling  which  provwl  ver>-  unfavorable  to  an  amal- 
gamation policy.     The  same  is  true  of  aniither  unfctrtunate  incident. 

'  Siunuol  LjiitiK.  Journal  of  a  ReitiiUncr  in  Sorway,  p.  S.')  f.  J.  E.  Sars. 
Norgis  politiakf  Historic  tSlo-lSS5,  p.  30  (T.  Ynpvar  Niolson,  Carl  Johan 
som  han  inrkilig  var  og  som  han  skildren  af  J.  K.  Sars. 

Tho  Swedish  system  of  a  legislature  of  four  Estates  mentioned  by  Laiog 
existed  till  18G3,  when  tho  bicameral  system  was  introduced. 


454  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

John  Everth,  member  of  an  English  firm,  and  their  agent,  C.  J. 
Gerss,  w]io  had  cstabhshed  a  trading  station  at  Nyhohnen  in  the 
harbor  of  Bod0,  where  they  were  allowed  to  occupy  some  govern- 
ment buildings,  had  turned  smugglers,  and  carried  on  their  traffic 
on  a  large  scale.  The  government  officials  attempted  to  arrest  the 
two  men,  and  after  some  resistance  they  were  finally  lodged  in  jail, 
and  their  goods  were  confiscated.  After  a  short  time  the  smugglers 
were  released,  and  some  time  later  John  Everth  succeeded  in  decoy- 
ing a  part  of  the  guards  at  Nyhohnen  on  board  his  ships,  where  they 
were  detained  while  he  landed  with  twenty  men,  drove  away  the 
remaining  guards,  brought  the  goods  on  board  his  two  vessels,  and 
sailed  away.  Somewhere  in  the  North  Sea  he  placed  the  imprisoned 
guards  in  a  frail  boat  in  which  they  succeeded  in  reaching  shore. 
Tliis  flagrant  violation  of  all  laws  was  to  be  settled  by  diplomatic 
negotiations  between  the  English  and  Swedish  governments.  Everth 
not  only  claimed  that  he  was  innocent,  but  he  demanded  a  large 
indemnity,  which  the  Swedish  government  awarded  him  without 
making  any  very  serious  attempt  to  defend  the  rights  and  dignity 
of  Norway.  The  people  felt  that  the  Swedish  ministers,  to  whom 
the  foreign  affairs  of  both  kingdoms  were  intrusted,  had  been  very 
negligent,  and  that  their  country  had  been  treated,  not  as  a  sovereign 
kingdom,  but  like  a  province.^ 

Because  of  the  amalgamation  policy  pursued  by  Charles  John 
the  Storthing  was  not  only  in  danger  of  being  forced  to  agree  to  a 
revision  of  the  constitution,  but  the  Norwegians  were  not  accorded 
their  full  rights  as  a  sovereign  nation  in  all  respects  equal  with  Sweden. 
They  had  no  flag  which  w^as  generally  recognized,  and  south  of  Cape 
Finisterre,  Norwegian  merchant  vessels  had  to  use  the  union  flag, 
which  was  the  Swedish  flag  with  a  white  cross  in  a  red  field  as  a  union 
sign  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner.^  On  the  seals  and  in  public  docu- 
ments even  in  Norway  the  name  of  Sweden  always  preceded  that  of 
Norway,  and  the  diplomatic  and  consular  service  was  wholly  Swedish.^ 

*J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiske  Historie  1815-1885,  p.  43  f.  Samlinger 
udgivnt  af  den  norske  historiske  Kildeskriflkommissionen  1900,  Aktstykker  om 
Bod^sagen.  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  XL,  p.  247  ff.  Yngrvar  Nielsen, 
Bod6sagen.     Storthings  Eflcrretninger,  vol.  II.,  p.  622  ff.,  vol.  III.,  375  flf. 

*  J.  C.  Anker,  Tcgninger  af  Norges  Flag,  Christiania,  1888. 

» Munch  Rseder,  Unionen  og  egen  Udenrigsminister.    Sam  Clason,  Redo- 


TIIH    liVACS    OF    CHARLES   JOHN.      THE    UELATION   TO    SWEDEN       455 

Hveii  tlie  nttempts  of  the  Storthing  to  curry  out  tlu*  express  [>rr>- 
visions  of  the  constitution  met  with  determined  resistance.  In 
1815  a  bill  was  passed  aholishinK  the  Norwegian  hereditary-  nohility, 
as  the  few  representatives  of  this  clasj^  were  of  recent  and  foreign 
origin,  and  as  the  existence  of  such  a  class,  however  insignificant, 
could  not  ven-  well  ])e  reconciled  with  the  democratic  spirit  of  the 
Nonvegian  institutions.  The  king  refusefl  to  sanction  the  })ill,  hut 
it  was  passed  again  in  1818.  If  it  should  be  pa.ssed  a  third  time  in 
1821,  it  would  become  law  without  the  sanction  of  the  king,  acconi- 
ing  to  article  seventy-nine  of  the  Norwegian  constitution,'  and  the 
princi[)Ie  that  the  king's  veto  power  was  only  suspensive  would  l>e 
estai)lishe(l  also  in  practice.  The  king  brought  all  possible  pressure 
to  bear  on  the  Storthing  to  po.stpone  the  pa.s.sage  uf  the  bill,  lb- 
declared  tliat  the  European  powers  would  not  tolerate  sucli  a  >tep, 
that  war  would  be  sure  to  follow,  and  that  if  the  Storthing  insistefl 
on  passing  the  bill,  they  would  also  have  to  provide  means  for  making 
the  army  and  navy  ready  for  war.  lb  inight  punish  the  members 
of  the  Storthing  as  traitors,  he  said,  if  llu-y  vc-nture<l  to  pass  a  law 
whicli  he  had  not  sanctioned.  But  he  preferred  not  to  take  so  dra.stic 
a  step.  He  would  sign  the  bill  if  they  would  con.sent  to  postpone 
the  matter  till  some  other  time.  Threats  and  intimidations  did  not 
avail,  however,  as  the  Storthing  felt  that  the  constitution  itself  was 
on  trial.  The  bill  was  passed  a  third  time,  and  became  law  without 
royal  sanction. 

Another  and  more  serious  question  to  be  settled  was  whether 
Norway  should  pay  her  share  of  the  joint  .state  debt  of  Demnark- 
Norway.'^     By  the  treaty  of  Kiel  it  had  been  promised  the  king  of 

gjorclc  for  Uriionsfragans  tidligrrc  Skedcn,  p.  11  f.  .1.  I'tlH'Im.  GruwiUu-rn  om 
Norgcs  Udenrigsslyrr. 

'  "If  a  bill  has  bwn  passod  in  tho  .muno  fdriri  by  thnv  rr>:ii!.-»r  Sturthinjfw, 
constituted  aftor  three  suct-i'ssivo  elections,  and  spparatod  from  «<«rh  other 
by  at  least  two  intcrvoninjj  sessions  of  the  Storthing,  no  contrar>-  ru«olutioiw 
in  the  meantime  having;  been  pu,ss«'d  ]>>•  any  .session  of  the  Storthinj;  fn»m  tho 
time  of  the  introduction  of  the  bill  til!  its  final  pnss.ipo.  and  it  i*  then  p!:if<'<l 
before  the  kiiip  with  the  request  that  His  Majesty  will  not  n«fu«o  to  Hanotion 
tho  measure  whioh  the  Storthinn  after  .so  mature  delilM-ralion  eonsiders  u.m*- 
ful,  it  shall  become  a  law  even  if  the  sanction  i.s  not  grant^nl  b*'forH  tho  Slor- 
thinp  adjourns."      Article  79. 

»B.    von   Sehinkel,    Minnen,    vol.    X..    p.    Jl'*   '^       I'-dsivld   CotulUution, 


456  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Denmark  that  Norway  should  pay  her  share  in  proportion  to  the 
population  and  resources  of  the  two  kingdoms.  But  the  Norwegians 
did  not  recognize  that  treaty,  and  did  not  feel  obligated  by  a  promise 
which  the  Swedish  king  had  made  without  their  knowledge  or  con- 
sent. Denmark,  however,  turned  to  the  Quadruple  Alliance,  which 
had  assumed  control  of  the  political  and  international  affairs  of  all 
Europe,  and  welcomed  such  an  opportunity  to  show  its  zeal  and 
authority.  At  the  congress  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  where  neither  Den- 
mark nor  Sweden  was  represented,  the  great  powers  issued  strict 
orders  to  Charles  John  to  bring  this  dispute  to  a  speedy  close,  an 
undue  interference  with  the  private  affairs  of  a  sovereign  state  which 
he  very  promptly  resented.^  But  on  September  1,  1819,  an  agree- 
ment was  made  with  Deimiark,  according  to  which  Norway  should 
pay  the  sum  of  three  million  riksdaler.  Many  still  thought  that 
Norway  ought  to  refuse  to  pay,  as  the  principle  of  recognizing  the 
treaty  of  Kiel  was  involved,  but  the  majority  considered  it  unwise 
under  the  circumstances  to  repudiate  the  debt,  and  the  Storthing 
passed  a  bill  INIay  29,  1821,  providing  that  Norw-ay  should  pay  the 
amount  stipulated  in  the  agreement  of  1819.  Thereby  all  danger 
of  foreign  intervention  disappeared,  and  the  matter  ought  to  have 
been  regarded  as  settled,  but  Charles  John  seemed  determined  to 
strike  a  telling  blow  in  favor  of  his  long-cherished  hope  of  changing 
the  Norvs'egian  constitution.  Six  thousand  Swedish  and  Norwegian 
troops  were  assembled  for  maneuvers  on  the  plain  of  Etterstad  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Christiania.  It  was  also  discovered  that  the 
Swedish  soldiers  had  been  supplied  with  ball  cartridges,  as  if  they 
were  in  an  enemy's  country.  As  soon  as  the  army  had  assembled, 
a  Swedish  squadron,  carrying  300  guns  and  a  crew  of  2000  men,  en- 
tered the  harbor  of  Christiania,  and  on  July  17th  the  king  himself 
started  for  Norway,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  admirals,  generals, 
and  foreign  diplomats.  The  assembling  of  such  forces  around 
the  capital  at  a  moment  when  the  financial  distress  of  the  kingdom 
did  not  warrant  large  expenditures  for  military  display  could  have 
been  undertaken  only  for  the  most  sinister  purposes.     It  seems 

Article  93.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Stormagternes  Forhold  til  Norge  og  Sverige 
1816-1819,  p.  4  fif. ;  Diplomatiske  Aktstykker  vedkommende  Opgj^r  med  Daiv- 
mark. 

1  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Stormagternes  Forhold  til  Norge  og  Sverige  1815-1819, 
p.  81  ff. 


THE    REIGN    OF    CUARLEH   JOHN.       THE    RELATION    TO    HWKDEN       457 

almost  certain  tliat  the  kin^  c()ntemplatc<l  a  roup  d'etat.  In  wliith 
he  would  overthrow  tiic  XorueKiun  goveriinierit  and  consolidate 
Nor^vay  and  Swwlen.  On  June  1,  1821,  he  had  issued  a  circular 
note  to  the  powers,  in  which  he  violently  ass^iiled  the  Nr)nvegian^ 
for  disloyalty  and  ingratitude,  as  if  to  justify  the  step  he  had  d((  ide<| 
to  tiike.  The  whole  document  is  evidently  written  for  tin-  i)uriM>se 
of  arousing  the  j)n'ju(lice  of  the  j^reat  i)owers  against  Nonvay.  "The 
course  lately  j)ursuc(l  hy  the  Nor^vegian  StortliinK,"  he  says,  "could 
not  fail  to  attract  the  king's  most  serious  attention.  The  irtsurrw- 
tionary  spirit  of  soutlicrn  Europe  seems  to  have  infecte<l  the  minds 
also  in  the  North."  ^  After  he  had  heen  granted  full  power  over 
Norway  hy  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  he  says,  he  graiite<i  the  Norwegians 
a  free  constitution,  hut  his  kindness  liad  heen  rewarded  with  ingrati- 
tude, and  he  had  not  heen  ahle  to  persuade  the  Storthing  not  to  pa-ss 
the  hill  aholishing  tlie  N()r^vegian  nohility,  wljieh  was  contrary'  hoth 
to  the  laws  and  constitution.  He  would,  no  douht,  he  acting  within 
the  scope  of  his  right,  he  continues,  if  he  .said  to  the  Nonvegian 
people:  "You  violate  on  your  side  tlie  agreement  to  wiiieh  1  have 
given  my  consent;  therehy  I  am  reinstated  in  the  full  i)os.se.ssion  of 
the  rights  granted  me  hy  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  and  I  deprive  you  of  the 
liberty  which  I  once  granted  you,  but  which  you  have  so  sadly  mi.s- 
used.  Or  I  might  say  :  You  wi.sh  to  place  upon  Swe^len  the  bunlen 
of  your  pul)lie  debt,  although  Sweden  has  claims  against  y»)U  aris- 
ing from  the  eominon  expenditures  of  the  unitt'tl  realms.  In  this 
wi.se  you  raise  the  question  of  the  consolidation  of  the  two  kingdoms, 
and  I  only  follow  the  example  you  have  .set  when  I  carry  out  this 
consolidation.  Hut  faithful  to  that  system  of  forbearance  fnmi 
which  the  king  will  not  depart,  I  lis  Majesty  will  not  employ  either 
the  one  or  the  other  of  these  ways,  but  if  egotism  and  blindness  tx»n- 
tiime  to  disregard  his  counsel,  he  shall  be  obljgeil  to  re^t)n.^truct  the 
Nonvegian  con.stitution  on  foundations  which  give  greater  assurance 
of  general  safety."  ' 

'  In  the  sprinc  of  1S21  the  .\ustrians  had  .>;uppn»s.sod  the  libt-ralisi  uprising 
in  Naples,  and  the  attempt  of  the  army  in  I*i»Hlmont  to  orKani/,*'  a  n-volt 
in  favor  of  constitutional  Rovernment  was  also  crushed.  It  wa,s  the  hijfh 
tide  of  reaction,  and  the  Quadniple  Alliance  was  ea^forly  watrhinjj  to  nup- 
press  liberal  movements  everywhere. 

»  B.  von  Sehinkel.  Minncn,  vol.  X..  p.  201  fT.  J.  E.  Sar»,  Sorffft  poti- 
tiskc  Historic,  p.  62  ff. 


458  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

A  catastrophe  seemed  imminent,  but  the  king  did  not  strike  the 
threatened  blow.  He  had  reflected  upon  the  possible  consequences, 
and  the  thought  made  him  pause,  the  more  so  because  the  reply  of 
the  powers  to  his  circular  note  had  not  been  quite  as  favorable  as 
he  had  expected.  Charles  John  was  of  an  impulsive  nature,  easily 
stirred  to  wrath,  but  his  anger  was  of  the  passionate  kind  which  quickly 
subsided.  He  was  kind-hearted  and  generous,  never  truly  happy 
unless  he  felt  that  he  enjoyed  the  love  and  admiration  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  the  loyalty  shown  him  on  all  occasions  had  helped  to  calm 
his  temper.  The  great  maneuvers  ended  with  parades,  balls,  and 
dinners,  and  the  king  returned  to  Stockholm  without  having  accom- 
plished much  more  than  recovering  his  good  humor.  As  to  the 
changes  to  be  made  in  the  Norwegian  constitution,  he  contented 
himself  with  proposing  certain  constitutional  amendments  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Storthing.  The  chief  features  of  these  were : 
that  the  king  should  be  granted  absolute  veto,  and  the  right  to  dis- 
solve the  Storthing  and  order  new  elections  when  the  session  had 
lasted  over  three  months,  the  right  to  appoint  the  presidents  of  the 
Storthing,  the  right  to  remove  from  oflBce  all  officials,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  judges,  and  the  right  to  create  a  new  hereditary  nobility. 
Christian  Magnus  Falsen,  "the  father  of  the  constitution,"  also  pro- 
posed some  amendments,  which  aimed  to  destroy  the  political  power 
of  the  common  people,  democratic  features  of  the  constitution  which 
he  had  once  labored  so  hard  to  establish,  and  which  had  made  his 
name  illustrious.  This  strange  fickleness  put  a  stain  upon  his  char- 
acter which  tarnished  his  reputation  and  committed  his  name  to 
obscurity.^ 

•  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiske  Hislorie  1815-1885,  p.  72  ff.,  87  ff.  Yngvar 
Nielsen,  Christian  Magnus  Falsen,  Nordmcend  i  del  19de  Aarhundrede.  Erik 
Vullum,  Kristian  Magnus  Falsen,  Grundlovens  Fader,  p.  81  ff.  King  Charles 
John  proposed : 

1.  A  change  of  article  XV.  of  the  constitution,  so  that  the  two  Norwe- 
gian ministers,  who  should  alwaj's  be  in  Stockholm,  should  not  be  changed 
yearly,  as  the  constitution  provides,  but  according  to  the  king's  pleasure. 

2.  A  change  in  article  LVIII.,  whereby  the  Storthing  should  be  made 
to  assemble  in  the  summer,  and  the  king  should  be  allowed  to  convene  it 
in  any  Norwegian  city. 

3.  A  change  in  article  LXXI.,  by  which  the  king  should  receive  the  right 
to  dissolve  the  Storthing  and  order  new  elections. 


TMK    REIGN    OF    CHAKLES    JOHN.       THK    KELATION    TO    SWKDKN       459 

Tlu"  j>roj)t)se(l  unu'iuliiifiits  becaint-  tht-  i.s>Uf  in  tin*  political  <;aiU'> 
pui^ii  of  18J4.  They  were  vigorously  assjiilc*!  by  the  In'.st  writers, 
and  new  papers,  like  "  I'atroiiilleri/"  etlited  l»y  tlie  a))le  liherali.st  Lud- 
vi^  .MarilK)c,  were  founded  to  waj^e  the  fi^lit  for  the  eonstituti<»n. 
Only  Falsen  tsuiJ|)orted  the  aniciuhnents,  to  the  further  detriment 
of  his  already  tarnislie<l  reputiition.  Tlie  elections  returnetl  to  the 
Storthing  a  number  of  tlie  most  oqperienced  leaders  who  htul  been 
prominent  in  tJic  Eidsvold  Constituent  Assembly,  and  care  was 
taken  to  ajjpoint  as  members  of  tlie  constitutional  committee  men 
of  broad  experience  and  recojjnized  talents.  The  learned  jurist 
Christian  Krolig  was  made  cluiirman  of  tlie  conunittee,  the  otiier 
members  bein^  (ieorf{e  Sverdru|),  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  C.  G.  Ilorne- 
nnmn,  and  tlie  j^reat  orator  and  i)arliamentary  leader  Ingebret  Knuds- 
s0n.  KiiiK  Charles  John  used  all  his  inllueucc  to  carry  hi.i  amend- 
ments. He  used  threats  and  intimidations.  In  a  letter  to  Stat- 
iiolder  Sandels  he  wrote :  "  It  is  to  the  interest  of  tlie  Stortliing  that 
I  reserve  to  myself  tiic  power  to  dissolve  it  so  soon  as  circumstances 
demand  it,  and  I  will  be  obliged  to  do  so  unless  I  am  granted  absolute 

4.  A  chango  in  urti(.'lo  XXII.,  by  which  the  kinji  should  bo  allowed  to 
dismiss  from  ofTK'o  all  governmont  officials,  except  judges,  without  investi- 
gation or  trial. 

5.  A  chango  in  article  LXXIV.,  allowing  the  king  to  appoint  the  presi- 
dents and  vici'-prt'sidonts  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Stortliing  from  among 
its  mcMiibers,  and  that  the  Storthing  should  choose  as  secretaries  persons  not 
elected  as  repro.-^entatives. 

6.  A  change  in  article  LXXV.,  nooessitatod  bj-  the  change  in  articlo  LVIII. 

7.  The  canceling  of  article  LXXIX.,  which  provides  tliat  a  law  ean  Ihj 
passed  over  the  king's  veto. 

8.  A  change  in  article  LXXXI.,  neceflsitate<i  bv  the  canceling  of  article 
LXXIX. 

9.  The  canceling  of  paragraiphs  o.  and  i.  in  artiele  LXXXI  I. 

10.  A  change  in  article  XCII.,  necessitated  by  the  change  in  article 
LXXXII. 

11.  Introduction  of  a  now  article  providing  that  an  exlnt  8i'«tuon  of  the 
Storthing  should  consider  only  such  matters  as  the  king  should  lay  before  it. 

12.  An  addition  to  article  XXI II.,  by  which  the  king  should  rweive  the 
power  to  crwito  a  new  hereditary  nobility. 

13.  A  change  in  articles  LXXXVI,.  and  LXXXVil..  providing  for  a  dif- 
ferent organization  of  the  liigsrct,  or  Court  of  Impwichment. 

Kamptii  mtllcm  Norgcs  Storthing  og  Rrgjcriug.  fn)m  DnghUidet,  Christiania, 
1882.  P.  Flor,  Bemerkningcr  over  dr  paa  del  tredU  ordcntiigt  6torthing/rcm9aUe 
Konstitutionsforslag,  Drammen,  1823. 


4G0  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

veto  power,  for  the  eyes  of  the  absolute  monarchies  are  resting  upon 
us."  This  and  other  Uke  epistles  were  brought  to  the  attention  of 
tlie  Storthing,  but  nothing  availed.  Pursuant  to  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  constitutional  committee  the  amendments  were  voted 
down.  Some  of  the  more  essential  points,  as  that  of  absolute  veto, 
were  again  brought  forward  in  1827,  but  when  the  king  found  that 
they  could  not  be  carried,  he  withdrew  his  proposals  with  the  under- 
standing that  they  should  again  be  considered  in  1830.  He  had  been 
compelled  to  yield,  and  although  these  amendments  were  continually 
placed  before  the  Storthing  throughout  his  whole  reign,  his  threats 
had  lost  their  terror,  and  the  amendments  were  never  passed.  King 
Charles  John's  crusade  against  the  constitution  had  failed.  He  had 
only  taught  the  Norwegian  people  to  treasure  more  highly  this 
great  document,  and  to  preserve  it  unimpaired  as  the  charter  and 
bulwark  of  their  liberty. 

The  struggle  waged  by  the  king  against  the  celebration  of  the 
Norwegian  national  holiday,  the  Seventeenth  of  May,  was  no  more 
successful.  In  1827  the  Storthing  impeached  Jonas  Collett,  member 
of  the  Norwegian  ministry,  because  he  was  responsible  for  the  pro- 
mulgation of  unconstitutional  ordinances  and  the  expenditure  of 
money  in  excess  of  what  had  been  granted  by  the  Storthing.  This 
aroused  the  king's  temper  to  an  unusually  high  pitch,  and  he  thun- 
dered like  the  angry  Jove  against  what  he  regarded  as  an  undue 
usurpation  of  power  by  the  national  legislature.  But  his  anger  was 
soon  appeased,  and  he  departed  from  Christiania  in  the  best  of 
humor.  The  trial  of  Collett  was  allowed  to  proceed,  and  the  minister 
was  finally  acquitted.  But  the  king's  displeasure  was  again  kindled 
when  he  learned  of  attempts  to  celebrate  the  Seventeenth  of  May. 

Prior  to  1824  no  celebration  had  taken  place,^  but  in  that  year 
the  university  students  had  arranged  a  festival,  and  during  the  suc- 
ceeding years  it  became  customary  to  hoist  flags  on  the  ships  in 
the  harbor,  and  to  arrange  private  parties  in  honor  of  the  day. 
In  March,  1827,  before  the  king  departed  from  Christiania,  Stat- 
holder  Sandels  had  asked  that  the  people  be  allowed  to  celebrate 
the  Seventeenth  of  May,  and  the  king  had  given  an  answer  which 

*  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  XL,  p.  265  ff.  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiske 
Historic  1S13-1885. 


THE    REIGN    OF    CHARLES    JOHN.       THE    RELATION'    TO    SWEDEN       MM 

the  statholdcr  understood  to  Ix-  favonihle.  As  the  royal  l»aii  was 
now  supposed  to  lie  raised,  the  festivities  were  more  general  than 
they  had  been  on  any  pre\ious  occasion,  and  even  tlie  Storthing  ar- 
rangeti  a  public  dinner  in  their  assembly  rooms,  where  toasts  were 
drunk  to  the  health  of  the  king  and  various  members  of  the  royal 
family.  Hut.  to  the  surprise  of  all,  tlic  kiii^'  flew  into  a  rage  wh«-n 
he  heard  of  the  celebration,  and  when  a  miserable  Swedi>li  drama, 
which  was  j)layed  at  the  Christiania  theater  the  following  fall,  was 
hooted  oil'  the  stage  by  a  few  young  men  who  felt  that  it  would  re6ect 
on  their  intelligence  to  see  such  an  exhibition  without  protest,  he 
felt  sure  that  a  revolutir)n  was  on  the  point  of  breaking  out.  Stat- 
hokler  Sandels  was  dismissed  from  office,  and  in  his  place  was  ap- 
pointed H.  B.  von  riaten,  who  was  thoroughly  in  favor  of  the  policy 
of  amal^Mniation  and  the  consolidation  of  the  two  kingdoms.  But 
instead  of  .seeking  to  further  his  plan  of  amalgamation  by  attempting 
to  win  the  favor  and  good-will  of  the  Xor^vegian  people,  he  was  de- 
termined to  suppress  all  manifestations  of  a  distinct  national  spirit, 
and  especially  to  wage  war  on  the  celebration  of  the  Seventeenth 
of  May.  In  a  circular  letter  to  the  higher  oflicials  of  the  kingdom 
he  attempted  to  show  that  because  of  the  rights  which  Sweden  had 
secured  by  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  and  because  of  the  magiumimity  of 
Charles  John  towards  the  Norwegian  people,  either  August  14th. 
when  the  treaty  of  Moss  was  concluded,  or  October  14th,  when  the 
Storthing  declared  in  favor  of  union  with  Sweden,  or  November  4th. 
when  the  union  was  established,  ought  to  be  made  a  joint  holida\'  for 
both  countries,  but  May  17th  f)Ught  to  l)e  forgotten.  His  efforts 
were,  however,  in  vain,  as  he  could  issue  no  instructions  to  the  ofiieials 
which  they  were  obliged  to  heed. 

On  January  29,  1S28,  the  king  called  an  extra  session  of  the  Stor- 
thing, ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  considering  some  very  urgent 
matters.  But  as  none  of  the  proposals  submitte<l  could  be  regardetl 
as  very  urgent  measures,  it  was  clear  that  the  real  purfwise  of  the 
extra  session  had  not  yet  come  to  light.  Sars  thinks  that  he  wouM 
prevail  on  the  Storthing  to  annul  the  decree  of  the  court  in  tlie  im- 
peachment case  against  Collett,  and  to  give  sanction  to  the  preroga- 
tives which  he  believe<l  belonged  to  him;  but  when  he  found  that 
the  constitution  did  not  permit  sudi  a  course,  he  droj)j)e<l  the  matter, 


462  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

and  his  lofty  plans,  which  brought  him  to  summon  the  Storthing  into 
extra  session,  and  to  journey  to  Christiania,  dwindled  down  to  an 
attack  on  the  Seventeenth  of  May.  He  summoned  the  presidents 
and  \ice-prcsidents  of  the  Storthing,  and  delivered  a  speech  to  them, 
in  which  he  declared  the  celebration  of  the  Seventeenth  of  May  to  be 
an  insult  to  the  union  and  the  constitution  of  November  4,  1814. 
In  his  long  career  he  could  recall  many  bitter  moments,  he  said,  but 
the  bitterest  of  all  were  these  three :  first,  when  he  was  forced  to 
draw  his  sword  against  France,  his  native  land,  where  he  had  won 
his  military  reputation ;  second,  when  he  had  to  enter  Norway,  sword 
in  hand,  though  he  loved  the  Norwegian  people;  third,  when  he 
learned  that  the  Storthing  had  celebrated  the  Seventeenth  of  May 
by  arranging  a  public  dinner.^  In  order  to  please  the  king  on  this 
rather  trivial  point,  the  Storthing  resolved  not  to  celebrate  the 
Seventeenth  of  ^Nlay.  The  people  throughout  the  country,  even 
the  students,  heeded  the  resolution  passed  by  the  Storthing,  so  that 
even  Statholder  von  Platen  complimented  them  on  their  loyalty. 
Had  the  statholder  acted  with  tact  and  good  judgment,  it  is  possible 
that  the  people  might  have  been  persuaded  to  abandon  the  idea  of 
making  that  day  a  national  holiday.  But  the  following  year  an 
event  occurred  which  made  the  matter  a  national  issue,  and  rendered 
all  restraint  useless. 

In  1829  the  Students'  Union  (Studentersamfundet)  decided  to  make 
the  Seventeenth  of  May  one  of  their  regular  holidays,  and  a  private 
festival  was  arranged  for  in  the  apartments  of  the  club.  This  affair 
was  conducted  in  the  most  quiet  way,  and  nothing  happened  which 
could  attract  any  attention.  The  day  was  warm  and  beautiful. 
Many  people  were  assembled  at  the  wharf  to  see  the  steamer  "  Consti- 
tutionen, "  which  just  arrived  in  port,  and  as  a  steamer  was  rather 
an  uncommon  siglit  in  those  days,  the  vessel  was  greeted  with  hurrahs 
and  the  singing  of  national  songs.  Later  in  the  afternoon  many 
people,  especially  women  and  children,  nmnbering  in  all  about  500, 
assembled  in  the  public  square  to  enjoy  the  fresh  air  and  the  fine 
weather.  The  authorities  grew  nervous  and  ordered  them  to  go 
home,  but  this  warning  was  not  heeded,  as  the  people  failed  to  see 
why  such  an  order  should  be  issued.  In  the  evening,  about  nine 
*  B.  von  Schinkel,  Minnen,  vol.  XL,  p.  274  ff. 


THE    REIGN    OP   CUAKLEtt    JOHN.       THE    liELATlON    To    8WEUEN       4<)3 

o'clock,  the  chief  of  poHce  cause«l  th«-  rint  act  to  he  read,  aiui  a  furct- 
of  cavaln  and  infantry  was  sent  from  tlie  fortress  of  Akf-rbhuH  to 
clear  the  streets.  Several  persons  were  ridden  down,  but,  fortunately, 
no  one  was  seriously  hurt.  The  people  returned  to  their  homes,  and 
the  "battle  of  the  market-place"  was  over,  but  j;reat  indifjnation 
prevailed,  as  they  felt  that  an  outrage  had  l>ecn  committe^l  against 
a  peaceful  and  law-abiding  pul)lic.  At  the  inquiry  which  was  in- 
stituted it  was  i)roven  that  the  people  had  not  disturbed  the  peace 
or  done  anything  uidawful.  The  wrath  of  the  ofFendeii  people  was 
especially  turned  against  Statholder  von  Platen,  who,  as  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Norwegian  army,  was  responsible  for  the  conduct  of 
the  military.  lie  left  Christiania  shortly  after  the  afTair,  but  when 
he  returned  in  the  fall  he  was  met  with  such  ill-will  that  the  situation 
became  intolerable.  In  a  short  time  he  took  sick  and  died,  and  it  is 
thought  that  this  was  due  in  part  to  chagrin  and  disappointment. 
The  commission  of  inquiry'  had  decided  that  twelve  of  the  leaders 
who  had  arranged  the  celebration,  among  others  the  j)oet  Henrik 
Wergelaiid,  who  was  a  leader  among  the  students,  should  be  prosi*- 
cuted,  and  the  commandant  of  Akershus  .should  be  censure*!  for 
indiscretion.  But  the  people  of  Christiania  vowed  tliat  tliey  would 
have  their  rights.  They  sent  a  memorial  to  the  Storthing  protesting 
against  the  outrage.  This  was  referred  to  the  constitutional  com- 
mittee, with  the  result  that  the  Storthing  issued  an  address  to  tiie 
king,  defending  the  celebration  of  the  Seventeentli  of  May  as  a  right 
belonging  to  the  people.  During  the  following  years  tlie  day  was 
publicly  celebrated,  ajid  the  Storthing  joined  in  the  festivities  with- 
out further  interference  from  the  king.  The  Seventeentli  of  May  had 
become  a  recognize*!  national  holiday. 

'V\\v  king's  attempt  to  i)revent  the  N'onvegians  from  celebrating 
tlie  Seventeenth  of  May  was  a  part  of  a  systematic  effort  to  rethuv 
Norway  to  a  Swedish  province,  inauguratcnl  by  the  attack  on  the 
Norwegian  constitution.  \\]\nt  he  .sought  to  «lo,  says  J.  K.  Sars. 
was  '*  to  carry  out  tin*  Swtnlish  views  of  the  relation  between  tlie  two 
kingdoms  in  the  union.  In  both  instances  he  appean-tl  as  Swetiisli 
king,  as  representative  of  the  will  of  tin-  Swedish  people,  Swedisii 
political  and  national  interests  and  \  ii'ws,  not  a>  king  of  .Norway.  .  .  . 
He  ajjpeared  as  Norwegian  king  only  when  !»«•  was  to  receive  appa- 


464  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

nages,  and  when  he  was  to  be  greeted  with  hurrahs  and  triumphal 
arches.  The  kingdom  and  Sweden,  the  union  and  the  kingdom, 
Sweden  and  the  union,  appeared  to  him  as  one  and  the  same  thing,  or 
as  the  necessary  and  combined  powers  in  opposition  to  the  Norwegian 
democracy."  ^ 

This  pohcy  of  amalgamation,  the  attempt  to  strengthen  the  union 
at  the  expense  of  Norway,  became  an  issue  which  forced  the  two 
peoples  ever  farther  apart,  and  created  a  prolonged  political  struggle 
which  culminated  in  the  separation  of  the  two  countries. 

57.   Young  Norway.    Henrik  Wergeland  and  Johan  Sebastian 
Welhaven.    Literary  and  Intellectual  Revival 

One  of  the  names  which  had  been  most  frequently  mentioned 
during  the  excitement  connected  with  the  celebration  of  the  Seven- 
teenth of  May,  1829,  was  that  of  Henrik  Wergeland,  a  son  of  Nicolai 
Wergeland,  at  that  time  only  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  had  cried 
hurrah  for  the  steamer  ''Constitutionen,"  and  in  the  evening  a  cav- 
alryman had  struck  him  across  the  back  with  his  saber.  This  stain  of 
oppression  he  regarded  as  such  a  disgrace  to  his  student's  uniform 
that  he  sent  it  in  a  basket  to  the  commandant  of  Akershus.^  In  this 
strange  episode  the  young  patriot  makes  his  first  debut  in  the  his- 
tory of  his  people,  in  which  he  was  destined  to  play  so  singular  a 
part,  and  to  win  a  name  with  which  no  other  can  be  fully  compared. 
"  Who  is  Henrik  Wergeland,  under  whose  silent  supremacy  we  live  ?  " 
writes  Erik  Vullum.  "He  has  become  for  us  what  the  household 
deity  was  to  the  ancients.  They  might  hate  or  love  the  god,  it 
mattered  not,  for  all  had  to  worship  him,  and  bring  their  offerings,  and 
all  were  aided  by  him  in  their  work.  We  may  be  supporters  or  oppo- 
nents of  the  ideas  which  Wergeland  advocated,  but  we  must  have  him 
with  us.  It  is  as  though  we  felt  that  there  is  no  hope  of  success 
for  an  undertaking  in  our  country  unless  it  has  the  consecration  of 
the  name  and  spirit  of  Wergeland,  and  all  like  to  make  him  their 
own.  He  is  disrobed  or  attired  according  to  the  needs  of  the  hour 
and  the  party.     Are  there  ten  of  us  who  have  the  same  conception  of 

1  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiske  Hislorie  1815-1885,  p.  125  fif. 
*  Henrik  Wergeland,  Samlede  Skrifter,  vol.  VII.,  p.  550. 


II  YOUNfi    NOKWAY  465 

the  jirt'jit  iiidispciisahle  one,  wlio  miitcs  iiiulcr  his  sway  the  yctung 
rf|)ul)nc-;iiis  and  the  sUiid  und  di^iiilic<l  dc|)artin('nt  offidal.sy 

■  It  is  not  tlir()Uj;h  his  poetrj'  he  has  won  tliis  power  over  us.  A 
jtoet  may  lu'  loved  by  all.  hut  he  is  not  equally  indispensable  to  all. 
Werj^eland  has  exerted  a  deeper  influence  on  our  lives  than  rhyme 
and  riiythm  can  produce  if  they  he  as  perfect  and  melodious  as  tlie 
music  of  the  spheres.  Not  tlirouj^h  his  stormy  life,  or  his  beautiful 
death,  nor  even  through  his  genius  has  he  won  tiie  inuunrtal  glory 
which  he  now  enjoys,  of  sitting  entlironed  in  sympathetic  and  believ- 
ing human  hearts  as  the  prince  of  patriots.  His  undying  fame  he 
lias  earned  by  patient  drudgery  devoted  to  the  national  needs  of 
the  hour."  ' 

The  cleavage  in  Norwegian  society  caused  by  the  Reformation 
when  the  Danish  language  was  introduced  as  the  church  and 
literary  language  still  existcxl.  Tlie  city  population  and  the  official 
class,  including  the  clergy,  which  were  strongly  mixed  with  foreign 
elements,  had  thorotighly  asshnilated  the  Danish  language  and  cul- 
ture, while  the  rural  population  still  spoke  their  own  tongue,  and 
adhered  to  their  old  customs.  Under  the  shelter  of  absolutism  in 
the  period  of  the  union  with  Denmark,  which  fostere<l  a  distinct 
aristocratic  spirit  among  the  cultured  classes,  this  condition  had 
assinned  a  rigid  permanence,  and  the  binder  had  become  shar{)ly 
differentiated  from  the  city  population  and  official  class,  not  only  in 
customs  and  language,  but  also  in  views  and  sympathies.  The 
men  of  I'idsvold  had  created  liberal  political  institutions  .suite<l  to 
the  most  democratic  society,  but  during  the  great  European  reac- 
tion, 1814-1830,  it  became  evident  tluit  the  old  .spirit  of  cla.ss  prej- 
udice, desire  for  special  privileges,  and  antipathy  to  the  common 
people  still  prevailed  in  higher  social  circles.  The  officials  showixl 
strong  bureaucratic  tendencies,  and  contimied  to  nde  in  the  old  s|)irit, 
even  under  the  new  constitution.  Their  views  and  tastes  remaineil 
to  a  large  extent  unchanged,  ai\d  they  were  glad  to  settle  down  tt*  the 
old  ways,  not  thinking  that  the  great  politic-al  ihange  would  ntves>i- 
tate  a  radical  social  readjustment.  What  the  result  would  be  when 
the  InUidrr  should  assume  political  leadership  was  a  thought  which 
had  not  >  et  dawiuil  upcm  their  luiml,  as  tlu'y  do  not  stvm  to  have 
'  Krik  Vullum,  Utiirik  WcrgtUind  i  l>igt  og»L\v. 
VOL.  n  —  2h 


466  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

considered  such  a  state  of  affairs  to  be  within  the  realm  of  possi- 
bility. In  literature  no  progress  had  been  made  since  Det  norske 
Sebkah  flourished  in  Copenhagen,  and  poets  like  Schwach,  Johan 
Storm  Munch,  S.  O.  Wolff,  and  H.  A.  Bjerregaard  were  not  even 
as  well  known  as  Johan  Nordahl  Brun,  Johan  Herman  Wessel,  Claus 
Frimann,  and  other  members  of  Det  norske  Selskab.  An  intellectual 
and  social  revival  would  have  to  rouse  the  people  to  new  life  and 
national  self-consciousness,  before  they  would  be  able  to  enter  into 
full  possession  of  their  liberty,  or  to  begin  the  new  development 
which  their  independence  and  free  institutions  made  possible.  This 
revival  came  in  1830  with  Henrik  Wergeland,  who  in  patriotism  and 
aspirations  was  the  personification  of  young  Norway. 

Romanticism,  which  had  caused  a  new  intellectual  awakening 
in  Germany  and  Denmark,  had  not  reached  Norway,  though  the 
higher  classes  still  thought  that  their  country  continued  to  be  de- 
pendent upon  Denmark  for  higher  intellectual  culture  and  refined 
literary  and  artistic  taste.  If  they  had  been  able  to  realize  their 
theory  in  practice,  the  same  impulses  which  stirred  the  Danish  people 
to  new  activity  could  also  have  been  transmitted  to  Norway,  and 
some  progress  might  have  been  made,  but  they  were  content  with 
the  old  ideas  which  had  flourished  in  Denmark  several  decades 
earlier.  These  ideas,  which  represented  the  good  old  intellectual 
stock  in  trade  which  had  been  inherited  from  the  union  period,  had 
become  associated  with  everything  aesthetic  and  bon  ton.  They  could 
produce  no  new  growth,  but  satisfied  the  wants  of  a  limited  number 
of  aristocratic  families  who  desired  to  live  in  intellectual  repose  on 
their  well-garnished  cultural  provision  chest.  The  few  new  ideas 
which  were  imported  from  Denmark  were  of  the  romantic  kind,  which 
dreamed  of  the  faded  glories  of  a  remote  past,  and  hence  harmonized 
perfectly  with  the  tranquillity  and  refined  taste  which  already  existed 
in  the  higher  circles,  and  which  were  regarded  as  the  acme  of  cultural 
perfection.  In  the  midst  of  this  sedate  and  self-satisfied  autocratic 
elegance  Henrik  Wergeland  appeared  as  a  huge  storm  center,  causing 
an  intellectual  upheaval  such  as  the  nation  had  not  yet  experienced. 
Long  cherished  literary  views  were  challenged,  and  old  social  ideas 
were  given  a  rude  shock.  It  was  a  storm  which  electrified  and 
cleansed  the  atmosphere,  and  stirred  the  germs  of  life  into  new  growth. 


II  OENRIK    WERGELAVD    AND    JOHAN    KEB.\imAN    WEIJIAVKN        467 

WerKeland  was  a  representative  of  that  spirit  (tf  the  agr  which 
manifested  itself  in  the  struggU'  for  natioiiahty  and  liberty  in  nearly 
all  parts  of  Euroi)e.  and  whicii  in  Hri^land  found  its  best  expression 
in  the  poetry  of  Shelley  and  Byn)n.  The  elfort  of  the  human  spirit 
to  free  itself  from  political  and  social  oppression,  and  to  break  through 
the  narrow  systems  of  conventional  views  and  arbitrary  rules  of 
art,  engendered  a  feeling  of  wcltitrhmertz,  but  created  also  the  charm- 
ing hope  that  liberty  once  established  would  regenerate  the  worhi 
and  usher  in  tlie  millennium.  The  struggle  of  the  (Iri'eks  for  free- 
dom had  become  the  cause  of  all  Kurope,  which  Byron  had  glorifie<l 
in  his  poetry  and  consecrated  with  his  death.  On  no  one  had  these 
events  made  a  more  profound  imj^rcssion  than  on  the  perfer\id 
genius  of  Wergeland.  He,  too,  would  have  hastened  to  the  aid  of 
the  Greeks,  if  he  had  been  a  wealthy  and  powerful  lord  instead  of 
a  young  student,  the  son  of  the  poor  cIcrgNTnan  of  P'idsvold.  In 
1827  he  wrote:  "When  I  think  of  the  future  everything  grows  dark 
—  I  tremble.  I  said  to  my  father  that  I  must  go  to  Greece,  that 
my  life  may  not  be  wholly  in  vain."  And  after  the  death  of  Canning 
he  wrote  a  poem  in  praise  of  England,  which  "  like  a  sharp-beaked 
sea-eagle  rises  from  her  foggy  nest  to  aid  the  Greeks."  '  His  ardent 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty  was  further  strengthened  through 
extensive  reading  of  French  literature,  and  finally  by  the  July  Revo- 
lution in  Paris  in  18;i0,  which  revived  the  (Irooj)ing  spirit  of  all  liber- 
alists  in  Europe.  In  1881  he  visited  France,  where  he  came  into 
personal  contact  with  the  most  advanced  liberal  ideas.  Hitherto 
the  liberalists  had  sought  to  win  political  liberty,  but  the  English 
naturalists,  and  still  more  the  French  romanticists,  emancipated 
themselves  from  established  rules  also  in  regard  t(»  literature,  art, 
and  social  conditions.  St.  Simon  laid  the  foundations  of  Socialism, 
and  Victor  Hugo  and  his  followers  declared  the  right  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  disregard  all  recognized  rules  of  art.  and  to  ex])re88  his 
thoughts  and  feelings  in  his  own  way,  unhamj)ereti  by  any  establislu*<l 
authority.  I'nder  the  influence  of  English  and  Fn-nch  literature 
and  lii)eral  ideas  Henrik  Wergeland  had  develop«-<l  his  p»)litical  and 
literar\-  theories  and  his  whole  view  of  life.  *' As  Nort\-egian  lilK?rty 
in  1814  sprang  from  the  great  French  Revolution."  says  Halvdan 

'  Erik  VuUum,  Henrik  Wergeland  i  Digt  og  Liv,  p.  30. 


468  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Koht,  "so  germs  of  the  new  French  revolutionary  ideas  had  blown 
to  Norway,  where  they  found  opportunity  to  grow  in  the  mind  of 
the  man  who  produced  the  great  awakening  of  his  people."  ^ 

Wergeland  laid  no  new  foundations,  but  he  was  the  chief  architect 
who  reared  the  cultural  structure  of  Norway  on  the  foundations  laid 
by  the  Eidsvold  men,  and  continued  to  work  in  their  spirit.  They 
had  adopted  the  liberal  and  progressive  ideas  which  had  their  origin 
in  English  political  institutions  and  scientific  thought,  and  which 
found  their  full  development  in  the  revolutionary  struggles  of  America 
and  France ;  he  made  these  ideas  the  living  force  in  the  new  national 
development.  They  had  made  the  people  supreme  in  theory ;  he 
would  make  them  supreme  in  practice.  They  had  acted  for  the 
people;  he  taught  the  people  to  act  for  themselves.  The  resolute 
resolve  to  lead  a  free  national  existence  which  enabled  the  Eidsvold 
men  to  achieve  such  great  things  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the  people's 
history  should  inspire  every  citizen,  and  Norway  would  rise  tri- 
umphant from  her  humiliation  to  new  national  greatness.  It  be- 
came his  task  to  create  new  national  life  and  self-confidence,  to  unite 
the  people  in  the  effort  to  make  themselves  truly  independent,  and 
to  create  a  literature  and  higher  culture  of  their  own.  For  this  work 
he  was  qualified,  not  only  by  a  rare  literary  genius,  but  also  through 
his  ability  for  hard  work,  his  love  for  everything  national,  and  his 
profound  sjTnpathy  for  all  who  were  poor  and  needy,  traits  which 
made  him  the  national  leader  and  invincible  idol  of  the  common  peo- 
ple.    His  father,  Nicolai  Wergeland,  describes  him  as  follows : 

"Henrik  Wergeland  has  been  from  his  earliest  youth  an  ardent 
liberalist,  philanthropist,  and  patriot,  and  he  has  not  yet  (1843) 
proven  untrue  to  this  character.  He  has  been  inspired  by  love  for 
the  freedom  and  happiness  of  his  fatherland  and  for  the  enlighten- 
ment and  well-being  of  the  people.  No  one  has  loved  the  people 
so  well,  and  no  one  has  sought  to  a  like  degree  in  all  possible  ways 
to  serve  them.  No  one  has  so  unselfishly  espoused  their  cause  with- 
out regard  for  the  annoyance  and  misfortunes  which  he  reaped  from 
it.  He  always  considered  how  he  might  serv^e  the  people,  and  when 
he  found  an  opportunity,  he  acted  with  energy  without  fear  or  regard 
for  any  hindrance,  and  without  any  thoughts  of  loss  or  profit  to 

•  Henrik  Wergeland,  p.  67. 


I'l. A  I  I.     \II 


Ill.M..:.      W    .     :         .    I    VM). 


II  IIENKIK    WKHGllLA.ND    A.NU    JOllAX    SEBASTIAN    WKLMAVKN       409 

himself.  In  1825  his  father  depositeti  for  him  in  the  savings  hank 
a  hundretl  specie  daler,  and  he  earnestly  bcKKwl  that  of  this  sum  lie 
mij;ht  ^ive  his  poor  uncle  fifty  specie  daler.  *  If  we  .saw,'  he  said,  'a 
good  mill  standing  idle  for  want  »if  water,  would  we  not  open  the 
mill  race?  Let  me  havi'  the  joy  to  start  this  mill.'  He  <livide<l  his 
breail  with  tlie  j)oor ;  he  took  liis  coat  otf  and  gave  it  to  the  one  who 
had  none.  '  I  gave  what  I  had,'  he  wrote  once, '  two  specie  daler  and 
a  new  shirt.  I  ran  out  and  securinl  six  or  seven  customers  for  the 
man.  The  food  grows  hitter  in  my  moutli  when  I  think  of  all  the 
miserj'.  It  .seems  to  me  that  I  have  no  right  to  Siitisfy  my  hunger."  " 
"  \Vlien  the  people  learned,"  continues  his  father,  "that  Ilnirik  \V»t- 
geland  was  their  honest,  fearless,  and  unsi'lfish  friend,  all  who  were  in 
need  or  considereil  them.selves  wronged  or  oppre.s.setl  came  to  him 
to  seek  help,  counsel,  and  protection.  Tliis  increa.sed  more  and  more 
after  the  year  1830.  Not  only  from  Eidsvold,  but  from  other  parts 
people  sought  him,  and  still  (1843)  they  come  from  far  away  on  such 
errands."  '  llic  people  had  at  last  found  a  Icach-r  whose  name 
became  their  battle  crj',  the  sign  by  which  tliey  were  dc.>titutl  lo 
conquer. 

Tlie  signal  for  the  great  national  struggle  which  was  now  preci|)i- 
tated  was  tlie  publication  of  Wcrgdaiid's  gri'atest  literary  work, 
"Skabelsen,  Mennesket  og  Messias."  Shortly  after  the  appearance 
of  this  work,  on  August  15.  1830.  "  Morgenbladct  "  printetl  an  anony- 
mous poem,  "Til  Ilenrik  Wergeland,"  which  a.s.sailcil  the  jmk'I  in 
the  bitterest  terms,  and  concluded  by  declaring  that  he  bel«)ngeii  t«> 
the  Parnassian  madhouse  candidates.  The  author  of  the  \HK-in  was 
the  young  poet  .lohan  Seba.stian  Wdhavcn,  born  in  1807.  and  by 
one  year  Wergeland's  senior.-     Welhaven  al.so  wi>hetl   to  bring  aUiul 

>  Halvdan  Kohl,  Henrik  Wergeland,  p.  2.'>,  7.'>.  Huns  TiJmia«f«T.  Horu- 
doms-  oy  Ungdomxminder  om  Henrik  \\'tr{ftUind.  (JiTluirtl  (tran.  // 
Wergelatid,  Nurdimrnd  i  del  I'Jdc  Aurhundndt.  J.  K.  Siirs.  SumUde  \  ■ 
vol.  IV..  p.  102  ff..  l.'>4  ff.  Gerhard  Oran.  SoTgia  Ihrmrinv.  p.  221  ff.  Hnrt- 
vig  Lassen.  Ilvnrik  Wirgdand  og  hana  Samtid.  Hi-nrik  Ja<gi>r.  IUustr,rrl 
norsk  UUmturhislorir,  vol.  II..  p.  87  fT.  J.  K.  Sarn.  Sorgrt  polUUke  H\t- 
toriv  ISl',-lSSr>,  p.  131  fT.  Just  BiiiK.  \or»k  Literal urhiitorit,  p.  77  ff. 
Olav  Skavliui.  Henrik  WcrgtUmd.  AfhnndUugcr  og  lirudstykkcr.  Kri!iti»n 
Prost^ard.  Norske  Kvad,  Dtn-orah.  la.,  p.  '.•  IT. 

»  Arne  Lochon.  J.  S.  Welluivtn.  Liv  og  Skn/icr.  G.Thanl  (Jnm.  J.  S.  Wrl- 
haven,  Nordmcend  i  dtl  I9dc  Aarhundredc.     J.  S.  Welhavon.  Samlrdc  Sknftrr. 


470  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

a  revival  in  Nonvegian  intellectual  life,  and  in  regard  to  the  theory 
of  poetry  he  represented  new  ideas,  as  he  was  influenced  by  the 
Danish  romanticists.  But  he  agreed  with  the  conservative  upper 
classes  that  higher  culture  had  to  be  introduced  from  Denmark,  and 
as  to  poetic  form  and  diction  he  clung  with  scholastic  fidelity  to  the 
old  rules.  The  attack  on  Wergeland  did  not  remain  unanswered, 
and  soon  the  literary  battle  between  these  two  leaders  waxed  furious, 
and  attracted  widespread  attention.  In  1832  Welhaven  published 
a  critique  of  Wergeland's  poetry,  entitled  "Henrik  Wergelands  Digte- 
kunst  og  Polemik  ved  Aktstykker  oplyste,"  in  which  he  lays  down 
the  rules  for  lyric  poetry,  and  tries  to  show  that,  as  Wergeland's  poems 
do  not  conform  to  these  rules,  he  is  not  a  poet.  But  his  rules  are 
so  narrow  that  they  could  not  be  followed  without  serious  detriment 
to  the  poetic  art,  and  his  critique  shows  that  personal  animosity  has 
obscured  his  vision,  and  has  rendered  him  unable  to  recognize  the 
great  genius  of  his  rival.  Welhaven  regarded  poesy  as  beautiful 
images  and  tender  sentiment  wrought  into  harmonious  and  elegant 
verse.  He  wrote  as  with  a  painter's  pencil,  tracing  his  own  inner 
life  and  feelings  with  so  refined  a  taste  that  his  lines  are  capable 
of  creating  like  feelings  in  others,  and  his  poetry  excels  in  descriptive 
beauty  and  lyric  tenderness.  Wergeland's  rugged  force  and  fre- 
quent disregard  for  form  offended  him.  He  regarded  his  scope  and 
depth  as  obscurity,  his  freedom  in  diction  and  versification  as  form- 
lessness and  chaos. 

To  Wergeland  poetry  was  not  lyric  sentiment  or  lovely  fancy-bred 
images  perched  in  serene  tranquillity  above  the  clouds.  It  was  an 
expression  of  the  storms  and  struggles,  the  joys  and  sorrows,  of  life 
itself.  To  him  poesy  was  the  sword  in  the  fight,  the  implement 
in  his  daily  labor,  the  expression  of  his  whole  personality  in  vigorous 
activity.  His  poems  are  wrought  from  the  thoughts  and  experiences 
of  the  hour.  There  are  living  heartbeats  in  his  rh\Tiies  and  rhythms, 
tears  and  triumph,  battle  shouts  and  joyous  laughter  in  his  lines. 
It  is  doubtful  if  ever  another  poet  to  a  like  degree  has  succeeded  in 
making  life  poetry  and  poetry  life  —  the  real  secret  of  his  greatness 
and  his  unique  influence. 

vol.  I.,  p.  15  ff.  J.  E.  Sars,  J.  S.  Welhaven,  Samlede  Verker,  vol.  IV„  p. 
130  ff. 


I 


II  LITERARY    AND    INTF.LLErTUAL   REVIVAL  471 

In  taste  and  cliaractcr  tht-  two  poets  were  a.s  ditTenut  n.s  in  tlieir 
theories.  VVeiliaven,  who  was  tiie  son  of  a  Hergerj  clerpynian,  he- 
lon^ed  in  even-  way  to  the  upi)er  ehisses,  while  Wergeland  belonged 
both  hy  training;  and  syiripatliirs  to  the  eoinrnon  people,  with  whom 
lie  became  ever  more  closely  identified.  The  two  represente<l  the 
incompatibility  which  has  always  existed  l)etween  the  binder  and 
the  officials,  and  their  friends  and  supjxjrters  .soon  fomiwl  two  dis- 
tinct parties,  tlie  first  in  modern  Nonvej^ian  histors-,  and  in  a  direct 
line  the  forerunners  of  the  two  great  political  parties  which  ajjpi-ared 
later.  Welhaven's  friends,  among  whom  were  found  nearly  all  the 
officials,  were  called  the  Intelligence  i)arty.  as  they  j)o>e<i  as  the 
representatives  of  refined  taste  and  higher  intellectual  culture,  while 
Wergeland's  party,  which,  besides  a  few  literary  friends,  embrace*! 
the  common  classes,  were  calk^  Patriots,  becau.se  of  their  .strictly 
natioiud  program.  The  clashes  between  the  two  gniuj)s  soon  W<\ 
to  a  split  in  the  Students'  Union  (.Stuflentersamfundet).  l-'ifty- 
six  members,  including  many  of  the  most  talented  leaders,  like  A. 
Schweigaard.  F.  Stang,  P.  A.  Munch,  J.  S.  Welhaven,  HernlumI 
Dunker,  and  U.  A.  Motzfcldt,  seceded  in  1S:52  and  fonned  a  new 
students'  union  (Studenterforbundet).  They  also  began  to  publish 
a  periodical,  "Vidar,"  but  it  receivwl  no  support  from  the  j)ublic 
and  had  to  be  discontinued  two  years  later.  In  the  meantime. 
Welhaven  was  preparing  for  a  new  onslaught  on  tlie  Patriots.  In 
1834  he  publi.shcd  his  long  critical  poem  "Norges  Dtemring"  ("The 
Dawn  of  Nonvay"),  in  which  he  attacked  the  semi-culture,  narn)w- 
mindedne.ss,  and  blind  and  boisterous  i)atriotism  which  he  attributes 
to  his  opj)onents.  It  was  a  violent  assault,  full  of  invivtive  and 
bitterness,  and  the  Patriots  considered  it  an  attack  on  their  c<»untr>''» 
honor,  though  it  is  certain  that  the  authi»r  had  no  such  intention.' 
The  storm  of  controversy  ro.se  to  a  veritable  tempest,  and  as  l)otli 
parties  had  begun  to  jmblish  their  own  payiers,  tiie  effects  of  the 
stniggle  were  felt  in  wider  circles  than  hitherto.  In  \H'M\  tije  Intelli- 
ge!>ce  i)arty  began  the  j)ublication  of  a  daily  paper.  "Pen  Consti- 
tutionelle."  The  Patriot  party  organ,  "  l''olkebladet."  foundetl  in 
1831  by  P.  P.  Flor,  had  ceased  to  api)ear.  but  th«'  more  ratlical  opjKisi- 

'  (rerhard  Onm,  Norges  Dccmring.  .Vnif  Lodiiii,  J .  S.  Welhaven,  Liv  og 
Skriftcr,  p.  179  ff. 


472  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

tional  paper  " Statsborgeren "  ("The  Citizen")  was  still  in  full  activ- 
ity. This  was,  however,  a  scurrilous  sheet,  whose  editor,  P.  P.  Soelvold, 
was  convicted  of  libel  and  dismissed.  In  order  to  help  the  unfor- 
tunate man,  Henrik  Wergeland  undertook  to  edit  the  paper,  though 
he  thereby  exposed  himself  to  the  bitterest  attacks  of  his  opponents, 
who  would  make  him  responsible  for  everything  which  had  ever 
appeared  in  its  columns. 

The  conflict  between  the  two  parties,  at  first  only  literary,  grad- 
ually assumed  also  a  social  and  political  character.  It  was  Werge- 
land's  aim  to  place  the  power  in  the  hands  of  the  common  people, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  constitution,  while  the  leaders 
of  the  Intelligence  party  wished  to  maintain  the  predominance  of 
the  upper  classes  in  political  as  well  as  in  intellectual  and  social  life. 
Both  parties  were  patriotic,  both  wished  to  advance,  but  along  dif- 
ferent routes.  It  was  a  question  whether  the  new  national  life  should 
be  aristocratic  or  democratic,  whether  the  new  cultural  development 
should  be  based  on  foreign  elements,  the  heritage  of  a  refined  upper 
class,  or  if  it  should  issue  from  the  life  and  individuality  of  the  people 
themselves.  As  the  leaders  were  young  and  talented  men,  the 
struggle  was  waged  with  intense  bitterness,  and  it  reached  a  dramatic 
climax  in  the  memorable  "Campbeller  battle"  in  1837.  A  prize 
had  been  offered  for  the  best  drama  to  be  written  for  the  dedication 
of  a  new  theater  in  Christiania.  Of  the  twelve  pieces  submitted, 
A.  Munch's  "Kong  Sverres  Ungdom"  was  regarded  as  the  best, 
but  it  was  also  decided  that  the  second  best,  Wergeland's  "Camp- 
bellerne,"  should  be  played.  On  the  evening  when  the  piece  was 
to  be  played  for  the  first  time,  the  friends  of  Welhaven  appeared  at 
the  theater  in  force  to  hoot  it  off  the  stage,  but  Wergeland's  friends 
had  also  assembled  to  applaud  the  play.  As  soon  as  the  curtain 
rose,  the  din  of  rough-music  began,  which  drowned  every  word, 
and  when  order  could  not  be  restored,  a  fierce  hand-to-hand  struggle 
was  precipitated,  in  which  Welhaven's  followers  were  thoroughly 
beaten  and  ejected  from  the  theater.  It  is  difficult  to  understand 
why  the  Intelligence  party,  who  vaunted  their  refinement,  should 
resort  to  such  arguments  in  which  they  were  no  match  for  their  more 
brawny  opponents.  It  is  no  doubt  safe  to  ascribe  their  conduct  to 
overconfidence  and  youthful   arrogance.     But  the  episode  taught 


11  LITERARY    AND    INTELLECTUAL    RKVI\  AL  473 

tlu'tii  tliiit  whatever  tlicy  iiii|^lit  think  of  fi'.stlietic  t}ie<)ri«-s.  there 
.  vistfd  a  robust  yoiui^  Norway  wliich  was  (Icterminecl  to  solve  ita 
( iiltural  probh'ms  without  foreign  interference  either  dirwtly  or 
in(nrectly.  As  ludicrous  as  the  episode  may  ai)pear  to  a  distant 
nhserver,  it  was,  like  the  "battle  of  the  niarket-jjlace,"  a  victory 
for  the  national  pro^'rani  of  the  Tatriots,  which  stiinulalnl  tlw  coni- 
inon  pcoi)l('  to  a  most  resohitc  attitude 

"(/amphellerne"  was  jjlayed  for  the  third  and  last  time  February 
12,  1838,  for  the  benefit  of  the  author,  who  receiveri  alniut  4<K)  specie 
daler,  a  sum  which  enabled  him  to  buy  a  cottage  and  a  piece  of 
_Tound,  "Gr0nlien,"  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  The  followinR 
car  he  married  the  lady  of  his  choice,  Amalie  Sophit'  Bekktvold. 
liiit  his  income  was  so  small  that  he  h-arncd  from  experience  to  know 
the  bitterness  of  poverty.  He  had  studied  theology,  and  hop*-*!  to 
^:('t  a  curacy,  but  his  career  as  a  liberalist  stood  in  the  way,  and  all 
his  attempts  had  been  unsuccessful.  Wergeland  had  always  Ixvii 
an  admirer  of  King  Charles  John,  "the  son  of  the  Revolution." 
Tlie  king  had  also  learned  to  love  the  gifted  and  inipnl>ive  poet, 
l)ut  tile  only  tiling  which  he  could  do  for  him  at  this  time  was  to 
oiler  him  a  gratuity  of  200  specie  daler  from  his  private  purse  for 
two  years,  a  gift  which  Wergeland  accepted  on  the  condition  that 
he  might  repay  it  by  promoting  the  education  «)f  the  poor.'  All 
unbiased  people  would  agree  that  it  was  perfectly  honorable  for  him 
to  receive  this  present  from  his  king,  though  he  was  himxif  a  republi- 
can, but  his  enemies  used  the  opportunity  to  accu.se  him  of  accepting 
a  bribe,  of  .selling  himself  to  King  Charles  John.  Even  his  own  a<lhe- 
rents  were  offended,  and  when  he  was  appointed  Kit-per  of  the  Rolls, 
a  rather  modest  position  in  tlie  government  archives,  tliey  felt  ctm- 
\inced  that  he  had  forsaken  his  republican  principles.  Ludvig 
Kr.  Daa,  his  best  friend,  turned  his  back  upon  him  as  a  traitor,  and 
Wcrgclaiid  soon  found  liinisrlf  dcsiTtrd  and  alone  10\Tn  hi>  si>ter, 
Camilla  Collctt,  a  gifted  author,  and  the  originator  of  the  wonum's 
movement  in  Norway,  .seems  to  have  agreed  with  his  antagonist 
Welhaven  in  literary  views  and  tastes,  if  she  did  n«>t  sympathiz** 
with  the  Intelligence  party  in  their  whole  campaign.  At  home  Werge- 
land was  happy  with  his  young  wife,  his  flowers.  an<l  his  animal  pets, 

'  Ih-iirik  Worgeland,  Samlcdc  Skriftcr,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  Gi')  (!. 


474  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

all  alike  the  object  of  his  most  tender  affection,  and  as  he  had  built 
a  new  home,  "Grotten,"  in  the  city,  a  romantic  spot  with  a  natural 
grotto  which  he  especially  loved,  he  might  have  enjoyed  the  full 
measure  of  contentment.  But  the  feeling  that  he  was  forsaken  by 
his  friends,  and  unjustly  regarded  as  a  traitor,  filled  his  hours  with 
a  bitterness  against  which  he  sought  solace  in  a  most  intense  work. 
At  this  time  he  wrote  his  large  history  of  the  Norwegian  constitution, 
a  work  of  high  merit  in  which  he  shows  the  continuity  of  the  historic 
development  of  the  Norwegian  people,  and  the  intimate  connection 
between  their  new  national  life  and  their  past  history,  a  thought  of 
fundamental  importance  to  the  correct  understanding  of  Norwe- 
gian history.  Wergeland  showed  that  the  same  circumstances 
which  led  to  the  downfall  of  the  old  nobility,  resulting  in  Norway's 
weakness  in  the  union  period,  enabled  the  hinder  to  preserve  their 
liberty,  and  created  conditions  favorable  to  a  new  national  develop- 
ment. The  thought  v.^as,  however,  too  new  and  original  to  be  much 
heeded  by  historians  at  the  time.  He  also  waged  a  determined 
fight  to  secure  the  passage  of  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  which 
should  grant  the  Jews  the  right  to  reside  in  Norway  with  all  the 
privileges  enjoyed  by  other  citizens.^  This  amendment  was  finally 
adopted  in  1851,  six  years  after  his  death. 

His  sorrows  and  hardships  only  tamed  his  too  ardent  spirit,  and 
gave  his  character  greater  repose.  His  poetic  spirit  was  chastened, 
and  he  wrote  during  these  years  some  of  the  finest  productions  which 
adorn  Norwegian  poetic  literature,  like  "Et  Blomsterstykke "  and 
"Den  engelske  Lods."  But  this,  the  most  productive  period  of  his 
life,  was  destined  to  be  very  brief.  He  was  tall,  strong,  and  athletic, 
but  in  the  spring  of  1844  he  contracted  a  severe  cold  which  confined 
him  to  his  bed.  On  the  Seventeenth  of  May  he  could  not  be  per- 
suaded to  remain  quiet.  He  hastened  forth  into  the  damp  and  cold 
spring  weather  to  take  part  in  the  celebration,  an  imprudence  which 
threw  him  again  upon  the  sick-bed.  The  illness  turned  into  con- 
sumption, and  it  was  soon  evident  that  the  shadows  of  death  were 
gathering  about  the  great  poet.  The  news  created  the  profoundest 
grief  throughout  the  whole  kingdom,  and  his  friends,  who  had  long 

^  Henrik  Wergeland,  J^desagen  i  del  norske  Storthing,  Samlede  Skrifter, 
vol.  VIII.,  p.  435  £f. 


I'l.ATK    \fll 


II  LITKKAKY    \SD    INTELLECTUAL   REVIVAL  476 

ri'iiuiiiiod  iiKnUcrciit,  luistciu'd  to  liis  l)o<l>i(l«'  to  iiiiplon'  liis  forgiveness 
and  to  renew  their  i)Iedj^es  of  friendship.  Tlie  reeoneihation  wiiJi 
his  friends  gave  liiin  even  in  these  dark  hours  a  joyous  presentiment 
«if  vietory  wliieh  rohhed  <h'ath  of  its  l)itterness,  and  made  him  h>ok 
fonvard  U)  the  end  with  a  smile  of  contentment.  He  continuwl  to 
the  hist  to  ply  his  pen  with  tlie  greatest  diligence,  and  his  most  pa- 
thetic lyrics  are  those  written  on  liis  death-l)e<l.'  Ahout  one  o'clock 
in  the  night,  July  12,  IS  15,  he  awoke  from  a  short  slumber  and  said : 
"  Now  1  dreamed  so  sweetl\' ;  I  dreamed  that  I  rested  in  my  motlier's 
arms."  These  were  his  last  words.  A  few  munites  later  he  breathed 
his  last  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven.  The  next  morning  the 
treet  was  filled  with  throngs  of  men,  women,  and  children  who  came 
U)  cast  a  last  look  upon  their  friend  and  benefactor.  Some  came 
from  far  away  to  sec  him,  and  so  many  thousands  followed  his  bier 
that  the  cajjital  had  never  witnessed  such  a  funeral  procession.  The 
bitterness  of  ])arty  strife  had  j)assed  away,  and  the  nation  stood 
sorrowing  at  the  grave  of  the  leader  whose  life  aud  influence  proved 
to  be  "the  dawn  of  Norway." 

'  Tho  following   poom,   translatod   by  Olo  O.   Lion,   is  the  d)nng  poet's 
farewell  to  the  wallllowor  blossoming  iu  his  window: 

To  My  Wallflower  (Til  Min  GyUlenlak) 

My  flower  Itripht,  before  thy  colors  fudo, 
Then  I  am  that  of  which  the  world  was  made ; 
Before  thou  part  with  thy  crown  of  gold,  — 
Then  I  am  —  mold. 

When  last  I  look  to  the  window  up, 
My  parting  jjhxnco  qroets  thy  Kolden  top; 
My  soul  doth  kiss  thee  when,  free  and  bright. 
He  takes  his  flight. 

I  seal  our  parting  with  kisses  two; 
One  is  for  thee  -    for  our  love  is  true  — 
The  other  token  of  friendship  closo 
Is  for  the  rose. 

Full-blown,  the  rose  I  no  more  shall  see ; 
But  bring  a  groetint;  to  her  from  mo;  — 
And  say  —  1  wnsh  that  upon  my  grave 
Her  blossoms  wave. 

And  I  desire  that  upon  my  brrcist 
A  rose  bo  placed  when  in  death  1  rest.  — 
And,  flower  bright,  be  in  death  and  njght 
The  bridal  Ught. 


476  history  of  the  norwegian  people  ii 

58.    Political  Progress.     New  Men  and  Measures 

In  tlie  period  1814  till  1830  no  marked  change  had  taken  place 
in  the  political  situation.  The  members  returned  to  the  Storthing 
in  1830  were  of  the  same  class  as  in  all  previous  sessions,  but  two  new 
leaders,  Ludvig  Mariboe  ^  and  Jonas  Anton  Hjehii,^  now  made  their 
appearance  for  the  first  time,  and  the  influence  of  the  great  Werge- 
land-Welhaven  controversy  as  well  as  of  the  liberal  movement 
awakened  throughout  Europe  by  the  July  Revolution  in  France 
aroused  the  political  leaders  to  new  activity.  Both  Mariboe  and 
Hjelm  were  liberalists.  Hjelm  was  a  keen  and  profound  consti- 
tutional lawyer  and  a  powerful  parliamentary  debater,  well  qualified 
to  open  the  battle  for  Norway's  constitutional  rights.  The  Storthing, 
which  had  hitherto  pursued  a  purely  defensive  policy,  had  sought  to 
prevent  the  king  from  changing  the  constitution  and  reducing  the 
kingdom  to  a  Swedish  dependency ;  but  the  time  had  come  when  the 
people  would  begin  to  exercise  their  political  rights,  and  when  an 
attempt  would  be  made  to  establish  in  practice  Norway's  sovereignty 
and  recognized  equality  with  Sweden.  In  the  discussion  of  the 
constitutional  amendments  proposed  by  Charles  John,  Hjelm  stated 
very  clearly  his  views  regarding  the  relation  between  the  two  realms. 
He  showed  that  Norway  as  a  sovereign  kingdom  could  not  be  com- 
pelled to  leave  its  diplomatic  and  consular  service  in  the  hands  of 
the  Swedish  government,  and  that  although  such  an  arrangement 
actually  existed,  it  was  temporary,  and  in  no  wise  consonant  with 
the  true  interests  of  the  reahn.  He  showed  that  the  Swedish  govern- 
ment authorities  could  assume  charge  of  no  Norwegian  affairs  what- 
soever, except  in  cases  where  such  a  power  was  granted  by  specific 
provisions  in  the  constitution  or  the  Act  of  Union,  and  that  all 
doubtful  cases  had  to  be  interpreted  on  the  fundamental  principle 
expressed  in  the  first  paragraph  of  both  these  instruments,  that 
Norway  was  a  sovereign  kingdom.  The  aim  of  the  No^^^^egian  people 
should  be,  not  to  obtain  full  equality  with  Sweden  in  the  union,  so 
that  Norway  might  enjoy  the  same  right  as  Sweden  in  the  manage- 
ment botli  of  foreign  and  other  affairs,  but  to  carry  out  in  practice 

>  Henrik  Wergeland,  Samlede  Skrifler,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  126  flf. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  446.     J.  E.  Sars,  Samlede  Verker,  vol.  IV.,  p.  73  ff. 


II  POLITICAI,    l'F{Or.RER8.       NEW    MKN    AM)    MKAHrRRH  477 

the  sovereignity  or  political  in{lc{)eii(lciice  of  tlie  kiii^jdoni,  so  that 
tlie  Non^'egian  people  could  manage  their  own  affairs  without  any 
interference  from  Swedish  authorities,  a  right  which  .\'or\\ay  un- 
questionably possessed.  This  was  a  dear  statement  of  tin-  nature 
of  the  union  and  the  rights  which  N'onvay  expected  to  maintain  and 
enjoy  in  the  new  relation,  lljclni  was  welcomed  as  a  leader,  but 
the  Storthing  did  not  dare  to  accept  his  logical  and  clearly  outiineil 
national  program.  Regarding  the  all-important  (juestion  of  tlie 
relation  of  the  two  kingdoms  in  the  union  there  still  exist«Hl  much 
uncertainty  among  the  representatives,  and  they  sought  to  dcnlge 
the  question  which  had  heeii  raised  hy  resorting  to  temporary'  make- 
shifts. Sweden  had  requested  Nonvay  to  pay  to  the  Swedish  trea,sur>' 
her  full  share  of  the  expenses  connected  with  the  diplomatic  ser\'ice. 
This  request  was  not  fully  com[)Iierl  with,  hut  the  Storthing  voted 
to  increase  the  contribution,  u  half  measure  which  for  the  moment 
evaded  the  issue. 

At  the  time  when  Wergeland  began  his  great  struggle  against 
the  Intelligence  party  and  the  privileges  of  the  upper  clas.ses,  the 
binder  were  also  roused  to  greater  activity  in  political  life  by  one 
of  their  own  class,  John  Xeergaard,  from  Xor(hn0r  in  western  Nor- 
way. Neergaard,  who  had  been  a  representative  in  the  Storthing 
in  1S27,  traveled  through  the  coMntr\",  and  assembled  the  hontirr  to 
political  meetings,  where  he  spoke  to  them  on  the  political  i.ssues. 
He  also  sold  his  book,  "Olaboka,"  in  which  he  described  the  hard 
times,  showing  that  these  were  due  to  tlie  upper  clas.ses,  who  had 
hitherto  had  the  power  in  the  Storthing,  and  had  used  it  to  increa.so 
tiie  taxes.  His  cjmipaign  was  so  successful  that  of  ninety-six  repre- 
sentatives elected  to  the  Storthing  in  ISHii  forty-live  wen*  l>0nder} 
and  as  they  could  count  on  suj)j)ort  from  several  repn-M-ntativos 
from  the  rural  districts  who  did  not  belong  to  their  own  class,  and 
also  from  some  of  the  representatives  from  the  cities,  tliey  had  a 
majority  in  the  national  legislature  for  tlie  first  time.  Besid*^  John 
Neergaard  himself  and  other  leaders  among  tlie  hotuh'r.  like  Tei.H 
Lundegaard,  who  had  b(>en  a  member  of  the  Kidsvold  Con.stituent 
Assembly.  Ole  llaagenstad,-  who  hail  i>e«'n  a  repn^sentative  in  the 

•  Halvdan  Koht,  BondealHd,  p.  70  ff. 

»IIonrik  Worgoland.  Smnledc  Skriftrr,  vol.  VIII..  p.  1  fT. 


478  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Storthing  of  1815,  and  Fuuchald  from  Toten,  who  was  now  elected 
for  the  first  tune,  Johan  Gabriel  Ueland,  who  became  the  great 
leader  of  the  hinder  in  the  Storthing,  was  also  elected.  Ueland  was 
a  self-made  man,  a  born  leader,  a  clever  tactician,  skillful  in  debate, 
with  a  penetrating,  logical  mind ;  always  careful,  pursuing  a  diplo- 
macy tinged  with  cunning.  He  did  not  possess  the  statesmanlike 
views  of  Hjelm,  and  he  cared  little  for  the  cjuestions  arising  from 
Norway's  relation  to  Sweden.  He  directed  his  attention  mainly 
to  the  internal  affairs,  and  to  the  organization  of  the  binder  into  polit- 
ical opposition  to  the  official  class.  In  this  field  of  work  he  showed 
exceptional  ability.  It  was  his  aim  from  the  outset  to  limit  the  power 
of  the  officials,  and  to  carry  into  effect  the  system  of  democratic 
government  also  in  local  affairs. 

The  "Code  of  Christian  V."  had  destroyed  all  self-government  in 
the  rural  communities.  The  people  no  longer  assembled  at  the  thing, 
unless  they  were  summoned  by  royal  order  for  some  specific  purpose.^ 
The  lagrette  was  no  longer  selected  from  the  best  binder  for  life,  but 
for  a  year  at  the  time,  and  they  had  ceased  to  be  the  people's  spokes- 
men and  leaders.  All  local  government  was  conducted  by  the  amt- 
mcBTid  and  fogeds ;  for  although  the  people  were  often  consulted  on 
minor  matters,  especially  in  church  affairs,  they  exercised  but  small 
influence  on  the  administration  of  public  affairs.  The  Eidsvold 
constitution  of  1814  wrought  no  change  in  the  system  of  local  admin-' 
istration,  but  since  a  democratic  national  government  had  been 
established,  it  was  a  manifest  anomaly  that  the  old  bureaucratic 
system  should  still  prevail  in  local  government.  Until  the  people 
could  govern  themselves  in  local  as  well  as  in  national  matters,  the 
principle  of  popular  sovereignty  could  not  be  said  to  be  realized. 

Attempts  made  in  1821  and  1830  to  secure  local  self-government 
had  failed,  but  in  1833  the  matter  became  the  campaign  issue,  and 
as  the  bfindcr  secured  a  majority  of  the  representatives,  the  passage 
of  the  measure  in  some  form  was  assured.  The  king,  who  attempted 
by  his  proposed  amendments  to  the  constitution  to  destroy  the  peo- 
ple's sovereignty  in  the  national  government,  was  naturally  opposed 
to  popular  government  in  local  affairs,  but  in  order  to  forestall  a 
more  radical  measure,  he  proposed  a  plan  of  local  administration 

'  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  De  norske  Communers  Retsforfatning  f^r  1SS7,  p.  182. 


U  POLITICAL    PIiOGRE»8.       NEW    MEN    AND    MEAHLItt:8  479 

wliich  would  still  leave  tlie  ixople  ulino.st  powerless,  'i'lie  uiiubtry 
also  submitted  a  plan  which  would  grant  tlie  local  authorities  more 
power,  hut  the  measure  j)assed  hy  the  Storthing  gave  die  [M.H)ple 
more  complete  control  of  local  alfairs,  an<l  it  was  accordingly  vetixxi 
l»y  tlie  king.  The  aim  of  the  sui)porters  of  tlie  measure  would  now 
l»c  to  secure  its  passage  according  to  article  seventy-nine  of  tlie  consti- 
tution, which  would  make  it  a  law  without  the  king's  sanction.  In 
IsoG  the  hinder  again  secured  a  uiajority  in  the  Storthing,  and  tlieir 
It  aders  Hjehn,  Ueland,  Fauchald,  and  Xeergaard  were  all  returneil. 
I M  fore  the  new  Storthing  assembled,  a  conmiission  had  been  ap|xiinted 
lo  investigate  the  matter  of  popular  local  self-government.  'Hiis 
conunission  proposed  a  very  liberal  j)lan,  and  as  the  king  was  per- 
suaded to  yield,  this  was  submitted  to  tlie  consideration  of  tlie  Stor- 
thing, apparently  witli  good  chances  of  being  passed. 

Anotlier  equally  important  issue  brought  before  tlie  Storthing 
in  183G  was  the  principle  so  clearly  set  forth  by  Jonas  Anton  Iljelra 
regarding  Norway's  equality  with  Sweden  in  the  union,  and  the 
rii:lit  of  the  Norwegian  peoj)le  to  manage  their  own  national  affairs 
without  interference  from  Swedish  state  autliorities.  This  very 
fundamental  issue,  togetlier  witli  a  proper  system  of  local  self-govern- 
ment and  tlie  exercise  by  the  people  of  their  political  rights  accord- 
ing tf)  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  was  tlie  national  j)()litical  pn>- 
gram  of  Wergeland  and  Iljelm.  It  is  clear  that  this  wa.s  a  very  sound 
and  conservative  position,  tliat  they  only  sought  to  make  operative 
the  principles  and  institutions  which  had  been  most  .solemnly  estab- 
lished, and  tluit  they  deserved  the  support  of  all  loyal  men.  IJut 
the  bdndur  did  not  understand  I  Ijelm's  broatl-mindetl  statesmanship. 
They  regarded  tliem.selves  as  belonging  to  his  party  while  he  was 
aiding  them  in  securing  tlie  pa.ssage  of  the  bill  for  local  self-govern- 
ment, but  they  luul  failed  to  support  him  in  lS'-\i)  and  likewi.M'.  also, 
in  1833.  The  Norwegian  ministry  had  even  surrendenxl  tJie  ver>- 
principles  for  which  he  contended  by  resorting  to  a  compn)mi.se  witJi 
tlie  king,  by  which  they  imagineti  tliat  they  would  make  a  substan- 
tial gain,  when,  in  fact,  they  only  acknowleilgul  .Nonvay's  inferitirity 
to  Sweden,  and  gave  up  the  strong  position  taken  by  Iljelm.  In  IS^M 
tliey  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  king,  in  which  they  nia«lc  certain 
demands,  whidi  were,  in  part,  granted.     By  a  royal  resolution  of 


480  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

April  13,  1835,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  Norwegian  minister  of 
state  in  Stockholm  should  be  present  when  Norwegian  diplomatic 
affairs,  or  diplomatic  matters  of  interest  to  both  kingdoms,  were 
considered  by  the  Cabinet  Council  for  Foreign  Affairs,  which  was 
otherwise  a  purely  Swedish  institution.  By  resolutions  of  1836  it 
was  also  provided  that  Norwegian  consuls  should  be  appointed  with 
the  advice  of  the  Swedish-Norwegian  ministry,  and  that  they  should 
take  their  oath  of  office  as  Norwegian  officials.  But  this  arrange- 
ment only  accentuated  the  inferiority  of  Norway.^  The  Swedish 
minister  of  state  should  preside  even  when  purely  Norwegian  matters 
were  considered,  and  even  then  the  Swedish  ministers  were  in  the 
majority.  When  Swedish  affairs  were  considered,  the  Norwegian 
minister  should  not  be  present.  It  must  be  regarded  as  weak  and 
reprehensible  statesmanship,  that  the  Norwegian  government  asked 
as  a  concession  from  the  king  what  they  already  possessed  as  a  full 
right  according  to  the  constitution,  and  that  they  were  willing  to 
surrender  so  important  a  principle,  in  order  to  obtain  a  concession 
which  practically  amounted  to  nothing  whatsoever. 

It  had  been  decided  in  1833  that  Hjehn's  plan  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  following  Storthing,  and  the  matter  was,  accordingly, 
brought  up  in  1836,  but  not  in  the  original  form  and  spirit.  Other 
liberal  leaders,  like  S0renssen,  Hoist,  and  Rye,  who  were  more  in- 
clined to  compromise,  assumed  management  of  affairs,  and  Hjelm, 
who  undoubtedly  saw  that  the  time  had  not  come  when  such  a  policy 
would  gain  general  support,  made  no  effort  to  secure  the  passage  of 
his  measure.  The  other  leaders,  who  also  wished  to  maintain  the 
principle  of  equality  between  the  two  kingdoms,  centered  their 
efforts  on  obtaining  the  passage  of  a  law  which  should  insure  the  use 
of  the  Norwegian  flag  of  the  same  design  as  at  present  in  all  parts 
of  the  world.  Because  no  treaty  had  been  concluded  between  Nor- 
way and  the  Barbary  States,  it  had  hitherto  been  necessary  to  sub- 
stitute the  Swedish  flag  with  the  union  sign  for  the  Norwegian  south 
of  Cape  Finisterre,  in  order  to  avoid  attack  from  the  pirates.  A 
memorial  was  also  to  be  addressed  to  the  king  in  regard  to  a  Norwe- 
gian man-of-war  flag.     Hitherto  a  Swedish  flag  with  a  union  sign, 

'  B.  Dunker,  Om  Revision  af  Foreningsakten  mellem  Sverige  og  Norge,  p.  7  ff. 
T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Norges  nuvcerende  Statsforfatning,  vol.  I.,  p.  60. 


II  POLITICAL   PROCllESS.       VKW    MKN'   AND    MKA8UKE.S  481 

consisting  of  ii  wliitf  cto>^  in  a  nnl  firld,  had  Imtii  use*!  on  Norwejfian 
tortrcsses  and  war  vessels,  a  inanifcMt  syinlxtl  of  S\vf(li>li  ovi-rlord- 
sliip.'  But  Itcforc  the  jxiidin^  measures  could  he  acted  uiKin,  the 
king  suddenly  prorogued  the  Storthing,  an  unexpected  and  extratjr- 
(iinary  step,  which  he  claimed  was  made  necessary  hy  the  hostile 
attitude  of  Russia.  No  evidence,  however,  can  he  adduce*!  to  show 
that  Russia  paid  any  attention  whatever  to  the  measures  intnxluced 
in  the  Xonvegian  Storthing.  The  statement  must  he  regarded  as  a 
^uhterfuge,  hy  which  he  sought  to  conceal  the  real  reason  —  his  own 
determined  opposition  to  all  measures  aiming  at  a.s.serting  Non^'ay's 
sovereign  rights  and  equality  with  Sweden.  Even  though  surprised, 
the  Storthing  acted  with  calmness  and  dignity.  During  the  last 
moments  of  the  session  which  came  to  so  ahnipt  a  close,  the  Odels- 
thing  passed  a  hill  imix-adiing  tin-  minister  of  .state  l^Oven.skiold. 
who  had  not  oj)posed  tiie  step  taken  hy  the  king.  The  reactionary' 
minister  suil'ercd  the  humiliation  of  heing  found  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor, and  of  being  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  KMM)  specie  daler, 
together  with  part  of  the  cost.  The  ki^ig  was  very  angr>',  because 
the  Storthing  had  again  ventured  to  use  its  power  of  impeachment 
against  one  of  his  advisers,  hut  as  he  had  ai>andone<|  the  idea  of 
forcibly  o\(Ttlir()wing  the  goNcnnnent,  the  episcnle  closed  without 
further  complications. 

After  the  death  of  B.  B.  von  IMaten  the  office  of  stathuldtr  had 
remained  vacant,  but  in  bS3()  the  king  appointtnl  as  a  new  incumbent 
Count  Wedel-Jarlsberg,  a  choice  in  every  way  agreeable  to  the  .Vorw**- 
gian  jx-ople.  They  rejoiced  to  see  one  of  their  leading  men  in  tliis 
imj)ortant  office,  but  they  hated  the  office  its«'lf.  since  it  put  the 
stamp  of  dependence  and  inferiority  upon  their  country,  atui  its 
abolition  soon  became  a  national  issue.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  the 
Storthing  was  assembled  in  extra  session,  and  the  measun's  pending 
at  the  time  of  adjournment  were  again  introduced.  The  bill  estal>- 
lishing  popular  local  scIt'-go\»Tiunciit  was  passi-d,  aiul  it  rccci\«il  the 
king's  signature.  January  lb  1S:>7.  This  great  measure.  ct)nstituting 
a  bulwark  of  democratit-  liberty  second  in  importance  only  to  tlie  con- 
stitution it.self,  had  finally  become  a  law.-     It  made  the  old  thinglag, 

'  C.  J.  Anker.  Trgningrr  nf  Sortjes  Flag. 

»  Storthings  EJtirrctniiujtr,  vol.  II..  p.  'ri'^  IT..  Ml  IT.  ;  vol.  IN.,  p.  .'Hil  ff. 
VOL.    II  —  2 1 


482  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

or  local  administrative  districts,  in  most  instances  identical  with  the 
parishes,  and  called  them  formandskabs-distrikter,  a  name  which 
was  changed  to  herred  in  1863.  The  people  of  each  herred  should 
elect  a  herredsstyre,  or  body  of  select  men,  of  not  less  than  twelve  or 
more  than  forty-eight  members.  This  body  chooses  one-fourth  of 
their  members  as  a  committee,  formandskah,  which  together  with  the 
magistrate  determines  what  improvements  are  to  be  undertaken  by 
the  herred  each  year,  and  what  taxes  are  to  be  levied.  All  matters 
of  common  interest  to  the  herreds  are  decided  by  the  amtstking, 
which  consists  of  the  chairmen  of  the  herredsstyre  in  all  herreds  in 
the  ami,  with  the  amtmand  acting  as  chairman. 

Iljelm's  policy  aiming  at  establishing  a  diplomatic  and  consular 
service  in  harmony  with  Norway's  dignity  as  a  sovereign  power  did 
not  receive  general  support,  but  a  memorial  was  addressed  to  the 
king,  showing  how  the  equality  of  the  two  kingdoms  established  by 
the  constitution  and  Act  of  Union  had  hitherto  been  ignored  in  prac- 
tice. Norway  had  no  man-of-war  flag,  Sweden's  name  always  pre- 
ceded that  of  Norway  on  all  seals  and  documents,  and  the  foreign 
and  diplomatic  affairs  of  both  kingdoms  were  exclusively  in  the  hands 
of  Sweden,  Pursuant  to  the  views  expressed  in  this  memorial,  a 
government  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Storthing,  February  14,  1837, 
providing  for  the  creation  of  two  committees  with  an  equal  number 
of  Swedish  and  Norwegian  members,  the  one  to  consider  the  question 
of  a  separate  Norwegian  man-of-war  flag,  the  other  what  modifications 
of  the  constitution  and  the  Act  of  Union  would  be  necessary  in  order 
that  foreign  affairs  could  be  conducted  in  a  manner  agreeing  with 
Norway's  right  as  a  sovereign  state.  The  bill  regarding  the  exclusive 
use  of  the  Norwegian  merchant  flag  in  the  Norwegian  merchant 
marine  on  all  seas  was  also  pending.  By  a  royal  decree  issued  April 
11,  1838,  it  was  finally  ordained  that  the  Norwegian  merchant  flag 
should  be  used  in  all  waters.  This  was  the  only  direct  result  of  H  jehn  's 
eflForts  to  maintain  Norway's  sovereign  rights  in  the  union.  It  was 
not  a  great  triumph,  but  it  was  hailed  as  a  very  welcome  victory,^ 
especially  by  the  political  leaders,  who  could  point  to  it  as  a  result  of 
their  efforts  to  promote  the  welfare  of  their  constituents. 

•  H.  J.  NsBSs,  Flagsagens  Historie.  Henrik  Wergeland's  poems :  Hurra 
for  Jonas  Anton  Hjelm.    Nu  hvil  dig,  Borger  !  del  er  fortjent. 


11  POLITICAL    PROORKftS.      NEW    ^fEN   AND   MEASURES  483 

Hitherto  Clmrlt's  -loliii  had  oxercisrd  a  strong  personal  rule.  The 
ministers  had,  indeed,  acted  as  his  advisers,  hut  they  had  been  so 
dominated  1>>  liis  strong  will  that  tlicy  had  been  able  to  exert  but 
small  iiilhience.  The  two  last  Swedish  incumbents  in  the  office  of 
statholder,  Sandels  and  Platen,  also  acted  as  his  personal  adherents,' 
and  sought  to  make  the  royal  power  supreme  in  the  government. 
These  conditions  had  proven  very  unfavorable  to  the  development 
of  (h'TMocratic  institutions  and  i)op»ilar  goveriunent,  but  the  selection 
of  Count  \Vcd('l-.Iarlsi)erg  as  statholder  wrought  a  marked  change, 
though  it  is  quite  certain  tliat  tlu'  king  did  not  intend  to  alter  his 
policy.  Even  as  minister  of  finance.  Count  Wedel  had  exercised 
such  influence  in  the  ministry  that  he  was  regarded  as  its  real  head, 
but  as  statholder  he  also  became  minister  of  state,  and  as  a  leading 
Norwegian  statesman  he  could  lend  great  support  to  the  pending 
issues.  Xo  one  had  played  a  more  conspicuous  part  in  political 
affairs  than  Wedel,  but  in  the  Eidsvold  Constituent  Assembly  he 
advocated  the  consolidation  of  Norway  and  Sweden  under  a  common 
government  with  a  joint  system  of  taxation  and  finance,  and  as  the 
independence  party  prevailed,  he  became  impopular.  For  a  few 
years  he  was  pushed  into  the  background,  but  his  great  ability  as 
minister  of  finance  brought  him  again  into  prominence.  That  he 
was  a  loyal  patriot  could  not  be  doubted.  After  tlie  union  with 
Sweden  he  earnestly  supported  the  constitution,  he  opposed  tlie 
amendments  proposed  by  Charles  John,  and  as  statholder  he  was 
ready  to  uphold  to  the  full  ex-tent  the  rights  of  the  NorAvegian  people. 
In  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  his  high  office  he  showed  great 
tact  and  ability,  good  judgment,  and  regard  for  the  opinions  of  his 
colleagues.  "  Wedel  gave  the  administration  dignity,  life,  and  sys- 
tem," writes  a  contemporary'.  "No  one  was  better  qualified  to  be 
a  leader."  ^    His  second  ministry  developed  sufficient  independence 

'  Ynpvar  Niolson,  Wcdrl-Jarlshcrg,  vol.  III.,  p.  ISO.  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges 
politiftkc  Histnrie  1815-1885,  p.  274  flf.      F.  BiDtzraann,  Del  norakc  Statsraad. 

*  Vogts  Optcgnclscr,  quoted  by  J.  E.  Sars,  Xorgts  politiskc  Hintoric,  p.  27.'>. 
F.  Baptzmann,  Dct  nnrskr  StattiTaad,  p.  40  ff. 

"At  the  tinio  whon  Wodol  was  mini.stor,  and  1  wjis  soorofary  of  state, 
I  had  loarnod  to  ostoom  his  preat  ability,  qnu'k  ixTcoption,  and  more  than 
ordinary  knowlodpo  in  diffon^nt  fields;  and  after  ho  l)ooam<<  hoad  of  the 
ministry,  I  was  forced  to  admire  the  self-eontrol  and  rare  eonduet  whieh  he 
e.xhibited  on  so  many  occasions."  writes  Paid  Christian  Hoist.     "He  oon- 


484  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

to  exert  a  definite  influence  on  the  government  as  a  connecting  link 
between  the  king  and  the  people.  The  time  had  come  when  the 
ministry  was  becoming  tlie  organ  of  the  sovereign  will  of  the  nation, 
whose  wish  the  king  would  not  dare  to  ignore.  Time  and  circum- 
stances had  also  wrought  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  Charles  John 
to  his  Norwegian  subjects.  In  Sweden  he  had  been  attacked  by  a 
vituperative  pamphleteer,  M.  J.  Crusenstolpe,  and  the  press  had 
wounded  the  feelings  of  the  sensitive  king  by  its  rather  hostile  tone, 
while  the  Norwegians  had  always  spoken  of  him  in  the  most  endear- 
ing terms.  In  1838  he  made  a  prolonged  visit  in  Norway,  and  he 
was  greatly  pleased  with  the  enthusiastic  loyalty  shown  him.  He 
had  always  coveted  popularity,  and  never  had  the  words  of  flattery 
been  more  pleasing  than  now  when  old  age  had  turned  his  vision 
backward  upon  the  events  of  a  most  remarkable  career.  He  found 
that  the  Norwegians  were  very  loyal  and  agreeable,  that  they  knew 
how  to  appreciate  his  ability  and  great  achievements,  and  he  was 
more  inclined  to  listen  to  their  demands  than  hitherto.  The  reins 
were  slipping  from  his  hands,  and  the  ministry  gradually  began  to 
exert  a  leading  influence  in  shaping  the  policy  of  government.  It 
might  seem  that  the  time  had  come  when  an  attempt  would  be  made 
to  establish  the  necessary  safeguards  for  Norway's  rights  as  a  sover- 
eign power,  but  the  progress  was  halted  by  the  reactionary  spirit  of 
the  age. 

The  national  movement  led  by  Wergeland  and  Hjelm  had  grown 
out  of  a  strong  liberal  idealism,  and  it  had  created  issues  which  the 
conservative  upper  classes  opposed,  and  which  the  binder  had  failed 
to  understand.  The  people  had,  indeed,  been  roused  to  participation 
in  political  life,  important  measures  like  local  self-government  and  a 
Norwegian  national  flag  had  been  carried  through,  but  the  liberal 
tidal  wave  had  already  spent  its  force,  and  many  of  the  most  impor- 
tant features  of  the  national  program  stranded  on  the  shoals  of  re- 
actionary public  sentiment.     In  France  the  agitation  carried  on  by 

ducted  the  deliberations  of  the  ministry  with  great  wisdom ;  he  sought  to 
harmonize  conflicting  views  and  to  create  concord.  In  order  to  accomplish 
this  he  sometimes  sacrificed  even  his  own  opinion,  as  he  undoubtedly  knew 
that  frequent  minority  reports  would  weaken  the  recommendations  of  the 
ministry ;  and  I  am  fully  convinced  that  in  his  reports  to  the  king  he  never 
sought  to  oppose  the  opinion  once  agreed  upon."  Efterladte  Optegnelser,  p.  276  f . 


II  POLITICAL    PKOORESS.       VEW    MEN    AND   MEAHURE8  485 

the  radicals  for  the  econoinlc  cuKincipation  of  the  lower  cla^oe^,  and 
their  defiance  of  all  estahlished  rules  and  authoriti«'s,  caus«*d  society 
to  react  for  its  own  i)rotectioii.  Liheralisin  was  l)rande<l  iis  lawless- 
ness, aiul  i)eace  and  social  order  l)ecaine  the  slogan.  In  Norway 
tills  new  reaction  received  a  ready  welcome,  not  only  ainonjj  tlie 
official  class,  but  even  among  the  hdnder,  who  still  clung  with  char- 
acteristic conser\'atisin  to  the  old  order  of  things.  I'aithful  obedi- 
ence to  the  established  rules  was  once  more  regarded  as  the  highest 
civic  virtue.  In  literature  the  regular  rhythm  and  polished  vers<*  of 
Welhaven  were  j)ri'f(Tre(l  to  the  more  original  and  irregular  style 
of  Wergelaud.  "Statsborgeren,"  tlie  only  ojjpositional  paper,  had 
to  be  discontinued  in  1S;?7  for  want  of  subscribers,  and  in  the  election 
of  lS;i9  fifty -two  odicials  and  oidy  thirty-five  bonder  were  returne<i 
to  the  Storthing.  The  autocratic  upper  class  had  won  a  decideii 
victor^'.  The  leaders  of  the  hdnder,  Ueland,  Fauchald.  Neergaard, 
and  Haagenstad,  had  been  reelected,  but  tlie  liberalist  leader.  Iljelm. 
refused  to  accept  reelection,  as  he  felt  convinced  that  he  could  acconi- 
plish  nothing  against  the  reactionary-  majority.  More  conservative 
men  like  S0rens.sen,  Foss,  and  Riddervold  became  Kaders  in  the  Stor- 
thing. S0renssen  had  become  a  cons«'rvative,  Foss.  "the  idol  of  tlie 
nation,"  pursued  a  middle-of-the-road  policy,  and  tried  to  bring 
about  a  reconciliation  between  the  adherents  of  Wergelaud  antl  Wel- 
haven, while  the  som])er  and  dignified  Hiddervold  was  opposetl  to 
liberalist  agitation  both  from  priii(ii)lc  and  temperament.  The  issues 
which  had  been  raised  by  lljilm  were  allowed  to  re>t.  The  Stor- 
tliing  of  1S39  devoted  its  attention  to  economic  (piestions  and  rou- 
tine alfairs  about  which  no  serious  controversy  could  arise,  and  no 
stormy  i)arty  debates  disturbed  tlie  peace  and  quiet  of  the  assembly. 
The  king's  constitutional  amendments  were,  nevertlieless.  voted 
down  as  usual,  and  a  new  attempt  was  also  made  to  n-peal  the  Con- 
veiitiele  .Vet  of  1711.  which  restricted  religious  liberty  by  forbidding 
lajmen  to  preach  the  gospel.  Inder  tliis  act  llaus  NieU-u  Hauge 
had  been  prosecuted  and  imprisoned,  and  it  was  justly  reganhnl  jus 
a  remnant  of  absolutism  wholly  foreign  in  sjiirit  to  the  free  insti- 
tutions of  NorAvay.  .\  bill  for  the  repeal  of  this  law,  passed  in  1836. 
had  been  vetoe<l  by  the  king,  and  when  it  was  pas.sed  a  socond  time 
in  1838  in  tlie  same  form,  the  king  again  vetoeti  tlie  measure. 


486  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

In  1840  Count  Wedel-Jarlsberg  died,  and  King  Charles  John 
appointed  as  his  successor  anotlier  Norwegian  nobleman,  L0venskiold, 
at  that  time  Norwegian  minister  of  state  in  Stockholm.  The  choice 
was  undoubtedly  made  with  the  best  intention,  but  it  was  less  wel- 
come tlian  that  of  his  popular  predecessor.  L0venskiold  was  a  man 
of  hmited  talents  and  haughty  bearing,  who  took  a  delight  in  being 
unpopular,  and  in  thwarting  the  will  of  the  people.  He  had  advised 
the  king  to  prorogue  the  Storthing;  he  had  opposed  the  local  self- 
government  bill,  and  though  he  had  held  a  number  of  high  offices,  it 
was  generally  thought  tliat  his  arrogance  far  exceeded  the  services 
which  he  had  rendered  the  state.  His  chief  associate  in  the  ministry 
was  J.  H.  Vogt,  a  capable  official,  who  usually  succeeded  in  carrying 
through  the  measures  which  he  happened  to  favor.  He  could  give 
the  ministry  the  character  of  trustworthy  administrative  ability, 
but  in  his  official  duties  as  well  as  in  character  he  was  a  spiritless 
pedant  and  tx^jical  reactionary,  who  never  strayed  from  the  old 
bureaucratic  routine.^  Both  were  ultra-conservative  in  their  views, 
and  sought  to  revive  as  far  as  possible  the  political  policies  and 
administrative  practices  of  a  bygone  age.  But  as  no  organized 
party  of  opposition  existed,  the  Vogt-L0venskiold  ministry  remained 
in  power  during  a  long  period. 

The  Storthing  of  1842  was  of  the  same  general  complexion  as 
the  one  of  1839.  The  official  class  again  received  a  safe  majority, 
the  elections  returning  fifty  of  their  class  and  only  forty-two  hinder. 
The  great  issues  were  again  carefully  avoided,  and  attention  was 
directed  exclusively  to  such  practical  affairs  as  would  arouse  no 
serious  conflict.  The  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  Conventicle  Act  was 
passed  a  third  time,  and  became  a  law  without  the  king's  signature. 
The  adoption  of  a  new  criminal  code  was  also  a  much  needed  reform, 
but  the  most  important  legislative  work  accomplished  by  this  Stor- 
thing was  the  passage  of  laws  establishing  freedom  of  trade  and  in- 
dustry. These  laws  were  originated  by  A.  M.  Schweigaard,  promi- 
nent as  leader  of  the  Intelligence  party  in  the  Wergeland-Welhaven 
controversy,  who  now  appeared  in  the  Storthing  for  the  first  tune 
together  with  another  new  leader,  Ludvig  Kr.  Daa,  one  of  Werge- 
land's  leading  supporters.     Both  were  very  gifted  men  and  editors 

*  Thv.  Boeck,  Statsraad  J^rgen  Herman  Vogt. 


rr  POLITICAL   PROf;RKS8.      VEW    MEN    AVD   MKAKI'IIE-S  487 

of  the  Iciidiii^  |);irly  nrp:iuLS,  Dauof  "  (iniriskiTon,  "  uiul  Si'hweiKiianl 
f)f  "Den  ronstitiitioiu'lle."  And  as  they  ha<l  Ixfn  opponents  in 
their  student  days  because  of  dilFerent  politieal  and  literary  views. 
they  found  !i  new  hattlcj^round  on  tl\e  floor  of  the  Storthinj;.  Hjiitrj 
had  also  been  elected,  but  he  was  too  fi'<'ble  to  take  any  active  i)art 
in  the  work,  and  the  leatiership  of  the  liberal  faction  naturally  fle- 
volved  on  Daa,  whose  paper,  "ClrarLskeren,"  had  become  the  organ 
of  tlie  opposition.  Daa  and  his  followers  were  nccuM-d  of  radicalism. 
l»ut  he  had  adopted  the  j)ro^raiM  of  the  Whij;  party  of  Kn^dand,  and, 
judged  by  modern  standards,  his  liberalist  ideas  must  l)e  rt'^ardeil 
as  very  moderate.  He  advocated  a  parliamentar>'  f(»nn  of  govern- 
ment, tlie  ])articipation  of  the  ministers  in  tlie  deliU-nition-s  of  the 
Storthing,  unrestricted  religious  liberty,  the  intrcKluction  of  the 
jury  system,  and  the  maintenance  of  Norway's  imlitical  independence 
in  the  union,  measures  wjiich  bi-came  tlie  futiire  fxililical  program 
of  Nor\vay,  and  which,  in  time,  were  carri*"*!  tlirough  in  confonnity 
with  the  growth  of  democratic  ideas.  He  opposed  the  bureaucratic 
spirit  of  tlie  government,  but  he  was  distinctly  coiLser\ative  when 
he  opposed  complete  industrial  freedom  and  the  parceling  out  of 
the  lands  of  the  hdndrr,  which,  in  course  of  time,  \vould  ha\  e  destro\  «! 
their  power  as  a  privileged  class  of  landed  proprietors. 

Schweigaard  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  al)ility.  but  he  was  a 
learned  jurist  and  political  economist  rather  tlian  a  stat«'sman.  .\5 
professor  of  jurisprudence  he  had  won  a  great  and  well-merite<l  repu- 
tation. "The  students  of  jurisjjrudence,"  says  Sars,  "were  the 
leaders  in  academic  and  fashionalde  circles  in  the  capital,  and  to 
them  Schweigaard  was  tlie  teacher  and  master  above  all  others. 
He  possessed  to  an  eminent  degree  tlie  qualities  of  the  distinguished 
practical  jurist  —  lucidity  of  thought,  precision,  sober  n'alistie 
judgment,  the  ability  to  criticise  and  to  analyze  everj'  (juestion  of 
jurisprudence  so  that  the  characteristic  featim's  muld  come  clearly 
to  view  in  every  instance.  He  represented  in  such  a  perfect  and 
almost  ideal  way  tlie  jurist's  view  of  life  an<l  society  that  by  his 
younger  colleagues  he  was  regardtxl  as  a  sort  of  oracle,  by  wht>se 
words  they  could  swear  without  further  investigation."  *     In  poli- 

'  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiskc  HuHoric  18t5-ISS.5,  p.  209.  Ebbo  UorUb«'rg. 
Nordmctnd  i  del  lOdc  Aarhundrede,  A.  M.  Sehxceigaard. 


4S8  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

tics  he  was  a  Conservative,  representing  views  akin  to  those  of 
L0venskiold  and  Vogt,  and  it  was  certain  that  he  would  be  opposed 
to  the  issues  raised  by  the  HberaHsts  relative  to  Norway's  rights 
in  the  union.  But  as  political  scientist  he  held  very  advanced  views, 
and  in  this  field  he  rendered  his  country  services  which  proved  to 
be  of  epoch-making  importance.  As  member  of  the  royal  commis- 
sions appointed  in  1838  and  1839  to  revise  the  laws  of  commerce, 
and  to  readjust  the  tariff  schedules,  he  elaborated  a  system  of  free 
trade  which  he  succeeded  in  incorporating  in  the  new  tariff  law  of 
1842.  The  principle  of  free  competition  in  trade  and  industry  was 
now  substituted  for  the  mercantile  system  of  protective  tariff,  trade 
monopolies,  and  special  privileges  hitherto  adhered  to.  In  the  field 
of  economics  Schweigaard  was  so  opposed  to  all  artificial  restraint 
that  even  Daa,  who  was  in  favor  of  free  industry  in  a  general  way, 
regarded  him  as  a  radical  whose  views  were  revolutionary.  But 
the  principle  of  free  competition  once  established  brought  about  a 
rapid  increase  in  the  volume  of  trade,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  a 
new  era  of  prosperity,  so  sorely  needed  in  Norway  at  that  time.  A 
measure  like  the  new  tariff  law  was  passed  without  much  opposition, 
as  it  harmonized  with  the  views  and  business  spirit  of  the  age.  A 
betterment  of  conditions  after  so  serious  a  financial  and  industrial 
depression  must  have  appeared  like  a  godsend,  and  Schweigaard 
became  the  hero  who  was  able  to  lead  tlie  nation  out  of  the  slough 
of  economic  despond.  Daa  was  less  fortunate.  The  political  policy 
of  which  he  became  the  advocate  could  reckon  but  few  supporters. 
It  embraced  the  same  views  which  Wergeland  and  Hjelm  had  sought 
in  vain  to  make  the  platform  of  a  strong  liberal  party  organization ; 
but  the  binder  had  failed  to  grasp  the  significance  of  these  issues,  and 
as  their  group  in  the  Storthing  formed  an  organized  opposition  of 
which  Daa  became  one  of  tlie  leaders,  he  was  no  better  situated  than 
Hjelm  had  been  before  him,  nor  did  he  become  any  more  successful. 
All  important  measures  which  he  advocated,  the  h^tider  refused  to 
support.  Even  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  constitution  for  the 
repeal  of  the  article  excluding  the  Jews  from  the  kingdom  was  vigor- 
ously resisted.  Their  narrow-minded  policy  of  promoting  the  inter- 
ests only  of  their  own  class  made  the  organization  of  a  liberal  party 
impossible,  and  forced  Daa  like  Hjelm  into  tragic  political  isolation. 


H  OSCAR    I.       KOMANTICISM    AM)    rAN-SCANDINAVIANISM  489 

The  binder  were  yet  too  \vrai)i)»'(l  up  in  Uicir  <tl«l  chiss  liatnnis,  Unt 
clannisli,  Jind  tno  jraloiis  of  tlicir  own  sptfial  riglits  to  uii(i«'r^taii<l 
Daa's  stati'siiianliki'  i)olicy,  or  to  attempt  to  coiLsolidate  all  available 
forces  into  a  stronj;  iiheral  party. 

59.     ()s(  Alv     1.       lioMANTUISM     AM)     PaN-ScaNT)IN'AVIAVISM 

The  striij;j;k'  i)ot\veen  tlic  kiti^  and  the  Storthing,  which  once  wni- 
pied  the  attention  of  all  political  leatlers  in  Nonvay,  ha<l  now  snl)- 
sided,  partly  because  of  the  more  conciliatory  attitude  of  tlie  age<l 
king,  but  partly  also  because  of  the  reactionary  character  of  the 
ministry  and  tiu-  Storthing,  and  when  Charles  .J(»hn  died,  March  8, 
1844,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  he  was  deeply  nionrned  by  all  parties 
and  classes.  His  successor,  Oscar  I.,  who  was  forty-five  years  of  age, 
was  in  even^'  way  a  contrast  to  his  robust,  majestic,  impulsive,  and 
energetic  father.  lie  was  ven^-  cjuiet,  thin,  pale,  and  of  a  sickly 
appearance.  He  had  visited  Norway  several  times.  For  a  peri<Mi 
he  had  even  been  vici-roy.  He  was  well  known,  but  because  of  his 
quiet  ways  no  one  knew  his  views,  ami  it  was  generally  fean'<l  that 
he  was  in  sympathy  with  tlie  Swedish  ari.stocraey,  wlu)  were  believwl 
to  entertain  no  friendly  feelings  for  the  liberal  political  institutions 
of  Norway.  P.  ('.  Hoist,  nunibir  of  the  Norwegian  ministry  in 
Stockholm,  says  that  during  ( 'harles  John's  last  illness  their  convi-rsa- 
tion  often  centered  on  the  very  iniprol)al)le  sup[)osition  that  tlie 
crown  i)rincc  might  wish  to  ]>lay  the  .same  role  in  .\onvay  as  did 
King  Ernest  in  Ilaiu)ver;  that  he  might  refuse  to  Uike  an  oatlj  «>n 
the  constitution,  unless  sonu'  modifications  were  made  in  it,  as,  for 
<  \ami)le,  that  tlie  king  should  receive  absolute  veto.  "That  we 
cnuld  supi)ose  anything  of  the  kind,"  he  says,  "or  even  enterUiin  a 
thought  of  the  possibility,  was  due  to  our  knowle<lge  of  the  ht»stile 
attitude  of  tlie  Swedish  aristocracy,  and,  perhaps,  in  part  al.s4>  to  the 
reticence  which  the  crown  prince,  no  doubt  from  ginnl  policy,  al- 
ways maintaiurd  towards  all  Norwegians.  We  al.st)  agreetl  ujmiu 
what  we  should  do  if  so  unexi)ected  a  situation  should  develop."  ' 
Oscar  I.  j)roved.  however,  to  be  a  fair-minde«l  and  well-intentiouoi 
king,  lb-  did  not  venture  upon  great  undertakitigs,  but  even  hi.s 
first  acts  as  ruler  served  to  dispel  all  lingering  mistnist.     So  soon 

I  P.  ('.  IIol.sl.  EftcdaiiU  Oplrgn.i^cr,  p.  .'ill  f. 


490  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

as  he  had  taken  his  oath  as  king,  he  issued  an  order  that  in  all  Norwe- 
gian documents  the  name  of  Norway  should  precede  that  of  Sweden, 
and  not  long  afterward  it  was  decreed  that  on  the  union  coat  of  arms 
the  Norwegian  coat  of  arms  should  occupy  one-half  instead  of  one- 
third  of  the  field  as  hitherto.  Norway  also  received  her  own  man-of- 
war  flag.  These  concessions,  which  the  king  called  his  dowry  to 
the  Norwegian  people,  were  of  importance  as  showing  his  good  in- 
tentions, ])ut  their  real  value  was  materially  reduced,  since  they  were 
to  be  looked  upon  as  a  present  from  the  Idng  rather  than  as  a  right 
justly  claimed  by  Norway  as  a  sovereign  kingdom.  The  not  very 
welcome  provision  was  also  attached  that  a  union  sign  should  be 
inserted  in  all  flags  both  in  Norway  and  Sweden. 

It  has  already  been  observed  that  after  the  political  reaction  had 
ended  the  storm  and  stress  caused  by  the  clashes  of  parties  and  the 
animated  discussions  of  great  issues  in  the  Storthing,  an  era  of  peace 
and  good  feeling,  such  as  Welhaven  had  been  longing  for,  finally 
came.  The  Patriot  agitation  had  died  away,  the  ultra-national  pro- 
gram had,  for  the  time  being,  lost  its  charm,  and  the  Intelligence 
party  could  cultivate  "good  taste"  practically  unopposed.  Their 
society  "Kringla"  dominated  social  life  in  the  capital,  and  no  sound 
of  robust  laughter  or  noise  of  national  merrymaking  was  allowed 
to  penetrate  to  their  exclusive  and  refined  morning  and  evening  par- 
ties. Only  the  most  conservative  refinement  and  the  taste  for 
foreign  elegance  could  be  tolerated  in  these  elite  circles,  where  the 
life  of  Paris  and  Copenhagen  was  reproduced  even  in  manners  and 
conversation.  The  social  tone  harmonized  with  the  general  revival 
of  aristocratic  spirit.  In  literature  a  similar  love  of  polished  con- 
formity to  rule  prevailed,  as  the  younger  poets  had  accepted  the 
poetic-aesthetic  views  of  Welhaven,  who  acted  as  the  arbiter  ele^ 
gantiarum  of  the  upper  classes. 

But  the  intellectual  forces,  which  had  been  stimulated  to  activity 
by  the  events  of  1814  and  the  great  patriotic  revival  of  Henrik  Werge- 
land,  were  producing  a  new  creative  epoch  in  Norwegian  art  and 
literature.  The  dreamy  mysticism  of  the  romanticists  had  also 
reached  Norway.  Their  love  of  heroic  traditions  of  the  past,  of  the 
sentimental,  the  supernatural,  became  associated  with  an  intense 
interest  in  nature,  and  the  admiration  for  the  national  customs  and 


IM.ATK    XIV 


^{Offj 


2 

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X. 


II  OSCAR   I.      ROMANTICISM    A.SU    PA.V-«CANDINAVIANISM  491 

rural  virtues  of  tlie  coininon  people  so  diligently  fostrretl  by  Ileririk 
Wergeland.  The  young  artists  and  writers  turned  witli  rapture  to 
their  own  picturesque  mountain  seenerj-,  and  tin-  duinning  free- 
dom and  simj)licity  of  the  rural  life  among  the  i)ineclad  mountaiiLS, 
wiiere  folk-songs  and  fairy-tales  lived  on  the  people's  lips  like  a  foun- 
tain of  poesy  which  had  welled  in  primeval  purity  from  remote  ages. 
Welhaven  himself  had  prophesied  that  tliere  the  sources  of  true 
})()esy  were  to  be  found,  and  he  led  tbc  way  into  the  new  region  of 
art  in  his  ballads,  in  which  he  ex]jrcssed  with  rare  trutli  and  beauty 
tiie  dramatic  episodes  and  deep  feeUng  of  tlie  popular  traditions. 
(Jradually  tlie  rich  stores  of  folk-literature  were  discovered,  like  S4)me 
j)rehistoric  mound  made  to  yield  its  unique  treasures.  In  livi3 
A.  Faye  published  his  "Xorske  Folkesagn,"  traditions  from  early 
times,  which  still  lived  among  tlie  people.  These  echoes  from  the 
j)ast  were  given  a  wanii  welcome  by  the  romanticists,  and  Welhaven 
chose  from  this  work  tlie  tliemes  for  many  of  his  ballads  and  romantx-s. 
In  1840  J0rgen  Moe  published  a  small  collection  of  folk-songs,  "  Norske 
\'iser  og  Stev,"  but  far  more  important  is  M.  H.  Landstad's  great 
collection,  "  Norske  Folkeviser, "  which  appeared  in  ISTni,  and  Sophus 
Bugge's  smaller  collection,  "Gamle  norske  Folkeviser,"  of  1858. 
Landstad,  who  was  clergyman  at  Kviteseid,  and  later  at  Seljord  and 
IVedrikshald,  was  a  gifted  poet,  and  he  is  especially  noted  as  a  psalm- 
ist. His  hymnbook  is  still  in  universal  use  in  Norway,  and  is  regarded 
as  a  work  of  rare  excellence. 

For  some  years  the  two  friends  Jorgen  Moe  and  P.  Chr.  A*- 
bjrtrnsen  had  been  engaged  in  collecting  fair>'-tales.  anil  in  I8l2tliey 
began  the  publication  of  their  hrst  collection,  "Norske  Folkeeventyr 
Mimlede  og  fortalte  af  Asbj0rnsen  og  Moe."  At  first  tlie  literary 
<  ircles  were  skej)tical,  as  tliey  considered  tliese  storit^  a  literature 
only  fit  for  the  nursery,  but  the  skepticism  vanished  when  tliey  ilis- 
covered  in  these  tales  the  humor,  poesy,  and  fascinating  life  of  tlie 
common  people,  and  learned  to  know  Nonvay  as  the  land  of  charming 
scenery,  such  as  they  had  never  before  seen.  Fver>-  year  during  tlie 
summer  months  the  two  friends  travehnl  through  the  more  remote 
districts  in  search  of  new  stories,  but  in  ISoH  Moe  abandomxl  the 
work  to  accept  a  curacy  in  Sigdal.  In  \S{\:\  he  became  elergAnian  in 
Drammen,  and  later  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  ( 'hristiansand.     He  was 


492  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

a  gifted  poet,  and  though  his  poetical  works  are  not  voluminous, 
they  contain  many  highly  cherished  productions.  Asbj0rnsen,  who 
was  a  natural  scientist,  and  loved  to  roam  about  in  the  mountains 
and  forests,  continued  the  work  begun  by  the  two.  He  advanced 
beyond  the  views  and  tastes  of  the  romanticists,  as  he  acquired  a  more 
thorough  knowledge  both  of  nature  and  of  the  life  of  the  people, 
and  in  his  "Norske  Huldreeventyr  og  Folkesagn"^  he  contributed 
a  series  of  sketches  and  short  stories  in  which  he  depicts  nature  and 
the  life  of  the  people  with  charming  realism.  The  work  is  of  such 
rare  excellence  that  it  surpasses  anything  written  in  that  field  by  his 
contemporaries.  Through  the  work  especially  of  Asbj0rnsen  and 
Moe  the  doors  were  opened  to  the  charming  mountain  scenery  and 
tranquil  peasant  life  of  Norrvay.  The  vast  perpetual  snowfields  on 
the  inland  mountain  plateau,  the  J^tunheim,  were  discovered,  and 
tourist  life  took  its  beginning.  The  city  people,  who  hitherto  had 
scarcely  been  known  to  cross  their  own  city  limits,  now  spent  the 
summer  among  the  mountains,  where  new  raptures  met  the  eye  at 
every  turn.  Poets  and  prose  writers  like  B.  Herre,  Andreas  Munch, 
P.  A.  Jensen,  Theodor  Kjerulf,  C.  P.  Riis,  Nicolai  0stgaard,  Hans 
Schultze,  and  other  members  of  the  romantic  school,  had  become 
charmed  with  the  thought  of  nature  and  the  quaint  fairy  (Hulder) 
who  herded  her  cattle  in  the  woods,  and  paid  her  mystic  visits  to 
the  herdsmen  and  the  dairymaid  when  night  threw  her  mantle  over 
the  mountains,  or  when  the  sun  smiled  among  the  trees  in  the  forest. 
When  the  evening  shadows  fell,  the  Fossegrim  could  be  heard  play- 
ing his  fiddle  in  the  waterfall,  and  the  love-sick  N6k  would  sob  beside 
the  brook.  These  ideas  of  the  common  people,  now  for  the  first 
time  revealed  to  the  imagination  of  the  cultured  classes  in  the  midst 
of  so  unique  a  natural  scenery,  proved  to  be  a  most  powerful  stimulus 
to  poetic  sentiment.  The  better  they  learned  to  know  the  hitherto 
unknown  common  people,  the  more  of  old  art  and  culture  they  found 
to  study  and  to  preserve.  The  folk-melodies,  no  less  charming  than 
the  folk-tales,  were  collected  by  L.  M.  Lindeman,  and  soon  their 
quaint  strains  were  reechoed  in  the  musical  compositions  of  Nord- 
raak,  Halvdan  Kjerulf,  and  Ole  Bull.-    The  arts  of  woodcarving, 

*  Henrik  Jaeger,  Norske  Forfattere. 

'  Nordmcend  i  det  1  Ode  Aarhundrede,  Ole  Bull,  Halvdan  Kjerulf. 


I'LATK    XV 


JoittlKN     MoK. 


I'.    ClIH.     A>HJ»»KS->KN 


l\  \i{   Aaskn. 


A     <)     \l\JK. 


I 


11  OSCAR    I.       UOMA.NTK  ISM    AM)    I'AN-HTAN'DI VAVIANISM  493 

tapestry  weaving,  rose  paiiitiiig,  and  the  like,  whieli  flcjuri.>lMil  ainoii^ 
the  binder,  were  made  suhjects  of  sj)eeial  study,  and  U-eanie  tin- 
source  of  new  inspiration  in  national  painting  and  decorativt*  art. 
In  architeetnre  a  new  (Uparture  was  ereaU'd  tlirongh  tin*  stiuly  of 
the  ilistinctivi'ly  Norwegian  style  of  woo<i  architecture  especially 
developed  in  tlie  nld  wooden  churches,  of  which  many  are  still  found 
in  the  mountain  valleys  of  Norway.'  In  1844  a  society,  Fureningen 
til  norskc  Fi)rti(Uiiun(lesmerkcr!<  liimrhig,  was  organized  to  |)res<'r\e 
these  venerable  structures  from  destruction  or  decay.  The  m-w 
intellectual  awakening  caused  i»y  the  national  regeneration  hmi 
|)roduced  a  creative  era  in  every  lield.  The  art  of  painting  also 
received  its  masters.  J,  C.  Dahl,  Hans  (]ude,  and  Adolph  Tide- 
mand  painted  the  scenerj'  of  fjords  and  mountains,  national  costumes, 
life,  and  character  of  the  i)eoj)le  with  unexcelU'd  beauty  of  erimposi- 
tion  and  delicacy  ot"  coloring.  The  national  spirit  had  asscrtinl  its 
own  sovereignty,  and  whatever  might  he  the  opinion  regarding  litera- 
ture and  art  as  such,  the  view  of  Ileiirik  Wergeland  tliat  all  true 
national  development  must  spring  from  the  people's  own  Uiought 
and  sentiment  could  no  longer  be  a  subject  of  contrtnersy. 

Where  the  poets  and  artists  led  the  way,  the  more  anal\tie  spirit 
of  scientific  research  followed,  as  tlie  new  material  which  luul  sud- 
denly been  brought  to  light  olVered  rare  opportunities  for  .scholarly 
activity  in  many  fields,  especially  in  ardueology,  philology,  folklon*. 
and  mythology.  Esj)ecially  noteworthy  are  two  di.stinctively  new 
movements  which  developed  under  the  influence  of  romanticism, 
but  which  soon  found  their  own  paths,  and  continued  to  grow,  wholly 
independent  of  it.  Being  devoted  to  critical  research,  thes*-  \wiu^ 
tratcd  deeper,  and  were  able  to  show  the  continuity  of  tlie  hi.stori<al 
development  of  the  Norwegian  people,  and  their  former  literary  and 
intellectual  achievements,  at  that  time  greatly  ob.scureil  and  generally 
misunderstood  because  of  Norway's  unfortunate  jMisition  during 
the  long  union  with  1  )(niii;irk.  These  movements  were  tlu*  Noru-e- 
gian  historical  school,  devclopnl  by  R.  Keys«T  and  I*.  A.  Munch. 
and  tlic  national  linguistic  movement.  originat«tl  by  tlie  philologist 
Ivar  Aasen.       Keyser   and    Munch    had    l)ec(»me   coworkers   in   the 

'  L.  Dietrichson,  Dc  norske  Stavkirkcr;  Vorc  Fadrcs   Verk^  Norge*  Kunst  i 

Middelaldercn. 


494  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

field  of  Norwegian  history.^  Keyser,  who  was  appointed  lecturer 
in  history,  and  later  professor  in  the  University  of  Christiania,  intro- 
duced the  study  of  Old  Norse  language  and  literature,  and  exerted 
great  influence,  as  well  through  his  carefully  prepared  lectures  as 
through  his  historical  works.  He  was  the  originator  of  the  new  theory 
regarding  the  prehistoric  migrations  to  the  Scandinavian  peninsula, 
which,  though  no  longer  regarded  as  the  correct  view,  proved  to  be 
a  valuable  working  hypothesis.  It  attempted  to  show  that  the 
Norwegians  from  the  most  remote  times  had  been  a  distinct  people, 
even  because  of  their  origin,  since  they  were  supposed  to  have  come 
from  the  regions  east  of  the  Baltic,  and  not  from  the  south,  as  hitherto 
believed.  It  did  great  service  by  destroying  the  older  and  wholly 
unscientific  views  of  the  Danish  historian  Suhm,  and  by  placing 
historical  research  on  a  strictly  scientific  basis.  His  pupil  and 
younger  associate,  P.  A.  Munch,  seems  for  a  time  to  have  shared  his 
opinions  on  all  essential  points,  but  he  soon  passed  beyond  his  older 
associate  to  more  advanced  views.  Munch  possessed  most  remark- 
able talents  and  versatility.  Not  only  is  he  the  most  voluminous 
writer  in  Norwegian  literature,  though  he  died  in  his  fifty-third  year, 
but  his  capacity  for  work,  his  memory,  his  intuitive  insight  and 
ability  to  trace  the  hidden  meaning  in  every  old  relic  and  manuscript 
were  all  alike  extraordinary.  When  we  consider,  not  only  his  his- 
torical writings,  but  also  his  work  as  critical  scholar  in  various  fields, 
the  tribute  paid  him  on  a  later  occasion  by  his  erstwhile  opponent 
the  Danish  scholar  C.  A.  E.  Jessen  that  he  was  "the  greatest  historian 
in  the  North"  seems  well  merited.  In  the  fields  of  archaeology, 
geography,  mythology,  philology,  and  runology  he  carried  on  ex- 
tensive original  research,  and  contributed  works  of  great  value. 
But  more  important  still  are  his  treatises  on  various  historical  prob- 
lems, in  four  large  volumes,  his  critical  editions  of  numerous  historical 
sources,  a  work  in  which  he  and  Keyser  cooperated  with  C.  R.  Unger, 
and  his  discovery  and  collection  of  new  sources,  especially  in  the 
archives  of  the  Vatican.    His  chief  work,  "Det  norske  Folks  His- 

^  P.  A.  Munch,  Om  den  saakaldte  historiske  Skole  i  Norge.  J.  E.  Sars, 
Samlede  Verker,  vol.  IV.,  p.  192  ff.  Chr.  Brinchmann,  P.  A.  Munch.  Nord- 
mtgnd  i  del  19de  Aarhundrede,  P.  A.  Munch.  Laura  Larsen-Naur,  P.  A. 
Munch,  Levnet  og  Breve. 


I'LATK    XVI 


1'.    A.    MiNcii. 


NlKl.>    lihNKtK    AllKI. 


Oi.i;   lU'i.i-. 


Kii\  \iu>  ( ■  nil 


II  OSCAR    I.       ROMANTICISM    AM;    PA.V-fk'ANDINAVIA.VIHM  406 

torie,"  in  eight  hirgi'  octavo  volumes,  Is  u  repoaiU)rj  of  ;x.holarly 
knowledge  which  will  always  continue  to  be  one  of  the  chief  souram 
of  Norwegian  history.' 

It  beeame  Munch's  great  task  to  show  Norway'-,  irii<-  jx-ition 
in  tlie  historical  and  cultural  developinrnt  of  tlie  Nortii,  to  lift  tJie 
veil  of  obscurity  which  had  fallen  upon  tiie  nation  IxHrausc  of  un- 
fortunate political  circumstances  in  the  union  period.  It  had  hitherto 
heen  customary  to  regard  tlie  mytliology.  the  Kddas,  and  sapis  as 
products  of  an  ancient  culture,  produced  by  tlie  Geniianic  spirit  in 
;i  past  so  remote  that  the  Scandinavian  race  was  still  a  unit.  These 
treasures  were,  therefore,  regarded  as  a  heritage  common  to  all  tlie 
.Northern  i)eoj)les,  in  which,  however,  Norway  was  sup[)0.s«'d  U.)  have 
little  or  no  share.  Old  scholars  had  developed  a  theory  no  longer 
doubted  at  the  time,  that  the  Edda  songs,  the  mytlis,  and  tlie  .sagas, 
had  originated  as  oral  traditions  in  southern  Sweden  and  the  Danisii 
i -lands,  the  home  and  center  of  ancient  Scandimu  ian  culture,  it 
was  thought,  and  tliat  the  already  finished  product  had  been  acci- 
dentally committed  to  writing  in  Norway  and  Iceland.  This  theory 
-Munch  jiroved  to  be  wholly  untenable.  He  .showed  that  tlie  orig- 
inal Northern  tongue  had  been  divided  int«.)  tliree  distinct  dialects: 
tiie  old  Norse  (including  the  Old  Icelandic),  the  Old  I)ani^h,  and  Old 
Swedish ;  tliat  mythological  and  heroic  traditions  had  been  divided 
in  the  same  way,  before  the  Edda  mythologs  originat«'<i ;  that  it 
i  wholly  Norwegian,  and  not  a  common  Nortlieni  heritage.  He 
showed  fnrtlier  tliat  the  mytlis,  as  tliey  luiw  exist,  are  of  no  \vr\- 
great  antiquity,  but  tliat  many  show  distinct  traces  vi  (.'hrlstian 
influence.  The  Eddas  and  tlie  sagas  he  proved  to  In'  purely  Nor- 
wegian-Icelandic literature,  and  showed  that  tlie  tli»*or>-  of  u  j«iint 
Nortliern  heritage  has  to  l)e  wholly  discanleil.  His  \  iews  at  first 
cau.scd  most  determined  opposition,  as  tliey  were  n'^anhii  us  revo- 
lutionary, as  an  attempt  to  rob  tlie  sister  natioiLs  of  Uicir  proudest 
possessions  ;  but  his  theory  was  soon  confirmed  by  otlier  distinguished 

'  As  a  motto  to  this  work  ht<  lias  ohoson  tho  follownnif  wonli  from  N'lo- 
buhr:  "  Icli  w»>r(l.>  sufl\(>n  .li.-  Kritik  d.-r  Ofschi.-lito  in.-ht  niM'h  dunkelon 
Gefahlen.  sondi'rn  forsiihend,  aus/ufUhn>n.  iiicht  ihro  FU«uIt«u>.  wolcb*  nur 
blinde  Mtiuungeu  stiften,  sondorn  die  Untorsuohuu^jou  wlb.nt  iu  ilirsn  gmaMO 

Umfaugo  fortragen." 


496  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

scholars,  like  Konrad  Maurer,  Sophus  Bugge,  C.  A.  E.  Jessen,  Finnur 
Jonsson,  and  others.  The  Norwegian  people  thus  entered  into  their 
own  possessions,  and  instead  of  being  the  poorest  in  ancient  intel- 
lectual culture,  they  had  suddenly  appeared  as  the  richest.  By  the 
verdict  of  the  scholars  they  had  been  given  full  title  to  their  own 
past  achievements,  a  fact  which  strengthened  the  national  spirit, 
and  created  new  confidence  in  the  worth  of  their  own  native  culture. 
This  confidence  was  further  strengthened  through  the  national 
linguistic  movement  originated  by  Ivar  Aasen. 

This  untutored  peasant  boy,  born  in  most  humble  circumstances, 
too  poor  to  attend  school,  rose  by  his  own  efforts  and  native  genius 
to  be  one  of  the  most  learned  scholars  and  influential  leaders  of  his 
age.  Professor  Halvdan  Koht  says  of  liim  :  "  Ivar  Aasen  —  scholar 
and  leader  of  the  people  —  leader  of  the  people  because  he  was  a 
scholar  —  is  so  strange  a  phenomenon  in  history  that  it  may  well 
cause  wonder.  A  poor  peasant  boy,  who  never  took  a  single  exam- 
ination, advances  to  leadership  in  philology,  and  brings  a  whole 
new  language  into  the  realm  of  scientific  study.  This  quiet,  retiring 
investigator  originates  a  movement  which  divides  a  whole  nation, 
creates  a  new  literature,  stirs  up  a  growing  struggle  in  state  and  com- 
munity, in  church  and  school.  One  cannot  understand  the  history 
of  Nor^\'ay  during  the  last  sixty  years  without  knowing  Ivar  Aasen, 
the  father  of  Norwegian  philological  study,  of  the  Landsmaal  and 
the  viaalstragv."  ^ 

Aasen  was  born  in  1813  in  S0ndm0r.2  At  the  age  of  twelve  he 
became  an  orphan,  and  for  the  next  five  years  he  had  to  work  on 
the  little  homestead  where  he  was  reared.  With  passionate  love 
for  study  he  read  all  the  books  to  which  he  had  any  access,  and  in 
1831  he  was  appointed  teacher  in  his  home  parish.  This  gave  him 
better  opportunity  for  study,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Provost 
Thoresen,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  German,  French, 
English,  and  Latin.  His  favorite  study  was  grammar,  he  writes 
in  his  autobiography,  and  when  in  1835  he  became  private  tutor 

1  Symra,  Decorah,  la.,  vol.  IX.,  p.  145  ff. 

*  Ivar  Aasen,  Skrifter  i  Samling,  vol.  I.,  p.  1  ff.,  Selvbiografi.  Arne  Garborg, 
Anders  Hovden,  Halvdan  Koht,  Ivar  Aasen,  Ex  Minneskrift  urn  Livsverke 
bans. 


II  OSCAR   I.      ROMANTICISM   AND   PAN-SCAN'DINAVIANISM  497 

ill  the  lioiiir  of  Cluiplaiii  I)ua,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  attempting 
to  write  the  grammar  (jf  some  lanj;uage.  "Tlie  lanj^uage  selected," 
he  says,  "  was  the  one  which  I  could  call  my  own,  and  which  I  did 
not  find  treated  in  any  grammar.  Why,  I  thought,  are  not  the 
Nonv(>gian  dialects  treate<l  like  other  languages?  WTiy  do  we 
not  find  grammatical  works  and  dictionaries  where  the  forms  of  the 
words,  their  genders  and  conjugations,  are  given?  Is  not  our  dialect 
or  tlie  pure  old  XorAvegian  tongue  worthy  of  more  thorough  investi- 
gation? Such  a  work,  1  thought,  can  only  be  done  by  one  who  is 
born  in  a  peasant's  cottage,  and  I  will  attempt  it."  In  order  to 
better  (piality  himself  for  this  task  he  also  studied  Old  Norse  and 
Swedish,  and  in  \S'.V.)  he  wrote  a  granmiar  of  his  own  dialect.  He 
also  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  botany,  and  gathered  and  classi- 
fied a  large  collection  of  plants  from  his  own  neighborhood.  A 
desire  to  see  the  world,  or  rather,  perhaps,  a  deep  yearning  to  find 
some  suitable  opportunity  to  em})loy  his  talents,  drove  him  to  visit 
Bergen,'  where  he  was  introduced  to  Bishop  Neumann,  who  exam- 
ined his  grannnar  and  herbarium.  The  bishop  marveled  at  tlie 
learning  of  the  unschooled  i)easant  lad,  and  wrote  an  article  about 
him  in  the  "Bergen  Stiftstidende."  This  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  able  philologist  F.  M.  Bugge,  rector  of  the  cathedral  school 
in  Trondhjem,  wiio  soon  discovered  in  Ivar  Aasen  an  extraordinary 
linguistic  talent,  the  kind  of  man  he  had  ])een  looking  for,  who  could 
de\(>t(>  himself  to  the  study  of  tlie  Norwegian  dialects.  He  secured 
for  iiim  a  small  yearly  stipend  from  the  Kongelige  norske  Videnskahs- 
SeLslxdb,  of  which  he  was  the  president,  and  during  the  next  four  years 
Aasen  traveled  tlirough  nearly  all  parts  of  the  country,  studying  the 
dialects,  and  gathering  material  for  his  great  works.  In  1S4S  he 
])ul)Iishe(l  "Det  nnrske  Folkesprogs  Grammatik,"  and  in  1850  &p- 
|)eare(l  his  dictionary  of  the  dialects,  "Ordbog  over  det  norske 
Folkesprog,"  works  which  opened  new  domains  for  linguistic  research, 
and  gave  new  vigor  to  the  growing  national  si)irit.  (K  the  grammar 
\\  A.  MuiK  h  said  :  "This  work  is  not  only  an  ornament  to  our  litera- 
ture, but  it  is  a  work  of  national  importance,  of  which  the  whole 
nation  may  well  be  proud.     It  reveals  the  Northern  nationality  of 

'  Ivar  Aasen,  Dagbog  paa  en  Reise  til  Bergen,  Skrifter  i  Samling,  vol,  II., 
p.  75  ff. 

VOL.  II  —  2  k 


498  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  Norwegian  people  more  clearly  than  any  work  which  has  hitherto 
appeared ;  it  shows  that  the  more  than  thousand-year-old  Norse 
tongue  still  lives  among  the  people  with  a  purity  of  accent  which 
we  do  not  find  even  in  Iceland.  This  we  learn  in  such  a  way  that  we 
not  only  have  a  vague  feeling  of  it,  as  hitherto,  but  it  is  clearly,  thor- 
oughly, and  systematically  shown  and  proven,  so  that  no  shadow 
of  doubt  can  exist,  .  .  .  For  us  it  is  a  source  of  pride  and  consola- 
tion to  know  that  in  spite  of  unfortunate  circumstances  we  have  been 
able  to  preserve  our  language  in  so  original  a  form." 

About  Aasen's  dictionary  he  wrote  :  "  The  dictionary  furnishes  proof 
of  the  existence  of  the  Old  Norse  language  among  us  in  an  almost 
unchanged  form.  It  shows  clearly  that  it  is  only  the  grammatical 
forms  which  have  disappeared  from  the  now  spoken  language,  while 
nearly  the  whole  vocabulary  has  been  preserved  unchanged.  .  .  . 
The  dictionary  in  connection  with  the  grammar  is  a  national  monu- 
ment, to  whose  author  every  patriotic  Norwegian  owes  the  deepest 
gratitude."  In  1853  followed  a  third  work  :  "  Pr0ver  af  Landsmaalet 
i  Norge."  "These  three  works,"  says  Koht,  "constitute  the  founda- 
tion for  his  work.  They  contain  both  his  great  scholarly  achievement 
and  his  new  linguistic  program.  Tliey  made  him  renowned;  they 
carried  his  name  even  to  foreign  lands,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  a 
new  national  work."  ^ 

Ivar  Aasen  was  not  only  a  scholar,  but  a  patriot.  He  had  begun 
his  career  with  a  desire  to  see  his  own  tongue  accorded  the  same  re- 
spect as  other  languages,  and  his  study  of  the  dialects  had  shown 
him  that  in  them  the  old  Norwegian  language  was  still  preserved. 
Norse  had  once  been  the  greatest  literary  language  of  the  North; 
why  should  it  now  be  despised  ?  In  the  introduction  to  "  Det  norske 
Folkesprogs  Grammatik"  he  says :  "This  language  might  have  been 
cultivated  as  a  literary  language,  and  might  have  had  a  large  litera- 
ture; but  it  may  also  for  the  present  be  regarded  as  the  vernacular 
of  the  common  people  without  any  literature.  In  all  events  this  is 
the  true  Norwegian  language.  We  see  no  reason  why  it  should  be 
regarded  as  inferior  to  Swedish  or  Danish ;  we  find  no  justification 
for  calling  it  undeveloped  and  unfit  for  higher  purposes.     We  can 

1  Ivar  Aasen,  AUerf^rsla,  Skrijter  i  Samling,  vol.  II.,  p.  194  ff.  Ivar  Aasen 
og  Verket  hans,  Syn  og  Segn,  August,  1913. 


II  OSCAR    I.       IlOMANTiriSM    AM)    PAN'-rt(  ANDI.N'AVIAMSM  499 

not  understand  that  it  slioidd  ('ontril)Utr  to  the  lionor  of  the  common 
people  to  desi)ise  this  hiii^uaj;e,  and  to  seek  to  change  it  for  another." 
Aasen  studied  tlie  diak'cts,  not  only  from  scientific  interest,  hut  with 
a  fixed  purpose  to  restore  to  the  Norwegians  their  own  hmguaKP, 
that  also  in  this  field  tiiey  mijxht  enter  into  full  possession  of  their 
own.  As  early  as  IbliG  he  wrote  in  an  article  entitled  "C>m  det 
norske  Sprog,"  that  since  the  three  Northern  peoples  can  not  have 
the  same  language,  each  ought  to  have  their  own.  "As  we  have 
lately  been  freed  from  an  overlordship  of  another  kingdom,"  he  says, 
"and  ha\e  the  right  to  estal)lisli  our  own  household,  the  time  might 
now  he  opportune  to  think  of  this."  '  In  order  to  realize  this  plan 
he  not  only  collected  the  dialect  words  and  idioms,  hut  by  selecting 
the  forms  most  connnonly  used,  and  the  ones  which  corresponded 
most  closely  to  the  Old  Norse,  he  was  able  to  systematize  the  dialecte 
into  a  unifonn  language  —  the  Landsmnal.  This  language,  which 
contains  as  nearly  as  possible  the  essential  features  of  all  the  dialects, 
could  readily  be  adopted  by  all,  he  thought.  The  people  in  the  niral 
districts  would  recognize  it  as  their  own  tongue,  and  it  would  grad- 
ually replace  the  official  Danish  language,  which  continued  to  })e 
Danish  even  though  its  vocabularA'  had  been  enriched  by  many  Nonve- 
gian  words. 

It  was  clear  that  the  efi'orts  to  introduce  the  Landsmnal  as  the 
official  and  literary  language  would  ])recipitate  a  struggle  of  the 
most  determined  sort  between  the  officials  and  the  bondrr,  or,  rather, 
between  the  city  people,  who  favored  the  Danish-Norwegian  official 
language,  and  the  countr\'  people,  who  spoke  their  own  Norwegian 
vernacular.  The  hcindcr  demanded,  not  only  tlieir  political  rights 
under  the  constitution,  but  they  woidd  also  claim  tlie  right  to  use 
their  own  language,  and  to  have  tiicir  own  native  culture  duly  re- 
spected. This  new  issue,  the  maahtrcrv,  j)recipitated  the  conflict 
between  the  h6nder  aitd  the  officials  on  })oth  flanks,  so  to  speak,  and 
Aasen  and  I'eland,  both  of  humble  parentage,  became  the  leaders 
of  the  rural  population  in  tins  cultural  and  political  struggle. 

If  any  one  had  doubted  that  a  literature  coidd  be  prodticed  in  the 
Land.s-iiKKil,  he  was  soon  to  be  disillusioned.  Aasen  liimself,  who  was 
a  gifted  poet  as  well  as  a  scholar,  has  left  poetic  works  of  rare  value 

■  Ivar  Aasen,  Skriflcr  i  Satnliny,  vol.  III.,  p.  Go. 


500  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

written  in  this  language.  His  somewhat  younger  contemporan', 
A.  O.  Vinje,  a  peasant  boy  Hke  himself,  and  one  of  the  greatest  lyric 
poets  in  Northern  literature,  wrote  exclusively  in  the  Landsmaal. 
Many  authors  both  in  prose  and  poetrj^  soon  appeared  who  gave 
strength  to  the  new  movement.  Hitherto  unknown  and  unused 
forces,  which  had  been  lying  dormant  in  the  people's  national  life 
and  character,  had  been  stirred  to  creative  activity  by  Aasen's  work. 
The  revived  national  vigor  had  created  new  demands,  but  it  also 
added  great  treasures  to  the  nation's  store  of  intellectual  culture. 
The  Landsmaal  seems  to  have  small  chance  of  being  adopted  as  the 
language  of  Norway,  but  it  has  inaugurated  a  new  development  of 
the  Danish-Norwegian  language  which  is  constantly  reducing  the 
chasm  between  the  two  forms  of  speech,  and  ultimately,  it  is  hoped, 
the  two  will  merge  in  one  literary^  language.^ 

Another  movement  quite  closely  associated  with  romanticism 
was  the  Pan-Scandinavianism,  which  developed  especially  during  this 
period.  The  dream  of  a  united  North  was  to  a  large  extent  of  a 
sentimental  nature.  It  flourished  almost  exclusively  among  the 
students,  and  found  nourishment  in  the  same  interest  for  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  past  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  whole  romantic 
movement.  In  some  respects,  however,  it  was  a  revival  in  a  new 
form  of  a  feeling  which  had  grown  strong  on  several  earlier  occasions, 
that  the  Scandinavian  North  ought  to  stand  united  for  its  own  pro- 
tection. It  has  already  been  observ^ed  how  the  Danish  historian  F. 
Sneedorff  in  1792  had  advocated  a  political  Pan-Scandinavian  pro- 
gram, lest  Russia  and  Germany  should  "join  hands  across  the  Baltic 
Sea."  Prominent  men  in  all  three  countries  supported  the  idea, 
and  the  words  Scandinavia,  Scandinavian,  and  Scandia  came  into 
common  use  at  that  tune.^  In  1809-1810  great  enthusiasm  was 
developed  for  the  union  of  the  three  kingdoms  under  one  king,  and 
an  attempt  was  made  to  elect  King  Frederick  VI.  of  Denmark-Nor- 
way successor  to  the  Swedish  throne.  Again  the  fascinating  thought 
was  eagerly  supported  by  many  of  the  ablest  writers,  especially  by 
N.  F.  S.  Grundtvig,  distinguished  scholar  and  ecclesiastic,  the  man  of 

*  Moltke  Moe,  Nationalitet  og  Kultur,  Samtiden,  January,  1909. 

*  Julius  Clausen,  Skandinavismen  historisk  fremstillet.  J.  L0vland,  Den 
polUiske  Skandinavisme,  Samtiden,  1904. 


11  OSCAU    I.       UOMA.NTICISM    ANU    I'AN-SCANUINAVIAM.SM  Ml 

great  visions,  \vlu)  lookt'tl  upon  the  North  as  one  country'  with  one 
huiKuage,  the  NortJiern  niotlier  tonj^ue.  In  general,  liowever,  the 
Danish  people  were  not  much  in  favor  of  tlie  union  of  the  three 
ScamlinaNJaii  (•(nintrifs  uiultT  a  coniniou  king.  It  was  not  a  move- 
ment l)as('(l  on  a  general  desire  of  the  })eople,  ])ut  a  j)olitl('al  plan 
sui)porte(l  by  j)()ets  and  theorists,  a  hothouse-engendered  idea  which 
could  not  be  transy)lanted  into  practical  life.  Frederick  VI.  was  not 
elected  Swedish  crown  prince,  and  tlie  plan  of  a  dynastic  union  of 
the  Scandinavian  countries  quickly  collapsed. 

After  Deniuark  had  been  forced  to  cede  Norway  by  the  treaty  of 
Kiel,  ISi:^.  the  relation  between  Sweden  and  Demnark  remained 
hostile  for  a  time,  but  romanticism,  which  had  created  a  new  interest 
in  the  traditions  of  the  i)ast,  awakened  again  the  Pan-Scandinavian 
senthnent,  especially  among  the  students  of  the  Northern  universities. 
After  1S37  the  students  and  professors  at  the  universities  of  Lund 
and  Copenhagen  l)egan  to  ])ay  each  other  friendly  visits.  These 
were  repeated  on  ever  larger  scale,  and  soon  grew  into  a  movement 
of  great  proportions.  The  climax  seems  to  have  been  reached  in 
1843,  when  the  students  of  Copenliagen  and  Lund  visited  Tpsala, 
and  in  1845,  when  another  great  festival  was  held  in  Copenliagen, 
where  the  students  from  Upsala,  Lund,  and  Christiania  were 
the  guests  of  their  Danish  friends.  On  the  latter  occasion  the  father 
of  Danish  romanticism,  the  ])oet  Adam  Oehlenschheger,  was  greete<l 
as  the  greatest  champion  of  the  Scandinavian  idea.  It  was  stated 
that  by  reviving  the  interest  for  the  traditions  of  the  past  he  had 
aroused  the  young  men  of  the  North  to  new  enthusiasm  and  love 
for  achievements,  that  he  had  renewed  the  ties  of  friendshij)  between 
the  sister  nations.  In  Sweden  the  historian  Cieijer  antl  the  poet 
Tegiier  had  exerted  a  like  influence  as  Oehlenschla'ger  and  Grundtvig 
in  Denmark.  A  romantic  literature  had  been  created  in  lx)th 
countries,  largely  based  on  the  sagas  and  Northern  heroic  traditions. 
Tegner's  "  Fridtjofs  vSaga,"  and  Oehlenschheger's  dramas,  "Axel  og 
Valborg,"  "Haakon  Jarl,"  "Helge,"  "Tordenskjold,"  and  others, 
reveal  a  literary  Pan-Scandinavianism,  which  comes  even  more  clearly 
to  view  in  the  lyric  poesy  of  tlie  age.  Typical  are  songs  like  :  "  I^e'nge 
var  Nordens  herlige  Stamme  "  and  "I  nge  Gjenbyrds  Liv  i  Norden," 
by  tlie  Danish  poet  C.  Ploug.  and  "  Mulmet  sank  det  svale,"  by  C. 


302  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Hostrup.  In  Norway,  J.  S.  Welhaven  and  Andreas  Munch  wrote 
songs  of  like  contents,  and  the  Scandinavian  idea  even  fired  the 
enthusiasm  of  Bj0rnstjerne  Bj0rnson.^ 

In  so  far  as  the  Scandinavian  movement  tended  to  create  a  friendly 
feeling,  to  sweep  away  old  misunderstanding,  and  foster  a  livelier 
intercourse  between  the  Northern  peoples,  it  exerted  a  beneficial 
influence.  It  rested,  it  is  true,  on  no  firmer  foundation  than  a  wave 
of  evanescent  sentiment,  and  even  as  a  theory  it  suffered  from  the 

1  In  a  song  written  as  a  dedication  to  a  collection  of  poems  published  in 
1870  the  following  stanzas  are  especially  noteworthy  in  this  connection : 

Jeg  sender  disse  sange  hen 

paa  venners  b0n  til  kvinner,  maenn 

i  Nordens  trende  lande. 

At  Finlands  folk  blandt  dem  er  med 

paa  sangen  under  N0rreled, 

maa  jeg  med  tak  jo  sanne. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Selv  gaar  jeg  paa  min  Sanger  vei 
med  serefrygt  f0rst  ind  til  dig, 
du  st0rste  aand  i  Norden,* 
som  vred  profetisk  varsled  gry 
bak  Xordens  tunge  morgensky, 
der  skalv  i  lyn  og  tor  den. 

Men  siden  blid  bag  hav  og  haeld 
av  sagas  og  av  troens  vseld 
paa  bondens  sagd  har  spillet ;  — 
nu  snefjsell-hvit  paa  nitti  aar 
av  tidens  str0m  tilbake  faar 
dit  eget  h0ie  billed  1 

Til  dig  saa,  i  hvis  sanger-vaar 
"de  tusen  sjoars"  Finland  staar 
og  vemodsmsegtig  toner !  f 
Vor  stammes  aand  i  evig  sus 
gaar  graensevakt  i  sangens  brus 
mot  0stens  millioner. 

Men  staar  jeg  i  vor  egen  gaard, 
et  stjernebilled  0iet  slaar 
med  alt  sit  rike  under. 
Det  h'ser  Henbik  Wergeland 
utover  Norges  bleke  land 
i  mindets  klare  stunder. 

*  N.  F.  S.  Grundtvig.  t  John  Ludvig  Runeberg. 


U  OSCAK    I.       UOMANTICLSM    AM)    P\  \-S(A.VDI\AVIAMS\l  r>(n 

ver>'  serious  Hofeot  of  nllowing  no  room  for  tho  rlistirict  ruitimial 
individuality  of  tiie  tlirce  ])e()pK's.  But  it  had  sounded  a  fli(»rfi 
of  sympathy  and  friendsliip  which  might  have  continued  to  rever- 
berate with  still  deeper  meaning,  if  the  whole  idea  had  not  })een 
wrecked  by  the  attempt  to  press  it  into  a  ser\'ice  for  which  it  was  not 
ade(iuatfly  adai)U'd.  In  Deiunark.  the  real  liome  of  tlie  movement, 
the  hope  seems  to  have  been  entertained  from  the  outset  that  the 
Scandinavian  sentiment  would  culminate  in  a  political  unif)n,  which 
might  be  used  by  the  Danes  in  repelling  German  aggression  in 
Schleswig-Holstcin.  To  them  this  sentiment  assumed  the  character 
of  a  distinct  ])olitical  program,  to  which  the  more  sanguine  leaders 
could  pin  their  hope  of  successfully  maintaining  a  dynastic  policy, 
which  was  rcj)rcsented  to  be  identical  with  the  safety  and  welfare 
of  the  whole  Xortli.  In  a  speech  at  the  students'  festival  in  1843, 
C.  Ploug  outlined  tliis  program  as  follows :  "  It  is  especially  tliis 
fear  for  tlie  existence  of  tlie  Northern  nationalities,  verj'  strong  among 
the  Danes,  which  moves  us  to  join  you  to-day  rather  than  to-morrow. 
The  fight  has  already  begun.  It  rages  on  the  border  in  the  beautiful 
land  between  the  Eider  and  the  Kongeaa.  Through  negligence  as 
well  on  tlie  part  of  the  govermnent  as  of  the  people,  the  Germans 
have  been  able  in  the  course  of  the  last  fifty  years  to  occupy  one-half 
of  old  Schleswig,  and  they  threaten  arrogantly  to  plant  their  vic- 
torious banner  on  the  farthest  point  of  Skagen.  The  battle  is  not 
ours  alone.  It  is  also  yours.  Our  common  nationality  is  at  stake, 
and  if  we  should  need  your  help  against  a  powerful  and  active  ])arty 
led  by  a  Most  Serene  Iliglmcss  with  a  bodyguard  of  aristocrats  and 
la^^'>•ers,  you  must  be  ready."  This  appeal  was  rejieated  with  re- 
newed fervor  in  1S45  by  the  fien*'  Danish  orator  Orla  Li'hmann.  He 
stirred  the  excitable  students  to  the  wildest  enthusiasm,  and  in  tlu- 
midst  of  this  ecstasy  he  exacted  from  them  a  .solemn  vow  to  sui)i)ort 
the  common  cause  even  unto  death.  The  safety  of  Denmark  was, 
indeed,  a  matter  of  the  greatest  concern  to  all  Scandinavians,  and 
the  desire  to  aid  the  sister  state  in  the  hour  of  danger  was  tlie  out- 
growth, not  only  of  a  praiseworthy  national  sentiment,  but  of  a  cor- 
rect political  instinct.  But  the  enthusiastic  j)ledgi's  of  an  assemblage 
of  students  pnned  to  be  but  a  weak  support  for  a  political  policy 
which  sooner  or  later  would  embroil  the  whole  North  in  a  war  with 


504  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  great  continental  powers.  Outside  of  the  academic  circles  the 
Swedes  were  not  much  in  sympathy  with  the  pohtical  program  of 
the  Danes,  and  in  Norway  the  Scandinavian  sentiment  did  not  gain 
much  strength  until  after  1848.  The  romantic  idealism,  which  gave 
the  movement  its  real  charm,  had  then  grown  so  strong  that  the  Scan- 
dinavian idea  received  general  and  earnest  support.  But  it  turned 
people's  attention  away  from  the  vital  issues  at  home  to  chimerical 
plans  abroad,  and  served  mainly  to  strengthen  the  growing  reac- 
tionary spirit.  The  most  vital  interests  of  Norway  were  not  identical 
with  those  of  Denmark.^  Past  experiences  had  shown  it,  and  cool- 
headed  statesmen  would  hesitate  to  involve  the  country  in  new  wars, 
from  which  no  benefit  could  be  derived.  WTien  the  hour  of  trial 
came,  Scandinavianism  vanished  like  a  fair  delusion,  and  left  Den- 
mark alone  with  her  troubles  and  disappointments. 

60.    Political  Reaction.    The  Labor  Movement 

Neither  J.  A.  Hjelm  nor  Ludvig  Kr.  Daa  had  succeeded  in  rallying 
the  opposition  in  the  Storthing  to  the  support  of  the  Norwegian 
political  policy  which  they  advocated.  Their  ideas  had  been  too 
lofty,  their  views  too  statesmanlike  to  be  fully  understood  and 
appreciated.  In  1845  Ueland,  the  leader  of  the  binder,  found  an 
able  assistant  in  S0ren  Jaabaek,  who  now  took  his  seat  in  the  Storthing 
for  the  first  time,  and  Daa  was  succeeded  by  A.  B.  Stabell,  editor 
of  "Morgenbladet,"  a  shrewd  and  cunning  tactician,  who  cared  little 
for  general  principles  of  statesmanship,  but  watched  his  opportunity 
to  gain  such  victories  as  circumstances  would  allow.  The  binder 
representation  in  the  Storthing  had  increased  in  strength,  and 
through  the  aid  of  some  representatives  from  other  classes  they  con- 
trolled a  majority  of  the  votes.  But  instead  of  directing  their  atten- 
tion to  the  question  of  the  relation  to  Sweden,  they  raised  the  issue 
of  greater  economy  in  the  administration,  and  attacked  the  privi- 
leges still  enjoyed  by  the  officials.  But  the  attempt  of  the  binder 
to  exercise  the  right  granted  them  by  the  constitution  was  vigorously 
resisted  by  the  bureaucracy,  who  were  still  intrenched  in  power. 
They  feared  nothing  so  much  as  a  government  by  the  people.     They 

^  J.  L0vland,  Den  politiske  Skandinavisme,  Samtiden,  1904. 


II  POLITICAL    REACTION.      THE    LAIUHt    MOVEMENT  505 

saw  tlu'ir  power  and  privilt-jjes  threaU'iiod,  and  looked  uj)on  tlic 
effort  of  tilt-  hdndcr  U)  ^aiii  political  power  as  a  graNt-  daii^rr  to  tlic 
j^ood  old  social  order.  They  l)i'^aii  to  look  upon  tlie  coii.stitutioii, 
not  as  a  bulwark  of  constitutional  lii)ert\ ,  hut  as  a  peojile's  charter 
which  deprived  them  of  their  rij^hts  and  privileges.  In  a  hook  "()tii 
den  norske  Konstitution, "  puhlished  in  1845,  the  great  juri.st  Bern- 
hartl  Dunker  apparently  sought  to  defend  the  constitution,  when  in 
reality  the  work  is  a  vigorous  attack  upon  it.  He  would  not  hianie 
the  constitution  alone  for  tiie  deplorable  political  situation,  he  said. 
He  thought  that,  if  interpreted  in  the  right  way,  it  might  prove  a 
ver>'  satisfactory'  fundamental  law,  i.e.  if  so  interpreted  that  the 
bureaucrats  would  retain  tiieir  power.  But  it  would  be  especially 
necessarj',  he  thought,  to  repeal  article  seventy-nine,  which  gave 
che  Storthing  the  power  to  pass  laws  without  the  king's  sanction. 
The  king  should  be  given  absolute  veto,  so  tliat  "  tlie  enlightened  part 
of  the  nation  might  have  full  confidence  in  the  work  of  the  national 
legislature  and  regard  it  as  their  representative." '  The  bureaucracy 
no  longer  feared  that  the  king  might  infringe  on  the  rights  of  the 
Norwegian  people.  They  began  to  regard  him  as  tiic  chief  repre- 
sentative of  the  old  social  order,  with  whom  they  must  unite  in  order 
to  successfully  oppose  the  growing  democratic  spirit  and  the  power 
of  the  people.  This  reactionar^•  tendency  was  clearly  shown  in 
connection  with  the  impeaclunent  of  J.  H.  Vogt,  one  of  tlie  leading 
members  of  the  ministry,  for  advising  the  king  to  veto  a  bill  pas.sed 
by  the  Storthing.  The  impeachment  was  based  on  two  charges,  but 
Vogt  was  acquitted,  though  only  on  the  sui)position  that  he  had 
misunderstood  the  provisions  of  the  constitution.  The  trial  showed 
that  the  Storthing  was  detenuined  to  defend  its  honor  and  dignity; 
that  a  minister  who  should  attemj)t  to  disregard  its  autiiorit>'  would 
be  promptly  called  to  account.  But  the  bureaucrats  hailed  \  ogt 
as  a  martyr  whose  just  rights  had  been  infringe<i  uixm.  who  had 
been  victimized  by  unscmpulous  demagogues.  The  tension  between 
the consersative  officials  and  t\\v  bdndir  had  developetl  into  an  antag- 
onism, which  grew  even  more  determined  during  the  next  .session 
in  1848.     The  blinder  could  again  control  a  majority  of  the  votes. 

>J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiske  Historic  1815-1885,  p.  386.     Erik  V'ullam, 
R''"'      in  .Magnus  Fallen,  p.  .57  ff. 


506  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

and  they  felt  tluit  the  time  had  come  for  more  aggressive  tactics 
against  the  reactionary  Vogt-L0venskiold  ministry  and  its  sup- 
porters. It  was  clear  that  the  ministry  no  longer  represented  the 
views  of  the  majority,  that  its  administrative  policy  no  longer  con- 
formed to  the  will  of  the  people  as  ex]:)ressed  through  the  national 
legislature.  In  1845  some  members  of  the  opposition,  including 
Ueland  and  Fauchald,  had  attempted  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  the 
king,  expressing  lack  of  confidence  in  the  ministry,  but  their  courage 
finally  failed  them,  and  the  matter  was  dropped.  In  1848  the  at- 
tempt was  renewed.  Fauchald,  Ueland,  Krogness,  and  Stabell 
prepared  a  memorial  to  the  king,  in  which  they  stated  very  forcibly 
the  principle  of  parliamentary  government,  and  showed  that  the 
Storthing  could  no  longer  have  confidence  in  a  ministry  which  had 
become  the  representative  of  a  bureaucratic  coterie.  But  before 
the  memorial  was  considered  b}^  the  Storthing,  it  was  printed  in 
"Morgenbladet,"  and  aroused  a  storm  of  indignation  among  the 
Conservatives.  The  leaders  of  the  opposition  again  lost  courage, 
and  were  satisfied  to  let  the  matter  be  buried  by  the  committee  to 
which  it  had  been  referred.  The  binder  and  their  leaders  had 
again  shown  that  they  lacked  the  necessary  experience  and  self- 
confidence  to  carry  through  in  practice  the  principles  of  popular 
government  in  opposition  to  the  able  reactionary  bureaucracy.  But 
their  greatest  weakness  was,  perhaps,  that  they  were  in  reality  not 
a  liberal  party,  but  a  faction  opposed  to  many  of  the  essential  features 
of  true  democracy.  They  had  prevented  the  passage  of  a  constitu- 
tional amendment  granting  the  Jews  the  right  to  reside  in  the  king- 
dom with  the  same  privileges  as  other  citizens,  and  they  would  not 
grant  the  ministry  the  right  to  participate  in  tlie  deliberations  of 
the  Storthing,  an  essential  feature  of  parliamentary  government.^ 

By  some  writers  the  Norwegian  binder  have  been  called  peasants, 
but  this  is  quite  misleading.  They  are  the  freeholders,  the  land- 
owners of  the  nation,  who  until  quite  recently  exercised  in  their 
districts  all  power  and  influence  not  specifically  delegated  to  the 

1  The  feature  in  the  Norwegian  constitution  that  the  members  of  the 
cabinet  should  not  be  present  in  the  Storthing  was  borrowed  from  the 
American  constitution,  say8  Bj0rnstjeme  Bj0rnson,  Den  norske  Forfatnings- 
kamp,  p.  17. 


II  POLITICAL   KKAtTION.      THE    LAB(JK    MOVEMK.NT  507 

government,  and  who,  after  1814,  wnj^ed  tlie  battle  witli  the  clerj^y 
and  the  ollicials  of  tlie  crown  for  pohtical  supremacy.  Mhii}  bpnder 
are  huuh'd  proprietors  of  consideraMc  wcahh,  and  in  some  di.strictd 
tliey  constitute  a  sort  of  untitled  rustic  aristocracy.  But  as  a  class 
they  are  not  wealtliy.  Their  farms  are  usually  small,  and  tliey  are 
oblif^ed  to  work  hard  to  support  their  families.  In  no  country  has 
property  been  more  evenly  distributed  tlian  in  Norway,  but  at  this 
time  the  distribution  of  land  was  not  so  thorough  as  it  needi*d  to  \te 
in  a  country  where  tlie  tillal)le  area  is  small.  A  lar>^e  and  dependent 
peasant  class,  tlie  hiJuvurnd ,  still  existed  who  owned  no  land,  but 
leased  small  parcels  from  the  binder,  for  which  they  were  to  render 
a  certain  amount  of  service  at  a  stipulated  price.  As  tlie  rijjht  to 
vote  was  restricted  by  the  provision  tliat  all  voters  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts should  be  owners  of  land,  neither  the  husvuBiid  nor  tlie  labor- 
ing class  in  general  had  the  right  of  suilrage.  For  them  no  room  had 
yet  been  provided  in  tlie  Norwegian  ])olitical  and  social  democracy, 
but  the  time  would  come  when  they  would  not  be  satisfied  to  remain 
deprived  of  all  political  rights. 

Tlie  February  Revolution  in  France  in  1848  ushered  in  a  new  period 
of  social  unrest  in  Europe,  and  tlie  desj)otic  riders  found  dillicuity 
in  subduing  tlie  growing  liberal  spirit.  Since  1830  new  and  hitlierto 
unknown  revolutionary  forces  had  been  at  work  creating  a  hostile 
opposition  to  all  existing  order  and  ideas.  General  discontent  ac- 
comjiauied  by  disregard  for  the  hitlierto  acknowledged  rules  and 
authorities  was  increasing  among  tin-  lower  classes.  They  discovered 
that  modern  industrialism,  the  organization  of  capital,  and  the  use 
of  steam  power  and  modern  inventions  in  manufacture  place<i  tliem 
face  to  face  with  economic  and  social  conditions  which  threatene*! 
to  reduce  them  to  a  serfdom  n<>  less  galling  than  that  from  which 
political  liberty  was  supposed  to  free  them.  Socialism,  originat<'d 
by  St.  Simon,  and  the  communistic  ideas  of  Fourier  were  sjjreading. 
The  struggle  had  begun  between  the  estjd)li.slied  feudalistic  ideas 
and  modem  social  tendencies,  ('ai)ital  and  labor  had  clasheil  in 
their  first  great  encounter,  and  the  demand  for  social  and  economic 
equality  raised  by  tlie  French  theorists  was  rapidly  ado|)ted  by  tlie 
struggling  laboring  classes  as  a  doctrine  foreshadowing  a  more  felici- 
tous future. 


508  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

This  social  ferment,  destined  to  produce  so  many  changes,  was 
first  brought  to  Nonv^ay  by  a  young  student,  Markus  Thrane,  born 
in  Christiania  in  1817.  Thrane  belonged  to  a  good  family,  but  his 
parents,  though  once  wealthy,  were  early  plunged  into  misfortune 
and  poverty.  As  a  young  man  Thrane  had  traveled  in  France  and 
Switzerland,  where  he  became  acquainted  with  socialism,  but  be- 
cause of  poverty  he  was  sent  back  to  his  native  land  as  a  vagabond. 
In  1840  he  became  a  student  at  the  University  of  Christiania,  but  he 
soon  married,  discontinued  his  studies,  and  founded  a  school  at 
Lillehammer,  where  he  lived  for  some  years  in  most  straitened 
circumstances.  When  the  news  of  the  French  February  Revolution 
reached  Norway  in  1848,  an  article  signed  "A  Voice  from  the  Coun- 
try" appeared  in  "Morgenbladet,"  which  attracted  general  atten- 
tion. This  "Voice"  was  Markus  Thrane,  who  now  made  his  debut 
as  a  socialistic  agitator.  In  1848  he  was  made  editor  of  "  Drammens 
Adresse,"  which  he  soon  made  the  most  radical  paper  in  the  country, 
as  he  advocated  French  socialistic  ideas,  and  raised  his  voice  in  behalf 
of  the  hiismcBnd  and  laborers.  He  held  that  constitutional  govern- 
ment, as  it  had  been  practiced,  served  to  intrench  the  upper  classes 
in  power.  In  Norway  the  bureaucracy  had  been  forced  to  divide 
their  power  with  the  binder,  but  both  classes  had  used  their  political 
power  for  their  own  advantage,  and  the  so-called  liberal  opposition 
was  nothing  but  an  aristocracy  struggling  for  their  own  freedom  and 
power.  He  demanded  universal  suffrage,  as  "  a  so-called  democratic 
constitution  which  deprives  the  poorer  classes  of  all  influence  is  a 
most  deplorable  and  demoralizing  form  of  government."  Such 
ideas  fearlessly  expressed  fairly  startled  the  publishers  and  readers 
of  "Drammens  Adresse,"  and  Thrane  was  discharged.  But  this 
only  turned  his  energies  into  more  practical  channels.  He  was  not 
a  dreamer,  as  many  supposed,  but  a  talented  agitator  and  an  able 
organizer.  He  undertook  to  unite  the  laborers  and  the  husmoend, 
and  to  organize  them  into  clubs  and  societies  so  that  they  might 
learn  to  cooperate.  But  social  conditions  in  Norway  were  not 
yet  ripe  for  labor  agitation.  The  city  population  was  small,  only 
160,000  in  all,  and  as  the  industries  were  undeveloped,  the  laboring 
classes  in  the  cities  numbered  only  17,700  persons,  6700  industrial 
laborers,  and    11,000  engaged   in   various   other  pursuits.     In   the 


II  POLITICAL    REACTION.       TIIK    LAUOK    MOVKMK.NT  5()9 

country  districts  tluTc  were  47,()()0  lahorcrs  and  145,(K)0  servants. 
In  fact,  tlic  lahoring  class  was  still  only  a  servant  class,  to  whom  nuKi- 
ern  labor  conditions  were  unknown.  But  tlie  huJivurnd  numbered 
68,049  as  a^ain.st  77.7S()  freeholders  and  25.047  renters,  and  tliey 
were  increasing  in  number,  though  the  circumstances  under  which 
they  were  living  were  miserable  enough.  Their  pay  was  only  a 
few  pennies  a  day  and  board.  In  the  eastern  districts  they  demanded, 
in  1850,  that  they  should  not  be  compelled  to  work  more  than  five 
days  a  week  for  their  landlord,  and  that  the  working  day  should 
be  shortened  to  eleven  hours.  That  reforms  were  much  needed 
was  evident,  but  before  they  could  hope  for  much  improvement, 
they  would  have  to  learn  to  organize  and  cooperate  in  supfxjrt  of 
their  demands.  Thranc  aimed  to  organize  them,  but  tliey  were 
so  timid,  so  little  used  to  act  independently  that  it  was  only  with 
great  difficulty  that  he  was  able  to  organize  the  first  labor  society 
in  Drammen  in  December,  1848.  The  following  year  he  founded 
"  Arbeiderforeningernes  Blad,"  an  organ  published  in  the  interest 
of  the  labor  movement.  He  traveled  from  district  to  district  work- 
ing for  the  cause,  and  before  another  year  had  pas.sed,  he  had  organized 
one  hun(lre<i  societies,  and  he  had  also  addressed  to  the  king  a  peti- 
tion bearing  12,833  signatures,  asking  that  the  right  of  suffrage 
should  be  extended  to  the  laboring  classes.  On  July  31,  18.50,  a 
convention  of  labor  delegates  was  assembled  in  Christiania,  and  a 
general  j)rogram,  or  platform,  was  agreed  upon.'  The  demands  were : 
free  trade,  the  abolition  of  trade  privileges,  restriction  of  the  liquor 
trade,  a  better  regulation  of  the  relations  between  hotuhr  and  hus- 
mcpnd,  better  public  schools,  universal  suffrage,  aiui  universal  mili- 
tary service.  With  this  program  Thrane  hopetl  to  be  able  to  influ- 
ence the  election  of  members  to  the  Storthing,  but  tliis  influence  was 
noticeable  only  in  Larvik.  where  J(2h|in  Sverdrup  was  elected. 

The  government  authorities  watched  for  an  opportunity  to  arrest 
Thrane,  whom  they  regarded  as  a  dangerous  person ;  but  as  they 
could  find  no  just  coinjjlaint,  they  finally  accused  him  of  blas|)hemy, 
a  charge  which  tlie  su|)erior  court  set  aside.  If  his  adlierents  had 
been  prudent,  he  might  have  been  able  to  continue  his  work  without 
molestation,  but  many  of  the  peasants  failed  to  understand  the  real 

*  Halvdan  Koht,  Den  fyrstc  twrskc  Arbeiderr^rsla,  Den  I7de  Mnx,  1011. 


510  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

nature  of  Thrane's  views.  They  began  to  divide  the  land  among 
tliemselves,  to  cut  timber  in  the  forests,  to  put  into  practice  the  ideas 
of  socialism  in  a  way  which  they  thought  conformed  with  his  ideas. 
Tlirane  sought  to  prevail  on  them  to  abstain  from  all  radical  meas- 
ures, but  he  was  unable  to  fully  control  the  movement  which  he  had 
started.  When  he  found  that  he  could  not  prevent  disorder,  he 
turned  his  paper  over  to  his  assistant,  F.  S.  Abildgaard,  and  retired 
as  leader.  At  a  new  labor  convention,  Lillethinget,  which  assembled 
in  Christiania  in  June,  1851,  he  took  little  part  in  the  deliberations, 
but  was  mainly  active  in  counseling  moderation.  But  the  govern- 
ment had  determined  to  destroy  the  whole  movement  without  further 
delay.  The  leaders  were  arrested,  and  a  special  commission  was 
appointed  to  investigate  the  plans  and  doings  of  the  whole  organi- 
zation. One  hundred  and  forty-nine  persons  were  indicted  for  vari- 
ous offenses.  Of  these  only  eleven  were  acquitted,  the  rest  were 
fined  or  imprisoned,  some  even  for  terms  of  fifteen  years.  An  appeal 
resulted  in  the  acquittal  of  six  others,  and  the  modification  of  some 
of  the  severest  punishments,  but,  as  a  whole,  the  decree  of  the  lower 
court  was  sustained.  Thrane  and  Abildgaard  were  sentenced  to 
prison  for  a  period  of  four  years,  and  their  paper,  which  had  been 
repeatedly  suppressed,  had  to  be  discontinued  in  1856.  In  1863 
Thrane  emigrated  to  America,  where  he  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  remaining  years  in  Chicago  as  publisher  of  various  radical  papers : 
"Den  norske  Amerikaner,"  "Dagbladet,"  and  "Den  nye  Tid." 
The  closing  days  of  his  life  he  spent  with  his  son,  Dr.  Thrane,  in 
Eau  Claire,  Wisconsin.^ 

The  labor  movement  collapsed  with  the  disappearance  of  its 
leaders,  but  the  demands  for  political  and  social  reforms  proved  to 
be  more  than  a  passing  caprice.  The  peasants  had  been  stirred 
to  thought  and  political  activity.  Their  economic  emancipation 
and  social  development  had  begun,  and  they  would  henceforth  appear 
as  a  class  whose  rights  and  interests  would  demand  attention.  The 
specter  of  socialism  had  stalked  through  the  land ;  the  labor  ques- 
tion had  been  raised ;   the  effects  of  the  French  Revolution  of  1848 

1  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  poliliske  Hislorie  1815-1885,  p.  398  £f.  O.  A.  Over- 
land, Thranilerbevccgelsen.  Zakarias  Hermansen,  Arbeiderbevoegelsen  i  Norge, 
Norsk  Folkebibliothek,  vol.  XVII.,  p.  28  ff. 


II  POLITICAL    HEACTION.      TIIK    LVIU)U    MOVEMKNT  ol  1 

had  been  (listii\(tly  felt,  and  the  [>()litioal  leaders,  who  had  \)vcn  ahlf 
to  decipher  tlie  luuidwritiii^  on  tlie  wall,  ^rew  aluniied.  The  Con- 
senivtives  became  reactioiuirv,  and  sought  to  save  state  and  society 
from  wliat  they  considered  to  be  imix-nding  niin  by  opposing  every 
liberal  idea.  A.  M.  Sehwei^aard  in  the  Storthinp  of  1X51  went  to 
almost  ridiculous  len<^ths  iu  atteinj)tinn  to  forestall  the  spread  of 
radical  ideas,  and  even  A.  B.  Stabell,  and  "  Morgenbladet,"  of  whieli 
he  was  tlie  editor,  now  joined  the  Cj)nservative  ranks.  But  the 
Liberals,  headed  by  new  leaders,  formulated  demands  which  even 
many  of  the  old  party  of  opposition  refused  to  sup])ort,  and  the 
cleavage  between  Conservatives  and  Liberals  —  the  Right  and  the 
Left  —  was  widening.  Johan  Sverdrup,  the  future  lil)eral  leader, 
who  had  been  elected  witJi  the  aid  of  the  labor  element  as  representa- 
tive from  Larvik,  now  made  his  first  appearance  in  the  Storthing, 
and  he  soon  attracted  attention  as  the  originator  of  many  important 
ij  reform  measures.  In  encounters  with  the  Conservatives  he  showed 
|;  great  al)ility  an<l  presence  of  mind.  "  K\en  his  appearance,"  says 
tj  Sars,  "his  small  but  athletic  and  wir>'  frame,  his  l)luck  hair,  his 
I  dark  complexion,  his  quick  movements,  lively  gesticulation,  and 
j  somewhat  tlieatrical  pose  gave  him  so  completely  the  air  of  a  foreigner, 
l!  a  stranger,  that  one  would  necessarily  notice  him."  '  This  striking 
\  appearance  and  southern  temperament  he  had  inherited  fmin  his 
I  French  mother.  It  soon  ai)peared  tliat  this  strange-lookini:  man, 
V  who  s])oke  with  rhetorical  elegance,  and  carried  himself  with  the 
■'  punctilious  dignity  of  a  grand  seignior,  possessed  a  will-power,  a 
>  fiery  zeal,  an  energy,  and  talent  for  organization  which  made  him  a 
h  peerless  leader.  Ever  since  his  student  days  he  had  been  an  oppo- 
)l  nent  of  the  bureaucratic  tendencies  and  fonservati\e  ideas  of  the 
);  official  classes.  llt>  was  a  stanch  advocate  of  democratic  prin- 
!,!  ciples  and  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  through  reading  in  many 
languages  he  had  ac(iuired  a  broad  culture  and  thorough  familiarity 
with  lil)eral  ])olitical  ideas.  "The  name  of  no  other  Norwegian 
politician  has  been  identified  with  so  many  iinjiortant  reform  meas- 
ures and  great  ]ioHtical  qu(>stions.  and  no  one  has  equale*!  him  as  a 
powerful  parliamentary  debater,"  says  J.  Lovland.     "lie  regarded 

>  Slorthinget  i  ISSt  og  Partiemes  Sailing  i  vort  Land.     J.  E.  Sara,  Sorgea 
politiskc  Historic  1816-1886,  p.  420  ff. 


512  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

the  Storthing  as  the  chief  organ  for  the  nation's  poUtical  Hfe,  and 
no  one  has  done  so  much  to  maintain  dignity  and  discipUne  in  that 
body,  to  elevate  the  deliberations,  and  to  uphold  its  power  and 
authority."  ^  Another  liberal  leader  who  appeared  in  this  Storthing 
was  F.  G.  Lerche,  representative  from  Trondhjem,  a  robust  and 
jovial  man  of  the  earlier  Patriot  type. 

It  is  true  that  the  labor  movement  started  by  Thrane  was  vigor- 
ously opposed  by  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  Storthing.  A  peti- 
tion presented  by  the  central  committee  of  the  labor  organization 
before  it  was  destroyed  by  the  arrest  of  its  leaders  was  turned  down 
with  the  remark  that  some  of  the  demands  made  were  unreasonable, 
and  some  had  already  been  granted  in  some  other  form.  But  the 
need  of  reform  was,  nevertheless,  recognized,  and  some  useful  meas- 
ures were  passed.  The  still  remaining  tariff  on  grain  was  reduced 
by  one-half,  and  a  law  was  made  giving  the  kusmcend  better  protec- 
tion against  undue  oppression  by  the  binder.  Many  important 
liberal  issues  were  raised.  It  was  proposed  to  extend  the  right  of 
suffrage,  to  introduce  trial  by  jurj%  and  to  grant  the  ministry  the 
right  to  participate  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Storthing.  But  the 
reactionary'  spirit  was  strong,  and  the  liberal  leaders  did  not  yet 
possess  sufficient  influence  to  secure  the  passage  of  these  important 
measures.  A  successful  attempt  was,  however,  made  in  1854  to 
secure  an  equal  distribution  of  military  burdens,  which  had  hitherto 
rested  only  on  the  rural  districts.  A  law  was  passed  establishing 
the  principle  of  universal  military  service  in  conformity  with  the 
provisions  of  the  constitution,  but  the  law  was  to  such  an  extent  a 
compromise  measure  that  it  was  of  little  practical  value,  since  a 
clause  allowing  the  hiring  of  substitutes  still  made  it  possible  for  all 
but  the  poorer  classes  to  escape  military  service.  A  law  abolishing 
the  very  important  office  of  statholder,  which  made  Norway  appear 
like  a  Swedish  province,  was  also  passed,  but  failed  to  get  royal 
sanction.  A  bill  providing  for  the  introduction  of  trial  by  jury^ 
passed  in  1857,  suffered  the  same  fate.  The  liberal  opposition  was 
yet  in  its  teens,  so  weak  that  for  some  years  it  almost  seemed  to 

'  Nordmcend  i  del  19de  Aarhundrede,  Johan  Sverdrup.  J.  E.  Sars,  Sam- 
lede  Verker,  vol.  IV.,  p.  176  £E.  Norsk  Folkebiblioihek,  vol.  XVII.,  Fra  Johan 
Sverdrups  Storthingsliv. 


I»LATK    XVII 


II  POLITICAL  REACTION,      THE   LABOR   MOVEMENT  513 

have  disappeared,  l)ut  in  1859  it  began  to  show  signs  of  new  activit}'. 
Shortly  after  tlie  opening  of  the  session,  Reformforeningen,  a  club 
consisting  of  representatives  in  the  Storthing,  was  organized  with 
over  tiiirty  members.  This  was  an  attempt  to  organize  a  distinet  lil)- 
eral  |)arty  whose  j)latform  should  be:  yearly  sessions  of  the  Storthing, 
the  maintaining  of  Xon\'ay's  separate  rights  as  a  sovereign  kingdom, 
opi)ositi()n  to  the  centralization  of  power,  local  self-government,  trial 
by  jury,  and  an  independent  development  of  the  school  system.  The 
appearance  of  such  an  organization  created  the  greatest  excitement 
among  the  politicians.  It  was  claimed  to  be  a  most  wanton  violation 
of  good  old  usage,  a  revolutionary  movement  by  which  the  liberal 
leaders  Ueland,  Sverilrup,  and  Joh.  Steen,  the  "triumvirate,"  would 
fetter  even  the  mind  and  conscience  of  the  representatives.  So  bitter 
was  the  opposition  that  the  leaders  lost  courage  and  disbanded  the  club. 
The  French  February  Revolution  and  the  subsequent  uprisings 
throughout  Furope  was  followed  by  a  period  of  reaction  and  ner\ous 
dread  of  social  and  political  radicalism.  In  Norway  this  fear  of 
revolutionary  ideas  was  so  increased  by  the  alarm  caused  by  Tlirane's 
labor  agitation  that  even  Ludvig  Kr.  l)aa  forsook  his  liberal  and 
national  patriotic  views,  and  became  a  political  conservative  and 
an  ardent  atUierent  of  Pan-Scandinavianism.  Reaction  triumphed, 
the  national  and  liberal  issues  were  lost  sight  of,  and  the  union  with 
Sweden  was  lauded  as  the  one  great  blessing.  The  Scandinavian 
sentiment,  which  was  growing  strong  in  Norway  at  this  time,  also 
strengthened  the  love  for  the  union,  and  in  1854  the  Union  Day, 
November  4tli,  was  celebrated  in  Christiania  as  a  natiorud  holiday. 
To  strengthen  tlie  bonds  which,  it  was  tliought,  would  ultimately 
unite  tlie  three  kingdoms,  to  protect  the  country-  against  tlie  spirit 
of  revolution,  which,  like  a  dreaded  specter,  made  the  conservative 
pillars  of  Furopean  society  quake  witli  fear,  and  to  dream  undis- 
turbed the  Pan-Scandinavian  dream  became  the  chief  desire  of  tliose 
who  considered  tliemselves  the  guardians  of  the  nation's  welfare. 
For  tlie  realization  of  tliis  })r()gram  they  began  to  organize  a  distinct 
conservative  party,  whose  i)olitieal  i)olicy  gave  ex])ression  to  this 
reactionary'  tendency.  In  o])positi()n  to  the  national  issues  which 
had  been  raised  by  the  Liberals  they  desired  to  strengthen  the  power 
of  tlie  king,  and  to  so  modify  tlie  Act  of  Union  as  to  create  a  cen- 

VOL.  II  — 2  L 


514  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

tralization  of  power  which  might  serve  as  a  protection  against  the 
growing  influence  of  the  common  people. 

In  1839  the  king  had  appointed  a  committee  to  examine  the  rela- 
tions between  the  two  kingdoms  regarding  the  flag  and  other  matters 
which  were  not  satisfactory  to  the  Norwegians.  This  committee 
requested  that  the  scope  of  its  work  should  be  so  enlarged  that  they 
might  undertake  a  revision  of  the  whole  Act  of  Union.  To  this  the 
Norwegian  ministry  consented,  and  the  committee  drafted  in  1844 
a  new  act  of  union,  containing  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
articles.^  According  to  the  Act  of  1815,  the  union  between  Norway 
and  Sweden  was  a  compact  between  two  wholly  independent  king- 
doms, according  to  which  the  only  common  affairs  were  a  joint  sover- 
eign, and  the  joint  action  of  both  kingdoms  in  declaring  war  and 
making  peace.  According  to  the  plan  proposed  in  the  draft  of  1844 
nearly  all  important  interests,  save  distinctly  local  affairs,  should 
be  common.  The  principle  in  the  document  of  1815  was  decentraliza- 
tion of  power  in  the  union,  perfect  equality  and  equal  sovereignty  of 
the  two  kingdoms.  The  new  plan  proposed  political  amalgamation 
and  the  creation  of  a  common  government  superior  to  the  individual 
governments  of  the  two  realms.^  There  should  be  a  joint  minister 
of  foreign  affairs,  responsible  to  a  committee  consisting  of  an  equal 
number  of  Norwegian  and  Swedish  members  to  be  chosen  by  the 
national  legislature  of  each  country ;  three  joint  cabinets  should  be 
created,  one  for  foreign  affairs,  one  for  military  affairs,  and  one  for 
joint  matters ;  and  a  joint  congress  should  be  established,  consisting 
of  twelve  members  of  the  Norwegian  Storthing  and  twelve  members 
of  the  Swedish  Rigsdag,  which  should  meet  from  time  to  time  to 
deal  with  matters  of  common  interest.  The  principle  of  full  equality 
between  the  two  realms  should  be  maintained  in  all  matters.  This 
draft  was  submitted  to  the  ministry,  which  examined  the  document 
and  recommended  the  canceling  of  several   articles.^      Finally  in 

'  Underdanigst  Forslag  til  Forenings-Act  imellem  Kongerigerne  Norge  og 
Sverige,  udarbeidel  af  den  ved  kongelig  Resolution  af  SOle  Januar,  1839,  naadigst 
anordnede  Committee,  Christiania,  1856.  Aktstykker  angaaende  Revision  af 
Foreningen,  Christiania,  1862. 

*  B.  Dunker,  Om  Revision  af  Foreningsakten  mellem  Sverige  og  Norge, 
vol.  II.,  p.  14  ff. 

•  Angaaende  en  Foreningsakt  mellem  Kongerigerne  Norge  og  Sverige.      Den 


n  FREDRIK    STANC,    MINISTER    OF   THE    INTERIOR  515 

1848  a  joint  session  of  the  Swedish  and  Norwegian  ministers  reeom- 
mended  tliat  tiie  matter  should  he  dropped  for  tlie  time  heinp.  The 
Norwegians  proliahly  feared  the  consequences  of  so  far-reaching  a 
change,  and  the  Swedes  looked  with  disfavor  upon  the  principle  of 
full  equality  between  the  two  kingdoms.  This  drastic  measure 
had  failed,  but  more  moderate  steps  were  taken  in  the  direction  of 
political  amalgamation.  Efl'orts  were  made  to  create  a  joint  Swed- 
ish-Norwegian army.  The  Norwegian  cadets  were  stationed  at 
Stockliolm,  and  Norwegian  and  Swedish  troops  were  even  mingled 
in  large  militar>'  maneuvers.  Commissions  were  appointed  to  pro- 
pose new  laws  for  the  regulation  of  trade  and  tariff  between  the  two 
countries,  and  for  carr>'ing  into  execution  in  one  kingdom  decrees 
rendered  in  tlie  courts  of  tlie  other.  These  propositions  were  rejected 
by  tlie  Storthing,  but  the  Conservatives  viewed  this  policy  of  strength- 
ening the  union  and  centralizing  tlie  power  of  government  as  "the  or- 
ganic beginning  of  an  articulation  of  civilized  human  society  which  we 
regard  as  the  task  of  the  new  age,"  as  Professor  Monrad  expressed  it. 
During  this  period  of  slight  political  activity  the  attention  was 
mainly  turned  to  economic  questions.  The  removal  of  monopolies 
and  special  privileges  had  facilitated  development,  and  the  interest 
in  all  phases  of  material  progress  was  stimulated  by  modern  inven- 
tions, and  also  by  the  great  expositions  in  lyondon  and  Paris,  in  ISol 
and  1855.  In  1845  Frederick  Stang,  a  learned  jurist,  who  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five  had  become  lecturer  of  jurisprudence  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Christiania,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  new  department 
of  the  interior,  a  position  in  which  he  showed  such  initiative  and 
energy  that  his  tenn  of  office  (1.S45-1S50)  became  a  new  era  in  Nor- 
way's economic  development.  This  was  not  due  wholly-  to  Stang's 
own  ability,  as  the  circumstances  were  favorable,  and  tlie  time  had 
come  for  a  new  advance  in  this  field,  but  the  services  which  he  ren- 
dered his  country  as  minister  of  the  department  were,  nevertlieless, 
of  the  greatest  importance.'  An  extensive  system  of  excellent  roads 
penetrating  to  all  j)arts  of  the  kingdom  was  now  planned,  and  the 
work  was  carried  on  witli  vigor.     Stang  was  also  active  in  promoting 

norskc    Rrojcrings    underdnnigstc    Indstilling    nf   27de    Febniar,    1S47,    lil    lis 
Majffttcet  Kojtgen,  etfl. 

*  Nordnuvnd  i  del  tOde  Aarhundredc,  Fndrik  Statig. 


516  HISTORY    OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

the  construction  of  the  first  Norwegian  railway  from  Christiania 
to  Eidsvold,  for  which  provision  had  been  made  by  the  Storthing 
in  1851.  In  1854  the  road  was  opened  for  traffic.  The  first  tele- 
graph line  was  constructed  from  Fredrikshald  to  Mandal,  and  a  law 
establishing  uniform  postage  completed  a  series  of  reforms  in  the 
postal  system.  Much  attention  was  especially  devoted  to  the 
improvement  of  farming.  Agricultural  schools  were  founded,  and 
a  loan  office  was  created/  where  the  farmers  might  secure  loans  at 
a  low  rate  of  interest.  The  fisheries  received  encouragement,  new 
lighthouses  were  built,  and  state  subsidies  were  paid  to  private 
steamship  lines.  The  repeal  of  the  English  navigation  laws  in 
1849  opened  new  fields  of  commerce,  and  foreign  merchant  vessels 
could  carry  on  an  unrestricted  traffic  with  England  and  her  colonies. 
Holland  also  removed  all  restrictions  on  commerce,  and  during  the 
Crimean  War  (1854-1856)  Norwegian  carrying  trade  was  growing 
rapidly.  In  six  years,  from  1849  to  1856,  the  Norwegian  merchant 
marine  was  increased  by  900  vessels.  The  lumber  trade  was  very 
profitable,  the  fisheries  yielded  good  returns;  manufacturing  was 
increasing,  and  the  growing  trade  yielded  large  revenues  to  the 
goverrmient  treasury. 

The  rapid  economic  development  was  accompanied  by  a  corre- 
sponding growth  of  population.  According  to  the  census  of  1825 
the  population  of  Norway  numbered  1,195,000.  In  1845  it  had 
increased  to  1,328,000,  in  1855  to  1,490,000,  and  in  1865  to  1,702,000. 
The  specter  of  radical  liberalism  had  vanished.  Prosperity  and 
the  growing  sympathy  for  the  union  fostered  by  the  reactionary 
tendencies  of  the  times  created  a  feeling  of  contentment  among  the 
upper  conservative  classes.  Only  the  foreign  relations  still  caused 
some  anxiety. 

King  Charles  John  had  maintained  throughout  his  reign  very 
friendly  relations  with  Russia,  but  the  relations  with  that  power 
grew  very  unfriendly  in  the  reign  of  Oscar  I.  The  ambitious  Czar 
Nicholas  I.  sought  to  revive  the  policy  of  conquest  of  his  predeces- 
sors, and  aimed  to  seize  parts  of  northern  Norway.  From  early 
times  the  Norwegian  Finns  had  driven  their  herds  of  reindeer  into 

•  J.  Smitt,  Det  norske  Landbrugs  Historie.  B.  E.  Bendixen,  Et  Omrids  af 
Norges  Handelshistorie. 


II  KING    CHARLES    XV  517 

Russia  in  the  winter,  and  in  tho  summer  the  Russiiin  Finns  had 
crossed  uortJiern  Norway  witli  tlieir  flocks  in  order  to  reach  tlie  dis- 
tricts by  the  Arctic  Ocean,  wliere  the  gnats  were  less  trouhlescjmc. 
These  privileges  were  safeguarded  by  a  special  treaty,  but  the  Rus- 
sian govenunent  now  made  the  demand  that  the  Russian  Finns 
should  have  the  right  to  fish  on  the  coast  of  Norway,  and  that  a 
district  by  the  Varangerfjord  should  be  ceded  to  them.  Wlien  King 
Oscar  I.  refused  to  grant  this  concession,  the  Czar  forbade  the  Nor- 
wegian Finns  to  enter  Russia,  and  Sweden-Norway  retaliated  by 
prohibiting  the  Russian  Finns  from  entering  Norway.  At  the  time 
of  the  Crimean  War  King  Oscar  I.  formed  an  alliance  with  France 
and  England,  promising  not  to  cede  a  foot  of  territory  to  Russia, 
and  the  two  western  powers  agreed  to  aid  Norway  and  Sweden  in 
case  of  need.  King  Oscar,  who  was  devoted  to  the  Scandinavian 
idea,  desired  a  defensive  alliance  betw'een  the  Northern  kingdoms, 
and  always  remained  a  warm  friend  of  Deimiark.  At  the  time  of 
Denmark's  first  war  with  Prussia,  1848-1850,  he  stationed  Swedish 
and  Norwegian  troops  in  northern  Schleswig,  after  an  armistice  had 
been  arranged  in  1849,  and  he  did  not  withdraw  them  until  the  peace 
was  signed  at  Berlin  in  1850.  In  1857  he  even  offered  to  form  an 
alliance  with  Denmark  in  order  to  defend  the  Eider  River  as  the 
southern  Scandinavian  boundary.  As  he  had  always  been  in  delicate 
health,  he  was  obliged,  in  1857,  to  hand  the  reins  of  government  to 
his  son,  Crown  Prince  Charles,  viceroy  of  Norway,  who  was  made 
regent  with  full  royal  authority.  He  lingered  in  a  state  of  growing 
physical  and  mental  weakness  till  1859,  when  he  passed  away, 
July  8th,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years. 

61.    King  Charles  XV.     Beginning  of  a  New  Literary 
Development 

At  the  age  of  thirty-three  Crown  Prince  Cliarles  ascended  the 
throne  as  King  Charles  XV.  of  Sweden  and  Charles  IV.  of  Norway. 
He  was  a  man  of  fine  physique,  robust,  j\)vial,  tidented.  aiul  very 
popular,  resembling  in  many  respects  his  grandfather.  King  Charles 
John.^     He  shared  his  father's  Pan-Scandinavian  ideas,  and  took  great 

'  Kong  Korl  og  Dronning  Louise,  Track  af  drt  kongiligf  Pars  Lirshistoric. 
Christiania,  1S73.     Svcrigcs  Ilisloria,  editotl  by  Ilildebraud,  part  X.,  p.  G8  flf. 


518  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

interest  in  military  affairs.  Even  as  regent  he  had  used  his  influ- 
ence to  further  the  organization  of  a  joint  system  of  defense  for  the 
Scandinavian  peninsula,  and  in  uniting  Norwegian  and  Swedish 
troops  in  great  military  maneuvers.  The  policy  of  political  amal- 
gamation and  the  strengthening  of  the  union  which  had  found  sup- 
port in  the  Scandinavian  sentiment  and  the  reactionary  spirit  of  the 
age  would,  naturally,  be  continued  by  the  new  king,  as  such  a  policy, 
aided  by  the  active  sympathy  of  the  conservative  majority  in  the 
Storthing,  and  supported  by  an  energetic  and  popular  ruler,  might 
be  expected  to  meet  with  unqualified  success.  But  a  new  era  of 
political  and  intellectual  progress  had  already  signaled  its 
approach.  A  transition  was  coming  which  in  another  decade  or 
two  was  to  effect  a  thorough  change  in  the  political  situation,  and 
produce  a  new  and  more  patriotic  public  spirit.  It  soon  became 
clear  that  the  parties  which  had  waged  their  first  great  fight  under 
the  leadership  of  Wergeland  and  Welhaven  would  again  clash  in  a 
new  struggle  to  be  waged  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  The  political 
activity  of  the  binder,  and  the  late  movement  among  the  husmcBnd 
and  laborers,  had  roused  these  classes  to  interest  and  active  partici- 
pation in  public  affairs.  Politically  the  binder  would  ally  them- 
selves with  the  Liberals,  and  as  they  were  intensely  national  in  spirit, 
accustomed  from  time  immemorial  to  defend  their  own  rights,  and 
to  adhere  with  tenacity  to  their  freedom  and  native  customs,  they 
would  naturally  oppose  a  policy  which  aimed  to  strengthen  the  power 
of  the  king,  to  maintain  the  privileges  of  the  upper  classes,  to  weaken 
their  own  political  influence,  and  to  obliterate  the  features  of  Norwe- 
gian nationality  by  a  system  of  amalgamation  aiming  at  the  ultimate 
consolidation  of  the  two  kingdoms.  The  national  spirit  of  the  people 
was  further  stirred  to  intense  activity  by  the  new  literary  movement, 
which  also  this  time  played  an  essential  part  in  the  whole  national 
development.  In  1857  Bj0rnstjerne  Bj0rnson  published  his  "Syn- 
n0ve  Solbakken,"  a  beautiful  idyl,  picturing  the  life  and  character 
of  the  binder.  It  is  as  charmingly  free  from  all  spirit  of  controversy 
as  the  dawn  of  a  summer  morn,  but  it  was  the  beginning  of  a  new 
development  in  Norwegian  literature,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  true, 
as  Chr,  Collin  puts  it,  that  it  exerted  an  even  greater  influence  on 
the  political  than  on  tlie  literary  life  of  the  age.     Hitherto  the  de- 


n  BEGINNING    OF   A   NEW    LITERARY    DEVELOPME>rr  519 

scription  of  the  country  peo[)le  had  served  only  as  literary  ornament, 
a.s  it  had  hccn  the  diversion  of  the  romanticists,  wlio  loved  to  linger 
in  the  mystic  twilipht  of  the  strange  and  the  unknown.  Hut  in 
"Syim0ve  Solbakken"  Bjornson  made  the  Norwegian  hdndrr  the 
center  of  literary  interest.^  Throughout  the  centuries  they  had  ])re- 
served  their  liberty,  the  traits  and  traditions  of  the  nation  ;  they  were 
still  its  most  t>7)ical  representatives,  and  a  literature  which  could 
depict  their  life,  and  exjiress  ])ropcrly  their  sentiments,  would  be  a 
Non\'egian  national  literature  in  quite  a  new  sense.  BJ0rnson  .saw 
that  a  literature  can  reflect  notliing  more  important  than  the  life 
and  character  of  the  people  for  which  it  is  produced,  and  he  realized 
tliat  hitherto  Norwegian  literature  had  dealt  but  sporadically  and 
imperfectly  with  this  central  interest.  His  discover^'  i)rovc*d  to  be 
a  literary  revolution,  for  he  of  all  poets  possessed  the  genius  to  express 
the  people's  thoughts  and  feelings  in  song  and  stor\'.  With  dramatic 
realism  he  has  pictured  the  customs  and  character  of  the  country 
people  among  whom  he  was  reared,  and  this  classic  portraiture  of 
real  life  he  has  woven  into  a  delicate  framework  of  romantic  nature 
painting  which  gives  even  the  most  scarred  and  drawn  features 
an  almost  youthful  chann.  The  people  could  see  themselves  as  in 
a  mirror,  and  by  discovering  their  own  worth  they  gained  new  confi- 
dence in  themselves  and  their  native  culture.  No  more  powerful 
stimulus  could  be  imparted  to  the  awakening  national  sentiment. 
Other  stories  of  the  same  kind  appeared,  as  "Arne,"  "En  glad 
Gut,"  " Fiskerjenten, "  etc.;  and  other  masters  followed  Bj0rnson, 
until  a  new  literature  had  been  produced,  not  only  for  the  Norwegian 
people,  but  about  them.  Henrik  Ibsen  had  already  approached  the 
same  subject  from  another  side.  In  185(),  when  only  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  he  had  published  his  first  drama,  "Catalina,"  in  which 
the  dissatisfied  and  j)hiloso])hi7,ing  youth  re])resents  the  Roman 
conspirator  as  a  lii)eralist  and  patriot.  Wiien  he  reached  his  full 
maturity  he  hurled  his  thunderbolts  at  the  sluggish  indifference 
and  romantic  indolence  of  the  Nor\vegian  people  in  his  great 
masterpieces  "  Brand "  and  "Peer  Gynt,"  in  which  nature  painting 
and  character  study  has  reached  a  never  excelled  degree  of  artistic 
perfection. 

*  Chr.  Collin,  Bj^rnsijernc  Bj^rnson. 


520  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

Even  before  Ibsen  and  Bj0rnson  had  gained  a  reputation  as  poets 
they  had  become  prominent  as  leaders  of  a  movement  to  create  a 
national  theater.  Hitherto  Norway  had  been  dependent  on  Den- 
mark both  for  her  actors  and  her  dramatic  literature.  Through 
the  efforts  of  Ole  Bull  a  theater  was  built  in  Bergen  in  1850,  and  the 
following  year  Ibsen  was  employed  as  stage  manager.  In  Chris- 
tiania  a  national  theater  was  erected  in  1851  to  compete  with  the 
Christiania  theater,  which  had  a  Danish  director,  and  which  employed 
only  Danish  actors.  But  the  rivalry  with  the  older  competitor 
became  diflBcult  for  the  new  playhouse,  and  when  the  director  of 
the  Christiania  theater  continued  to  employ  Danes,  the  students 
lost  patience.  WTien  a  new  Danish  actor  was  to  appear,  they  as- 
sembled under  the  leadership  of  Bj0rnstjerne  Bj0rnson  to  the  num- 
ber of  600  and  started  such  a  tumult  that  nothing  like  it  had  been 
heard  since  the  "Campbeller  battle"  in  the  days  of  Wergeland. 
Two  days  later  Bj0rnson  wrote  an  article  in  "  Morgenbladet "  out- 
lining the  program  and  demands  of  the  young  patriots.  "  A  theater 
in  the  capital,"  he  says,  "is  an  outpost  of  nationalism  against  for- 
eign supremacy.  The  capital  witnesses  the  most  severe  clashes 
between  that  which  is  foreign  and  that  which  is  our  own.  It  has 
to  wage  an  important  fight;  it  has  great  responsibility,  and  needs 
forces  and  vigilant  sentinels.  .  .  .  We  have  made  rapid  prog- 
ress, but  in  regard  to  theater  we  have  until  lately  been  a  dependency. 
Our  immortal  Henrik  Wergeland,  who  in  this  matter,  as  in  many 
others,  was  far  ahead  of  his  time,  spoke  for  the  first  time  with  great 
force  and  earnestness  in  behalf  of  a  Norwegian  theater.  We  are 
grateful  to  the  Danish  artists,  and  we  are  not  yet  prepared  to  lose 
them.  They  do  not  oppose  our  nationality  much,  as  they  are  accli- 
mated. But  new  foreigners,  always  new  ones,  result  not  only  in  the 
destruction  of  what  we  are  doing  and  have  done,  but  it  is  an  insult, 
not  against  us  alone,  but  against  the  power  which  is  above  us  all, 
our  country.  .  .  .  Our  beloved  Henrik  Wergeland  should  have 
seen  an  evening  like  that  of  last  Tuesday.  He  would  have  rejoiced 
to  have  heard  the  storm  of  rough-music  which  shook  the  old  prej- 
udices. In  his  time  he  was  in  the  minority,  the  smallest  possible, 
for  he  alone  was  the  minority.  Now  he  would  have  been  in  the 
majority,  a  large    and    powerful   majority.     We    have    progressed 


I'KATK    XVIfl 


Hjokvstjkknk   Mjouvson. 


II  BEGINMNC;    OF    A    NKW    LITKIIAKV     DKVELOI'MEN'T  521 

possibly  faster  tluin  he  cxjx'cttHl."  '  lijorrisoii  {-arricd  to  a  successful 
issue  the  figlit  for  u  Norwegian  tlieater  in  Cliristiania,  thou^'h  he  was 
at  tlie  time  only  twenty -tlirec  years  of  age.  He  showed  even  at 
this  time  the  great  qualities  which  soon  placed  him  at  the  head  of 
tlie  liberal  movement  as  its  peerless  leader,  the  greatest  since  the 
time  of  Ib'urik  Wcrgj-laiid.  Profess<»r  (Jeriiani  (Iran  (lcscril)es 
him  as  follows:  "1  lia\c  already  niciitioncd  tliat  liis  literary  works 
were  wcajxnis,  imj)lements  in  his  battles  and  his  work.  But  his 
great  poetic  genius  endowed  him  also  with  other  more  direct  aux- 
iliaries for  his  work  as  ruler.  His  sovereign  commaiul  of  language 
enabled  him  to  coin  in  the  heat  of  tlie  conflict  sudden  surprising 
pictures,  in  which  his  thoughts  shone  before  the  eyes  of  his  subjects, 
both  sympathizers  and  opponents.  Striking  words  flowed  from 
his  lips,  entered  irresistibly  into  the  minds  of  the  listeners,  and 
chased  around  the  countrv  in  search  for  new  proselytes.  The 
dramatic  clement  in  his  nature  turned  the  political  campaigns  under 
his  leadership  into  exciting  episodes,  made  the  situation  strained, 
and  urged  all  lines  of  thought  and  action  forward  to  a  solution,  a 
cata.strophe.  To  this  must  still  be  added  his  great  talent  as  an  actor 
—  the  plastic  art  of  speech,  and  the  no  less  })eautiful  and  command- 
ing figure,  the  orchestra  of  a  voice  which  had  a  chord  for  everv  senti- 
ment, and  which  was  trained  to  an  art  of  elocution  which  ncNcr 
suffered  a  nuxlulation  to  escai)e.  So  endowed  was  this  chieftain. 
Seldom  have  so  many  (pialitics  of  the  leader  been  united  in  the  same 
person.  With  a  patriotism  tender  as  love,  a  faith  which  could  move 
mountains,  a  power  of  j)ersonality  which  overcame  all  «)bstacles,  an 
intuition  which  jienetrated  into  tlie  future,  a  practical  judgment 
and  an  ability  to  act  which  was  always  ready  to  solve  the  nearest 
questions,  a  .sense  of  justice  which  balanced  all  values,  and.  shed  over 
all,  a  i)oetic  genius  which  jxiurcd  its  radiance  on  all  his  works  and 
spread  its  luster  to  many  lands."  - 

Among  the  great  leaders  who  made  this  age  illustrious  and  created 
a  new  era  of  intellectual  and  social  progress  must  also  be  mentionwi 
Camilla  Collett,  llenrik  Wergeland's  gifted  sister.  She  did  not 
ecpial  Ibsen  or  Bjornson  in  literar)'  inihu-ncc,  but  she  was  a  giftinl 

'  Ih'iirik  .liPfrer,  Illunlrcrcl  norsk  Liierntiir historic,  vol.  TI.,  p.  596  ff. 
'  Gorhanl  (ir;m,  Hj^rnstjerne  Bjornson,  H^vdingcn,  p.  K)  Cf. 


522  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

writer  and  an  original  thinker,  and  rose  to  special  prominence  as 
the  founder  of  the  woman's  rights  movement  in  Norway.  In 
her  excellent  novel  "Amtmandens  D0tre"  she  attacked  the  con- 
ventional view  of  marriage  which  paid  slight  heed  to  woman's  feel- 
ings and  her  rights  as  a  personality,  and  regarded  the  marriage 
institution  chiefly  as  a  means  of  securing  her  daily  bread.  In  her 
later  works,  "Sidste  Blade,"  "Fra  de  Stummes  Leir,"  and  "Mod 
Str0mmen, "  she  discussed  woman's  rights  in  all  relations  of  life. 
Her  works  were  battle  signals  which  roused  the  women  of  Norway, 
freed  them  from  the  old  prejudices,  and  called  them  into  a  field  of 
widened  activity  as  a  distinct  force  in  the  new  intellectual  and  social 
progress. 

These  movements  in  various  fields  emanated  from  a  vigorous 
national  spirit  which  attempted  to  realize  its  ideals,  and  sought  to 
rear  a  social  structure  conforming  to  its  needs.  The  great  liberal 
national  movement  in  Norway  in  the  nineteenth  century  was  not  a 
poUtical  struggle  alone,  but  a  distinct  attempt  of  the  nation's  genius 
to  reassert  itself  after  centuries  of  partial  inactivity  and  foreign 
tutelage.  The  Norwegian  historical  school,  the  collection  and  study 
of  folk-tales,  art,  and  traditions  of  the  past,  the  Landsmaal  movement, 
the  realistic  literarj'  school,  and,  finally,  the  organization  of  a  Liberal 
political  party  which  overcame  all  reactionary  opposition,  and 
maintained  Norway's  rights  to  lead  her  own  free  and  sovereign 
existence,  are  phases  of  a  development  in  which  all  vital  forces  of  the 
nation  were  concentrated.  The  great  political  struggle  grew  out 
of  the  attempt  of  the  Bernadotte  kings  to  rule  Norway  as  a  depend- 
ency, but  the  vigor  and  determination  with  which  the  struggle  was 
waged  was  wholly  due  to  the  spirit  of  liberty  and  progress  created 
by  the  new  national  development. 

62.   New  Political  Struggles.     Proposed  Revision  of  the 

Act  of  Union 

Through  the  revision  of  the  Eidsvold  constitution  by  the  extra 
session  of  the  Storthing  in  1814,  the  king  was  given  the  right  to  ap- 
point a  statholder  for  Norway,  but  this  institution  was  very  unpopu- 
lar, and  efforts  were  soon  made  to  abolish  it.     In  1818  a  bill  was 


II 


NKW    POLITICAL    STRUG<;LE8 


523 


introducefl  in  tlie  Storthinj?  for  this  purpos**,  hut  it  received  no  suj)- 
port.  'V\\(i  attt'nijjt  was  rciu-wed  in  1.S4S  and  18.>4.  In  18'>4  the 
measure  was  passed,  hut  it  was  i)rornptly  vetoed  hy  tlie  kin;;.  When 
Charles  XV.  ascended  tlie  throne  in  1S59,  he  resolved  to  sanction 
tlie  bill,  which  had  ajjain  been  introduced  in  the  StortliinK-  He  ^'ave 
the  representatives  to  understand  tliat  if  tlie  measure  was  adopted, 
it  would  receive  his  sanction,  and  tlie  bill  was  passed  by  an  almost 
unanimous  vote.  This 
"dowr>'"  to  the  Norwe- 
gian people  the  king  had, 
undoubtedly,  intended  as 
a  token  of  his  good-will, 
which  should  serve  to 
strengthen  still  further  the 
sympathy  of  the  Norwe- 
gian Conservatives  for  a 
closer  union  between  the 
two  kingdoms.  After 
L0venskiold  had  resigned 
in  1855,  the  office  remained 
vacant  and  lost  all  real 
importance.  Birch-Reich- 
enwald,  who  in  185.S  suc- 
ceed(>d  \'ogt  as  the  leading 
man  in  the  ministry, 
favored  the  amalgamation 
policy,  and  everything  seemed  to  augur  well  fi»r  the  attempt  to  draw 
the  two  realms  into  closer  union.  But  tlie  sentiment  in  Sweden  was 
not  so  friendly  as  the  Scandinavian  movement  seemed  to  indicate. 
It  had  become  evident  to  all  that  tlie  union  with  Non\ay  did  not 
constitute  a  compensation  for  Finland  in  a  manner  comj)atibIe  with 
Swedish  interests,  and  tlie  attempts  hitherto  made  to  modify  tlie 
terms  of  the  union  had  proved  unavailing.  On  November  2,  1859, 
Anekarsvtird  introduced  a  measure  in  the  .Swedish  Rigsdag.  in  which 
he  launched  forth  into  a  philippic  against  the  existing  fonn  of  union, 
and  proposed  that  it  should  be  so  modified  as  to  be  more  satisfactory 
to  both  peoples.     His  m(»tion  was  applauded  and  supported  by  the 


Fio.   12.  — Charles  XV 


524 


HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE 


n 


Swedish  press,  and  when  it  was  learned  that  the  Storthing  had  passed 
a  bill  to  abolish  tlie  office  of  staiholder,  the  feeling  grew  intensely 
hostile.  It  was  clear  that  Norway  would  yield  to  no  demand  for 
Swedish  overlordship  based  on  the  treaty  of  Kiel,  and  the  move  of 
the  Storthing  was  regarded  by  some  as  rebellion.  In  the  Rigsdag 
Dalman  introduced  a  motion  declaring  the  article  in  the  Norwegian 
constitution  regard'ng  the  office  of  staiholder  to  be  a  part  of  the 
union  compact,  which  could  not  be  altered  without  the  consent  of 

Sweden.  This  view  was, 
undoubtedly,  erroneous,  as 
the  terms  of  union  had 
been  embodied  in  another 
document,  and  as  a  sov- 
ereign and  independent  na- 
tion unquestionably  pos- 
sesses the  right  to  amend 
its  constitution  without 
asking  the  consent  of  an- 
other power.^  But  both 
Anckarsvard's  and 
Dalman's  motions  were 
adopted  by  the  Rigsdag. 
It  was  also  decided  to 
undertake  a  revision  of 
the  Act  of  Union,  evidently 
for  the  purpose  of  creating 
a  Swedish  supremacy  over 
Norway,  and  the  question  of  Norwegian  staiholder  was  to  be 
regarded  as  a  union  affair.  To  the  latter  proposition  no  Norwegian 
ministry  could  agree,  as  it  would  establish  Swedish  authority  over 
the  Xoru'cgian  constitution,  but  the  king  was  intimidated  by  the 
hostile  attitude  of  the  Swedish  leaders,  and  as  the  Swedish  ministry 
threatened  to  resign  unless  he  accepted  their  view,  he  finally  refused 
to  sanction  the  measure  passed  by  the  Storthing.  That  Sweden 
had  won  a  victor\'  in  a  purely  Norwegian  affair  was  evident,  and  the 
episode  did  not  tend  to  increase  the  Norwegian  people's  love  for  the 

*  B.  Dunker,  Flyveblad  No.  4  og  No.  5.     Om  Statholderposten. 


Fig.  13.  —  Queen  Louise 


II  PROPOSED    REVISION    OF   THK    A(T    OF    I'NION  525 

union.  The  Norwegian  press  maintained  on  tlie  wliole  a  ven*  ealm 
tone  in  diseussin^  tin-  matter,  hut  tliat  deej)  resentment  liad  heen 
aroust^'d  l)y  this  unexpected  manifestiition  of  anti-Xonvej^ian  fe<'i- 
in^  in  Sweden  was  clearly  ap|>arent.  In  the  Stortliinj,'  a  connnitte<' 
of  fifteen,  wliich  was  ai)i)ointed  to  consider  tlie  situation,  drafted 
an  address  to  the  kinp,  stating  clearly  and  forcihjy  the  right  of  the 
Nonvegian  people  to  exercise  full  control  over  their  constitution. 
The  first  part  of  the  document,  written  hy  Sdiweigaard,  closes 
with  these  words:  "Against  the  claims  advanced  hy  the  Swedish 
Estates  that  the  measure  al)()lishiiig  the  ofhce  of  sidihoUUr  should 
he  treated  as  a  matter  with  which  Sweden  is  concerned,  the  Storthing 
herehy  suhmits  to  Wmv  Majesty  their  respectful  protest."  The 
second  part  of  the  address,  written  hy  Aal,  states  that  a  revision  of 
the  Act  of  Union  cannot  he  undertaken  hy  the  Non\'egians  on  any 
other  ])asis  than  that  of  full  ecpialitA-  hetween  the  two  kingdoms,  and 
tlie  right  of  each  nation  to  manage  its  own  afl'airs  in  all  matters  not 
specifically  designated  as  common  interests.  The  tliird  part,  written 
by  Johan  Sverdrup,  is  an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  king,  closing  with 
the  statement  that  it  would  he  the  duty  of  His  Majesty  and  the  new 
session  of  the  Storthing  to  hring  the  (piestion  of  the  office  of  siat- 
hoJdrr  to  a  successful  issue.  After  being  carefully  considered,  the 
address  was  i^assed  hy  the  Storthing  in  the  night  of  .\pril  Xi,  18G(),  as 
a  solemn  protest  against  the  attemi)t  of  the  sister  kingdom  to  impair 
the  s<n-ereign  right  of  Norway.  In  conformity  with  this  address 
the  Norwegian  ministry  refused  to  agree  to  the  proposed  revision. 
But  the  following  year  the  Swedish  minister  of  justice,  De  (ie<'r. 
sulmiitted  to  the  comhineil  Swedish-Norwegian  ministry  a  proposal 
that  the  revision  of  the  Act  of  Union  should  he  undertaken  according 
to  the  motions  of  Anckarsviird  and  Dalman  passed  hy  the  Kigs<lag. 
The  }irinci])le  of  equality  lietween  the  two  kingdoms  should  he  main- 
tained, he  said,  hut  this  should  not  he  an  absolute,  but  a  relati\e, 
equality.  Tlic  share  of  each  kiiigdoni  in  the  conuiion  goNcriuncnt 
should  be  made  ])roportionate  to  the  amount  contributed  by  each 
toward  the  defraying  of  joint  j)ublic  ex])enses,  and  the  joint  legis- 
lative assembly  should  consist  of  representatives  from  each  king- 
dom in  proportion  to  the  ])opulation.  Sweden  would  demand  "to 
be  regarded  as  primus  Inter  pdrcs  in  all  matters  in  which  the  prin- 


526  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

ciple  of  equality  could  not  be  maintained."  ^  The  resolution  passed 
by  the  Storthing,  that  "  no  Norwegian  who  loved  his  country  and  his 
honor  could  agree  to  a  revision  of  the  Act  of  Union  on  any  basis 
save  that  of  Norway's  absolute  equality  with  Sweden,"  was  disre- 
garded, and  the  Norwegian  government  was  invited  to  join  in  the 
work  of  revision  as  if  nothing  had  been  said.  The  Norwegian  minis- 
try unanimously  refused  to  accede  to  the  request,  but  disagreement 
arose  over  certain  expressions  in  their  report,  and  Birch-Rcichenwald 
and  two  of  his  colleagues  resigned.  The  ministry  was  then  reor- 
ganized with  Frederick  Stang  as  its  real  head,  and  the  new  ministry 
assumed  a  different  attitude  to  the  question  of  revision. 

After  Birch-Reichenwald's  resignation,  and  before  Stang  had 
taken  his  seat  in  the  new  ministry,  the  report  was  finally  purged  of 
the  disputed  expressions  and  submitted  to  the  king,  February  18, 
1862.  Point  by  point  it  controverted  the  reasons  for  revision  as- 
signed by  the  Swedish  ministers.  It  reiterated  the  opinion  of  the 
Storthing,  expressed  in  the  address  of  1860,  and  declared  that  the 
Norwegians  could  not  agree  to  the  proposed  revision.  De  Geer 
sought  to  refute  the  points  in  the  report  by  reasserting  the  principle 
which  had  already  been  declared,  but  he  would  not  urge  the  revision 
at  that  moment  on  account  of  the  prevailing  sentiment  in  Norway. 
He  declared,  however,  that  he  favored  revision,  and  he  expressed 
the  hope  that  the  matter  was  only  postponed,  and  that  the  time  would 
soon  come  when  the  revision  could  be  carried  out.  A  formal  declara- 
tion was  added,  stating  that  the  king  desired  the  revision  to  be  under- 
taken at  a  more  opportune  time,  and  that  it  should  be  carried  out 
without  any  obstruction  from  previously  announced  principles. 
It  was  long  thought  that  De  Geer  was  the  author  of  this  declaration,^ 
but  he  has  stated  in  his  memoirs  that  the  author  was  Stang  himself. 
From  this  circumstance  it  is  clear  that  the  Norwegian  ministry  had 
already  consented  to  a  revision,  but  this  could  not  be  undertaken 
while  the  resolution  which  had  been  passed  in  the  Storthing  was 
still  in  force.  An  attempt  was,  therefore,  made  to  secure  the  repeal 
of  this  resolution,  but  the  constitutional  committee  to  which  the 

•  Aug.  Chr.  Manthey,  Dagb^ger  for  Aarene  1856-1874,  P-  191  flf.  O.  A. 
Overland,  Norges  Hislorie  1814-1903,  p.  94  ff. 

*  Om  Revision  af  Foreningsakten  mellem  Sverige  og  Norge,  vol.  I.,  p.  175  3. 


n  FR0P08ED    REVISION   OF  THE    ACT   OF    UNION  527 

matter  was  referred  did  not  agree.  A  (X)mproini.se  measure  was 
adopted  wliieh,  thoiigli  very  vague,  wa«  interpreted  to  mean  that  a 
revision  miglit  be  undertaken  whenever  the  king  should  find  the 
moment  o[)portmie,  })ut  tlie  pririeiple  of  full  ("quality  between  the  two 
kingdoms  should  be  adhered  to.  The  new  constitutional  committee 
to  which  the  work  of  revision  was  to  be  intrusted  was  api)ointed 
February  6,  1805,  and  consisted  of  seven  Norwegian  and  seven 
Swedish  members. 

During  tiiese  strange  political  maneuvers,  by  which  Sweden  had 
succeedetl  in  forcing  tlirough  a  measure  wholly  repugnant  to  the 
No^^vegian  people,  the  Liberal  leaders  had  made  no  protest.  J.  E. 
Sars  says  that  this  strange  silence  was  due  to  a  desire  to  secure  the 
passage  of  some  measures  which  they  regarded  as  especially  impor- 
tant. These  measures  were,  the  introduction  of  the  jur\'  sy.stem, 
and  especially  the  question  of  yearly  sessions  of  the  Storthing,  about 
which  Sverdrup  said  :  "Ix-t  us  all  unite  in  working  for  yearly  sessions 
of  the  Storthing ;  this  is  the  greatest  service  we  can  show  our  countrv' ; 
all  other  things  are  only  palliatives."  Both  the  king  and  the  min- 
istry seemed  favorably  inclined  to  these  reforms,  but  neither  one  was 
passed  at  this  time. 

The  Norwegian  members  of  the  constitutional  committee  were : 
O.  V.  Lange.  G.  P.  Harbitz,  N.  Vogt,  E.  Saxlund,  N.  K.  Irgens.  T.  H. 
A.schehoug,  and  ().  G.  Ueland.  The  first  two  soon  withdrew,  and 
K.  Platan  and  II.  Th.  Meiiiich  were  api)ointed  in  their  ])lace.  The 
committee  was  instnicted  to  agree  to  no  changes  in  the  Act  of  Union 
except  such  as  might  imj)rove  that  document  in  minor  details.  But 
tlie  amalgamation  policy  of  the  Stang  ministry,  and  tlie  influence 
of  "  Morgenbladet,"  whose  gifted  editor,  (^hr.  Friele,  was  Stang 's 
personal  friend  and  supporter,  made  them  yield  to  a  general  revision. 
Such  a  steji  was  favorerl  by  the  conservative  si)irit  and  desire  for 
centralization  of  jnnver  rei)resented  l)y  Stang  and  his  colleagues, 
and  also  by  tlie  Scandinavian  sentiment,  which  at  tliis  time  was  ver\' 
strong. 

The  Pan-Sc-andinavian  ideas  had  been  stilted  in  very  vague  terms, 
and  even  the  leaders  of  the  movement  could  probably  not  have 
defined  their  real  aim.  "^riie  enthusiastic  talk  about  a  united  North 
proved  to  be  little  more  than  a  sentiment,  which  could  not  be  reduced 


528  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

to  anything  so  prosaic  as  a  distinct  purpose.  The  feeling  that  the 
three  nations  are  in  reaUty  one  people  had  been  appealed  to,  and  it 
was  thought  that  it  constituted  a  bond  of  union  so  strong  that  it 
would  insure  cooperation  in  case  either  should  be  attacked  by  a 
foreign  foe.  Beyond  this  purely  theoretical  stage  Scandinavianism 
never  advanced.  The  thought  was  beautiful,  but  it  proved  to  be 
too  purely  poetic  to  be  of  much  practical  value  in  time  of  great 
emergencies. 

When  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question  threatened  to  embroil 
Denmark  in  war  with  Austria  and  Prussia,  the  sympathy  for  the 
sister  state  grew  very  intense  both  in  Norway  and  Sweden.  King 
Charles  XV.  conferred  with  Frederick  VII.  of  Denmark,  and  nego- 
tiations were  carried  on  between  the  three  realms  with  the  aim  of 
creating  a  defensive  alliance  for  defending  the  Eider  as  the  southern 
border  of  Denmark.^  The  plan  was  opposed  by  leading  cabinet 
members  both  in  Sweden  and  Norway.  The  Swedish  minister  of 
finance,  John  August  Gripenstedt,  showed  the  king  how  dangerous 
it  would  be  to  engage  in  war  with  Germany  merely  for  the  sake  of 
a  vague  sentiment,  and  pointed  to  Charles  XII.  and  Gustavus  IV. 
as  examples.  Sibbern,  Norwegian  minister  of  state  in  Stockholm, 
and  Stang,  head  of  the  Norwegian  ministry,  were  also  opposed  to 
an  alliance  with  Denmark  unless  the  cooperation  of  the  great  powers 
was  assured.  An  earnest  appeal  was  addressed  to  England,  France, 
and  Russia  to  aid  Denmark,  but  as  no  encouraging  answer  was  re- 
turned, Charles  XV.  was  forced  to  abandon  the  plan  of  an  alliance 
with  Denmark.  King  Frederick  VII.  died  shortly  afterwards, 
and  his  successor,  Christian  IX.,  signed  the  new  constitution  for 
Denmark-Schleswig,  a  step  which  immediately  led  to  war  with  the 
two  German  powers  Austria  and  Prussia,  who  refused  to  allow  the 
duchy  of  Schleswig  to  be  incorporated  in  the  Danish  kingdom.  A 
German  army  entered  Holstein,  and  in  February',  Prussian  and 
Austrian  troops  crossed  the  Eider.     This  brought  matters  to  such 

*  Halvdan  Koht,  Die  Stellung  Norwegens  und  Schwedens  im  deutsch-dan- 
ischen  Konflikt,  Christiania  Videnskabs-Selskabs  Skrifter,  1907,  p.  119  ff. 
Aug.  Chr.  Manthey,  Dagh^ger,  vol.  I.,  p.  330.  John  August  Gripenstedt, 
Minnen,  vol.  I.,  p.  250  f.  Det  Stangske  System,  Aftryk  af  Dagbladet.  Halv- 
dan Koht,  Unionen  og  Freden.  En  historisk  Udredning  av  svensk  Krigs- 
politik  siden  181 4,  p.  69. 


II  PROPOSED    REVISION    OK   THE    ACT   OF    UNION  529 

a  crisis  that  it  aj)])(.'ar('<i  as  if  Xonvay  and  Sweden  would  he  involved 
in  the  war.  The  Swedish  Ui^sdaj^  phiced  three  niiUion  rigsdaler 
at  the  disposal  of  tlie  government  to  place  the  army  (jn  war  footing, 
and  the  Stortliing  passed  a  bill  submitted  by  the  government,  em- 
powering the  king  to  use  the  army  and  navy  of  Xonvay  in  defense 
of  Denmark.  Attached  to  this  measure,  however,  were  the  condi- 
tions that  in  case  of  an  alliance  with  Denmark  the  forces  used  for 
its  defense  would  have  to  approximate  those  of  the  enemy  in  strength, 
and  Norway's  exten.sive  commerce  would  have  to  be  protected. 
These  conditions  were  so  exacting  that  they  almost  voided  the  meas- 
ure itself.  Some  preparations  were  made,  and  a  Xonvegian-Swedish 
squadron  cruised  in  the  Baltic,  but  no  alliance  was  concluded,  and 
Denmark  was  left  to  her  fate.  Xeither  the  Xonvegian  nor  the 
Swedish  ministry'  would  assume  the  responsibility  for  a  war,  and 
the  Stortliing  j)assed  a  declaration  that  "the  majority  of  the  Xonve- 
gian people  did  not  desire  closer  {)()litical  relations  with  Deimiark." 
This  gave  the  political  Pan-Scandinavianism  its  death  blow.  Den- 
mark was  soon  compelled  to  yield,  and  Lauenburg,  Holstein,  and 
Schleswig  were  ceded  to  the  Gennan  allies.  The  Scandinavian 
sentiment  still  continued  to  live,  and  Scandinavian  societies  wen- 
organized  in  all  three  kingdoms,  but  when  the  Xorwegian  Storthing 
in  1(S71  refused  to  agree  to  the  proposed  revision  of  the  Act  of  Union, 
political  Scandinavianism  vanished.  Before  the  close  of  King 
Charles's  reign  the  societies  had  disappeared,  and  Pan-Scandinavian- 
ism  as  a  distinct  movement  was  dead. 

The  fate  of  Denmark  in  1S64  was  a  new  illustration  of  the  dangers 
to  which  the  .smaller  states  are  always  exposed,  and  though  the 
Pan-Scandinavian  idea  had  been  rudely  shattered,  it  is  evident  that 
the  need  of  closer  cooperation  was  keenly  felt  both  in  Xonvay  and 
Sweden  at  the  time.  The  revision  committee,  which  labored  under 
the  iiiflueuee  of  this  sentiment,  was  finally  ai)le  to  submit  a  <lraft 
of  a  new  Act  of  luiou  in  1S*)7.'  Instead  of  the  conftxleration  of  two 
independent    kingdoms    established    in    1815,    the    new    document 

'  Underdanigsl  Bctcenkning  angaaendc  Rerision  af  Foreningsaklen  mellem 
Norge  og  Srerige  afgiren  af  den  red  korigelig  Ficsolulion  af  Gtc  Februar,  1S65, 
naadigst  nedsattc  Commillee.  Forslag  til  Forciiingsakt  mcllcm  Norge  og 
Sverige. 

VOL.   II  —  2  m 


530  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

proposed  a  federal  union,  in  which  Sweden  should  have  predominance. 
The  king  should  reside  permanently  in  Stockholm,  and  the  Swedish 
minister  of  foreign  affairs  should  have  charge  of  the  foreign  affairs 
of  both  countries.  The  number  of  matters  to  be  regarded  as  union 
affairs  was  also  to  be  greatly  increased  in  both  countries.  This 
would  have  turned  the  development  into  paths  leading  to  ultimate 
consolidation  of  the  two  realms,  and  leading  men  in  Sweden  hoped 
that  a  union  parliament  could  soon  be  established  if  this  act  was 
adopted.  In  1869  the  measure  was  proposed  to  the  Storthing  as  a 
government  bill  to  be  taken  up  for  consideration  at  the  next  session. 
The  measure  seemed  to  have  the  best  chance  of  being  passed.  Ueland, 
the  great  leader  of  the  binder,  was  a  member  of  the  committee  which 
had  framed  it,  and  the  other  leader  of  the  binder,  Jaabsek,  who  since 
1865  had  been  actively  engaged  in  organizing  societies  among  his 
followers,  the  bondevenforeninger,  and  who  was  chiefly  interested  in 
the  question  of  an  economic  administration,  advised  his  friends 
to  have  nothing  to  do  witli  this  measure,  as  it  was  "higher  politics, " 
with  which  they  were  not  concerned.  There  seemed  to  be  a  real 
danger  that  Norway's  independence  might  be  destroyed.  But  the 
proposed  bill  became  an  issue  which  called  into  active  opposition 
the  ablest  leaders,  and  served  to  hasten  the  organization  of  the  great 
Liberal  party,  the  "Left"  (Venstre).  Bernhard  Dunker  assailed 
the  proposed  act  in  his  work  "  Om  Revision  af  Foreningsakten  mellem 
Sverige  og  Norge,"  second  part  (1868),  and  "Norsk  Folkeblad" 
and  "Dagbladet"  joined  in  the  attack.  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  who  had 
been  a  member  of  the  committee,  sought  to  defend  the  measure,^ 
but  the  opposition  was  rapidly  growing.  In  the  debates  in  the  Stor- 
thing Ketil  Motzfeldt  and  Johan  Sverdrup  led  the  attack,  and  the 
measure  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  ninety-two  to  seventeen,  1871. 
Repeated  failures  had  shown  that  the  character  of  the  union  could 
not  be  changed,  and  the  attempt  to  revise  the  Act  of  Union  was  not 
renewed. 

^  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Om  Unionskomiteens  Udkast  til  en  ny  Rigsakt.    This 
work  first  appeared  as  a  series  of  articles  in  Morgenbladet. 


ii  important  reform  measures  531 

63.    Important   Reform    Measures   passed   in   the   Rekin   of 
C'uAKLKs  X\'.    'rill.  Rise  of  the  Liberal  or  Venstre  Party 

Though  tlie  questions  regarding  the  office  of  siatholder  and  the 
revision  of  tlie  Act  of  Union  had  raisetl  issues  wliicli  for  many  years 
attracted  the  chief  attention  of  tlie  lawgivers,  many  important 
measures  were  passed  wiiich  contributed  to  general  progress.  In 
1800  a  new  school  law  was  j)assed,  based  on  recommendations  sub- 
mitted by  Ilartvig  Nissen,  by  which  a  public  school  system  was 
created  for  the  kingdom.^  All  herrcds  and  parishes  should  be  divided 
into  school  districts,  and  compulsory  .school  attendance  was  estab- 
lished for  all  children  Ix'tween  eight  and  fourteen  years  of  age.  In 
all  districts  where  the  homesteads  were  so  situated  that  thirty  pupils 
could  attend  daily,  permanent  schools  should  be  erected,  and  in 
districts  where  this  was  not  the  case,  instruction  should  be  given 
in  their  homes  by  itinerant  teachers. 

A  new  regulation  was  also  made  regarding  the  relative  num])er 
of  representatives  from  rural  and  urban  districts.  The  constitution 
provides  that  the  country  districts  should  elect  two-thirds,  and  the 
cities  only  one-tliird,  of  the  total  number  of  representatives  to  the 
Storthing,  but  because  of  prevailing  rules  of  election,  tliis  ratio  had 
not  been  maintained.  In  1857  the  cities  secured  forty-four  and  the 
rural  communities  only  sixty-seven  seats.  In  ISGO  a  bill,  intro- 
duced by  Schweigaard,  was  passed,  establisjiing  in  practice  the  pro- 
visions of  the  constitutic  ni.  The  country  districts  were  given  seventy- 
four  representatives,  and  tlie  cities  only  thirty-seven.  This  tended 
to  strengthen  the  opposition  party,  and  ga^■e  the  hinder  increased 
political  influence.  A  royal  commission  was  appointed  to  examine 
tlie  jury  s\stcni,  but  the  l)ill  liiially  submitted  providing  for  it.^ 
introduction  was  defeated  in  tlie  Lagtliing.  and  tlie  matter  was 
allowed  to  rest.  Atteini)ts  were  also  made  by  the  Sting  niinistr> 
to  improve  tlie  military'  organization,  and  many  bills  were  introduced 
for  this  purpose.  A  new  militir>'  code  was  adopted  in  18(K>,  and  tlie 
same  year  a  new  law  for  the  regulation  of  the  military-  ser\icc  was 
passed,  but  the  majt)rity  in  the  Storthing  was  opposed  to  a  new 
army  organization.     The  management  of  army  and  navy  was  so 

'  W.  Rein,  Encyklopddischcs  Handburh  dcr  Pddagogik,  vol.  VI.,  p.  319  ff. 


532  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

severely  criticized  that  the  heads  of  those  departments,  General 
Storm  Wergeland  and  W.  W.  Hafner,  resigned.  The  opposition  was 
rapidly  growing.  Jaabsek  continued  with  great  success  to  organize 
societies  among  the  binder,  the  bondevenforeninger,  and  his  paper, 
"Folketidende,"  became  the  most  widely  circulated  newspaper  in 
the  country.  His  clamor  for  public  economy  found  general  support 
in  the  rural  districts,  and  as  he  resisted  every  measure  which  he  feared 
might  tend  to  increase  the  burdens  of  the  rural  population,  he  was 
able  to  prevent  additional  military  appropriations.  The  ministry 
were  also  opposed  by  the  Liberals,  who  desired  reforms  of  various 
kinds,  and  who  were  dissatisfied  with  its  bureaucratic  tendencies 
and  the  position  which  it  had  taken  on  the  revision  question.  The 
different  groups  had  their  own  organs.  The  "Folketidende"  of 
Jaabsek  and  his  adherents  had  found  a  still  more  influential  successor 
in  "Verdens  Gang,"  edited  by  O.  Thommesen.  The  organ  of  the 
Liberals  was  "Dagbladet,"  edited  by  H.  E.  Berner,  and  the  leading 
Conservative  papers  were  "Morgenbladet,"  edited  by  Chr.  Friele, 
and  "  Aftenposten,"  edited  by  A.  Schibstead. 

It  had  become  the  aim  of  the  Liberal  leader,  Johan  Sverdrup, 
to  introduce  the  parliamentary  system  and  to  lodge  the  supreme 
power  in  the  Storthing.  His  slogan  was :  "  All  power  is  to  be  united 
in  this  assembly."  "It  is  especially  necessary,"  he  said,  "to  make 
the  framework  of  our  government  as  perfect  for  the  future  as  possible. 
This  work  cannot  stop,  if  our  political  life  is  to  be  a  blessing  for  our 
country."  So  long  as  the  opposition  forces  were  divided  into  dis- 
tinct factions  more  or  less  unwilling  to  cooperate,  the  Storthing  could 
not  be  strong,  and  Sverdrup 's  first  aim  was  to  unite  the  opposition 
groups  into  a  large  Liberal  party.  He  won  Jaabsek  to  his  side,  and 
the  consummation  of  the  work  was  hastened  by  the  revival  of  the 
issue  of  yearly  sessions  of  the  Storthing  which  had  first  been  raised 
in  1857.  Bills  for  establishing  this  reform  had  been  repeatedly 
introduced,  but  they  had  not  been  passed,  as  it  was  feared  that  it 
would  lead  to  the  introduction  of  the  parliamentary  system.  When 
the  measure  was  again  brought  before  the  Storthing  in  1869,  A.  M. 
Schweigaard,  who  in  1866  had  voted  for  the  bill,  arose  and  declared 
that  he  would  now  vote  against  it.  He  was  one  of  the  most  honored 
and  influential  leaders,  and  his  opinion  had  great  weight,  but  Sverdrup 


II  THE    KISK    OF    TIIK    LIUKUAL    Olt    VKNSTKE    I'AHTY  533 

waged  the  fight  for  t\\v  int'iisurt'  with  great  skill.  "  It  will  he  reganlnl 
as  one  of  the  greatest  triuin|)hs  which  has  ever  been  won  on  tlie 
path  of  j)rogress  in  this  country,"  he  declared.  Tlie  bill  was  passe<l 
witli  eighty-one  against  thirty  votes.  "Sverdrup  was  the  hero  of 
the  hour,"  says  Ltivland.  "When  he  stej)p('d  into  tlic  street  he  was 
greeted  witli  cheers  by  the  populace.  A  liberal  majority  had  been 
createtl,  the  party  of  the  Left  (Venstre),  and  Sverdrup  had  become  its 
leader."  ' 

When  I'eland  and  Schweigaard  died  in  1S70,  Frederick  Stang 
alone  remained  of  the  older  leaders,  and  as  head  of  the  Conservative 
forces  he  was  to  wage  a  long  and  losing  fight  against  his  doughty 
antagonist,  "^'early  sessions  of  the  Storthing  and  the  existence  of 
tlie  Liberal  i)arty  made  it  pcssible  to  approach  otlier  issues  with 
greater  chance  of  settling  them  according  to  the  will  of  the  people. 
The  question  regarding  the  participation  of  the  cabinet  in  the  deliber- 
ations of  the  Storthing  had  been  an  issue  ever  since  Christian  Magiuis 
Falsen  in  1S21  sul)mitt('d  a  bill  for  amending  the  constitution  on  that 
point.  In  1S24  his  l)ill  iiad  ])een  laid  on  the  table  even  without 
discussion,  and  repeated  attempts  to  pass  the  measure  had  proven 
unsuccessful.  A  bill  embodying  this  reform,  introduced  by  P.  K. 
Gaarder,  was  pas.sed  in  1851  by  a  large  majority,  but  it  was  vetoed 
by  till'  king,  and  later  eflforts  in  behalf  of  the  measure  had  failed. 
In  l.S()<)  this  refonn  was  again  j)roposed  in  a  bill  introduced  by  C. 
Motzfeldt.  It  was  moved  for  consideration  in  1872,  and  an  in- 
tense struggle  between  Conservatives  and  Liberals  was  precipitiited. 
In  his  famous  speech  on  the  measure  Sverdrup  urged  witli  great 
force  the  necessity  of  introducing  the  parliamentjin*'  system.  This 
measure  has  become  "a  necessary  corollary  to  the  constitutional 
provision  establishing  yearly  sessions  of  tlie  Storthing,  thn)Ugh  which 
a  new  political  system  is  necessarily  establisluxl  in  our  a)untry,  ' 
he  declared.  "  It  is  necessary  for  both  branches  of  tlie  goverinnent ; 
for  tlie  Storthing  no  less  than  for  the  ministry."  "The  responsibility 
of  tlie  ministers  will  follow  as  a  natural  consequence  when  the  minis- 
ters are  obliged  to  answer  for  their  own  acts  and  those  of  their  col- 
leagues whenever  it  is  demanded."  The  leader  of  the  Conservatives 
in  the  Storthing,  Professor  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  maintained  tliat  the 

1  Nordmoend  i  det  19de  Aarhundrede,  p.  111. 


534  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

measure  involved  the  introduction  of  the  parliamentary  system  like 
that  of  England,  and  that  this  might  lead  to  a  tyrannous  rule  by  the 
majority,  against  wliich  other  countries  had  found  it  necessary  to 
provide  safeguards  in  the  form  of  an  upper  house  which  could  protect 
the  minority.  A  hostile  attitude  between  the  ministry,  led  by  Fred- 
erick Stang,  and  the  liberal  majority  of  the  Storthing,  led  by  Sverdrup, 
soon  developed.  It  became  evident  that  a  struggle  had  begun 
which  would  decide  whether  the  Storthing  or  the  crown  should  exer- 
cise the  highest  authority.  The  provision  of  the  constitution  on 
this  vital  point  would  be  put  to  the  severest  test.  The  bill  was 
passed,  March  9tli,  with  a  majority  of  eighty  against  twenty-nine 
votes,  but  Stang  and  a  majority  of  his  colleagues  in  the  ministry 
advised  the  king  to  veto  it.  Two  of  the  ministers  who  favored  the 
measure,  O.  J.  Brock  and  N.  K.  Irgens,  resigned.  The  veto  caused 
great  excitement,  and  increased  the  growing  tension  between  the  Stor- 
thing and  the  ministry.  An  address  to  the  king  was  adopted,  in 
which  the  Storthing  expressed  its  lack  of  confidence  in  the  Stang 
ministry,  and  gave  utterance  to  the  surprise  and  disappointment 
caused  by  the  veto.  As  a  result,  the  ministers  expressed  their  will- 
ingness to  resign,  but  when  the  king  stated  that  he  saw  no  reason 
why  he  should  change  advisers,  they  remained  in  office,  showing 
that  they  regarded  themselves  as  responsible  to  the  king  and  not 
to  the  Storthing.  Only  Riddervold,  minister  of  ecclesiastical  affairs, 
retired. 

64.   Oscar  II.    The  Office  of  Statholder  Abolished.    The 

Veto  Question 

King  Charles  XV.  was  a  strong  man,  but  his  health  had  been 
impaired,  and  on  returning  from  the  baths  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  where 
he  had  sought  relief,  he  died  at  Malmo,  September  18,  1872,  at  the 
age  of  forty-six.  As  he  left  no  male  heir,^  his  brother,  Oscar  Fred- 
erick, Duke  of  Ostergotland,  succeeded  him  on  the  throne  as  Oscar 
II.  It  was  the  aim  of  the  new  king  to  secure  a  settlement  of  the 
union  question,  and  to  bring  about  a  better  understanding  between 

1  Queen  Louise  died  in  March,  1871,  and  Prince  Charies,  born  in  1852, 
passed  away  in  1854.  Onlj'  a  daughter  survived  the  king,  Princess  Louise, 
who  married  Crown  Prince  Frederick  of  Denmark  in  1869. 


n  OSCAU    II.       THK    OFFirF    OF    RTATFIOLDFH    AH<>LISIIF:D  535 

tlie  NorwPRijin  iniiiistrv  ami  tlic  Stortliin^.  The  question  regarding 
tlie  otticr  of  stntholdrr  liad  Ix'cii  rcjM'atcdIy  V)rouj;ht  up.  In  1S73 
a  hill  was  again  passed,  aholishing  thr  oflict',  and  creating  instead  that 
of  minister  of  state  for  NorvNay,  who  should  be  the  recognized  head 
of  tlie  Norwegian  niinistn-,  a  real  prime  minister.  Ilie  king  sanc- 
tioned the  measure,  and  Frederick  Stang,  who  was  already  the  leader 
of  the  Non^egian  ministr>',  was  ai)pointed  to  the  new  office.' 

The  issue  regarding  the  participation  of  the  ministers  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  Stortiiing  was  still  pending,  and  as  King  Oscar 
retained  the  Stang  ministry,  there  was  no  ])rospect  of  more  friendly 
relations  between  the  two  parties  in  Nonvay.  The  election  of  1874 
became  a  real  trial  of  strength  between  Consers'atives  and  Liberals. 
The  Liberal  party  secured  a  majority  in  the  Storthing,  and  a  bill 
providing  for  the  seating  of  the  ministers  was  passed  by  a  vote  of 
seventy-four  to  tliirty-five.  The  measure  was  again  vetoe<l,  but 
it  had  now  })een  passed  twice,  though  not  in  a  strictly  unaltered 
form,  as  the  word  ^itaUtvuniMercn  was  changed  to  stat^miniMrctie, 
because  of  the  creation  of  tlie  new  office  of  minister  of  state  for 
Norway.  In  the  elections  of  1877  tlie  Liberals  were  again  victorious, 
and  the  bill  was  passed  a  second  time  in  an  unchanged  form  with 
increased  majority,  but  it  was  jiromptly  vetoed  as  before.  The 
political  cani])aigns  grew  more  intensely  bitter,  and  the  leaders  of 
botli  parties  did  their  utmost  to  rally  their  adherents.  The  leading 
Conservative  organ,  "  iNIorgenbladet, "  was  predicting  a  change  in 
the  situation.  The  hdnder,  it  was  claimed,  were  awakening  to  see 
that  Sverdrup  was  guiding  tlieni  along  patlis  leading  to  a  republic 
and  socialism  ;  they  would  soon  turn  and  support  the  Conservative 
party.  But  tlie  election  of  ISSO  resulted  in  a  new  victory  for  the 
Liberals,  and  the  ])ill  for  seating  the  ministers  was  passed  a  tliird 
time,  with  ninety-tliree  votes  against  twenty.  Since  the  Moderates, 
and  even  some  of  the  Consers'atives,  joined  the  Liberals  in  voting 

1  Up  till  190"),  whon  Norway  was  separatoil  from  Sweden,  tlie  N'orwofrian 
ministry  eonsisted  of  two  hranelies  :  The  division  in  Stockholm,  consistinff 
of  a  minister  of  state  and  two  t)ther  ministers,  and  the  Xorwe^ian  cahinot 
in  Christiania.  at  lirst  headed  by  tho  xtalholih  r.  When  that  ofliee  was  ahoj- 
ished,  the  oflice  of  minister  of  state  for  Norway  was  eroatod.  This  new 
official  received  the  same  rank  as  tho  minister  of  state  in  Stockholm,  and  was 
the  head  of  the  ministry. 


536  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

for  the  measure,  it  was  evident  that  the  reform  was  supported  by  a 
general  pubUc  sentiment.  But  the  Stang  ministry,  which  paid  no 
heed  to  the  will  of  the  people,  again  caused  the  bill  to  be  vetoed. 
The  same  day  that  the  veto  was  announced  to  the  Storthing,  the 
president,  Johan  Sverdrup,  submitted  a  resolution  that  since  the 
measure  had  been  passed  in  an  unchanged  form  by  three  separate 
Storthings,  it  should  be  declared  law  without  the  king's  sanction, 
and  that  it  should  be  sent  to  the  ministry  to  be  proclaimed  as  law 
in  the  manner  prescribed  for  constitutional  amendments.  The  resolu- 
tion was  passed  June  9th  by  a  large  majority.  But  this  only  pre- 
cipitated a  new  issue  regarding  the  extent  of  the  king's  veto  power. 
The  constitution  provides  that  a  bill  passed  in  an  unchanged  form 
by  three  successively  elected  Storthings  becomes  a  law  without  the 
king's  signature ;  but  this  measure  was  a  constitutional  amendment, 
and  the  constitution  did  not  explicitly  state  that  such  a  measure 
could  become  law  without  royal  sanction.  To  the  resolution  passed 
by  tlie  Storthing  on  June  9th  the  ministry  returned  the  answer  that 
since  the  bill  had  not  been  sanctioned,  and  had,  therefore,  not  be- 
come a  part  of  the  constitution,  it  could  not  be  proclaimed  as  such. 
The  question  regarding  the  king's  veto  power  in  cases  of  consti- 
tutional amendments  had  been  answered  in  different  ways  by  the 
best  authorities.^    The  constitutional  committee  of  1824  with  the 

1  Among  those  who  thought  that  the  king  had  absolute  veto  in  cases  of 
amendments  to  the  constitution  were :  T.  H.  Aschehoug,  Norges  nuvcerende 
Statsforfatning,  vol.  II.,  p.  231,  first  edition.  Statsminister  Stang,  Om  den 
kongelige  Sanctionsret  efler  Norges  Grundlov.  Professor  Ludvig  Daae,  who 
characterized  the  resolution  of  June  9th  as  revolutionary,  in  a  speech  de- 
livered at  Ramnaes,  September  29,  1883.  Johannes  Berg,  who  defended 
Selmer  and  his  colleagues  in  the  impeachment  trial,  Den  nye  Statsskik,  Tillid 
til  Johan  Sverdrup.  L.  Raknerud,  Sanktionsretten  i  Grundlovssager  og  den 
politiske  Situation.  H.  L.  Rydin,  Unionen  och  Konungens  Sanktionsratt 
i  norska  Grundlagsfragor. 

Among  those  who  opposed  absolute  veto  may  be  mentioned :  H.  N. 
Stenbueh,  professor  of  jurisprudence,  Bemerkninger  over  Norges  Grundlov, 
Trondhjem,  1815.  P.  P.  Flor,  President  of  the  Lagthing,  Bemerkninger  over 
de  paa  Sdie  ordentlige  Storthing  1821  Jremsatte  Konstitutionsforslag,  Dram- 
men,  1823.  Professor  Fredrik  Stang,  Systematisk  Fremstilling  af  Kongeriget 
Norges  konstilutionelle  grundlovshcstemte  Ret,  Christiania,  1833.  H.  H.  Foss, 
member  of  the  Storthing,  member  of  the  cabinet,  etc.,  Angaaende  de  til 
Afgjdrelse  paa  7de  ordentlige  Storthing  Jremsatte  Konstitutionsforslag  og  hvad 
der  om  samme  offentlig  er  ytret,  Christiania,  1833.     Ole  Munch  Raeder,  Den 


II  OSr.VH    II.       TIIK    VKTO    QlTKSTION  b'SJ 

learru'd  jurist  Clir.  Kroli^  as  chairrium  had  t-xpn-sscd  tlic  ojjiruon 
tJuit  thr  kiiij;  must  l»c  rcj^ardcd  as  jxissessiii^  absolute  veto  in  castas 
of  constitutional  ainciidnients.  And  in  an  address  to  the  king  of  the 
same  year  tlie  Stortliin^  itself  had  expresse<l  tlie  same  view,  saying: 
"The  National  Legislature  admits  tliat  your  Royal  Majesty  possesses 
an  absolute  veto  in  eases  of  amendments  to  tlie  constitution."  Hut 
Jonas  Anton  Iljclni  held  that  the  king  had  no  such  power,  reland 
and  Sverdrup  were  of  the  same  oj)iiii()ii.  and  Stang  in  his  work  on 
the  constitution,  "Sy.stemati.sk  Frem.stilling  af  Kongeriget  Norges 
constitutionelle  eller  grundlovsbestemte  Ret,"  IS'S.i,  held  that  in 
constitutional  amendments,  as  in  case  of  other  bills,  the  king  had 
only  a  suspensive  veto.'  The  king  retpu'sted  the  faculty  of  the 
department  of  law  of  the  University  of  ("hristiania  to  submit  an 
opinion  on  the  veto  question,  and  with  only  one  mcmixr  dissenting 
they  stated  tliat  according  to  tlieir  understanding  of  tlie  consti- 
tution it  could  not  be  amended  witliout  tlie  king's  sanction.^     But 

norske  Stalsforfatni?ig.s  Ilistorie  og  VcEsen,  Copenhagen,  1841.  A.  S.  Orsted, 
loading  Danish  jurist,  and  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  Denmark,  P.  K. 
Gaardor,  jurist,  Fortolkning  over  Grundlovcn  og  de  ^irige  Love  som  dnnne 
NorgvN  liigr.s  njffentlige  Ret,  Christiania,  184.5.  S.  Jaabajk,  Den  hpieate  Magi 
i  Stolen,  Mandal,  1883. 

'  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  politiskc  Historie  1815-1885,  p.  634. 

*  Slh.  Prp.  No.  SO  (1881)  anganende  Kongens  Sanktinnsrel  ved  Grundlovit- 
forandringer.  Ovi  Kongens  Sanktionsret,  Uddrag  af  del  juridiske  Fakultcls 
Belrenkning  af  23de  Marls,  1881 . 

N.  L.  Bra^kstad,  The  Constilulional  Crisis  in  Norway,  London,  1883. 
Olo  Ring,  I m^degaaelse  af  Velobela-nkningen,  Christiania,  1881.  C.  Winter- 
Hjolm,  professor  of  jurisprudenfo,  Om  G'rundlovcns  Priuciper  og  den  Aand 
hvori  dc  under  gjensidig  Hrgra^nsiiing  er  gjennemfdrle  i  dens  enkelle  liestemmelser, 
Christiania,  1803.  BjvlrnstjornP  Bj0rn.son,  Tale,  Om  Folkesuverwnitcten. 
Tale,  Om  den  norske  Forfatningskamp.  J.  BelshiMui,  lAdl  om  del  kongelige 
Magtomraadc  i  hvert  af  dc  forenede  liiger;  Mod  del  absolute  Veto,  Cdlalelser  af 
navnkundigc  Jurisler  og  Storlhingsmicnd  i  ccldre  Tid;  Om  Magtfordelingen  i 
Grundlovcn  og  mod  absolul   Veto. 

The  member  of  the  faculty  of  jurisprudence  of  the  University  of  Chris- 
tiania who  did  not  agree  witli  liis  colleagues  in  the  opinion  sul>niitted  was 
Professor  F.  Brandt.  He  dci-hircd  that  undiT  the  circumstances  he  wouhi 
agree  to  decide  in  favor  of  absohite  veto,  hut  lie  add«'d  that  he  found  the 
question  .so  doubtful,  and  the  rejusons  for  holding  that  the  king's  veto  in 
cases  of  constitutional  aniendments  wa,s  merely  susjMMisive  to  l>o  so  strong 
that  tlie  doubt  as  to  the  real  character  of  the  veto  ought  to  he  removed  by 
an  amendment  to  the  constitution.  Kampcn  mcUcm  Norges  Slorlhing  og 
Rcgjcring,  Aflryk  af  Dagbladel,  Christiania. 


538  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

after  all  had  been  said,  the  fact  remained  that  the  framers  of  the 
constitution  had  failed  to  state  what  the  power  of  the  king  should 
be  in  the  given  instance.  The  best  jurists  stood  divided,  some  claim- 
ing that  he  had  no  veto  power,  as  none  had  been  specifically  granted 
him,  others  inferring  that  he  had  absolute  veto.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances the  view  taken  by  Stang  that  he  had  a  suspensive  veto 
as  in  the  case  of  all  other  bills  might  have  been  accepted,  as  J.  E. 
Sars  suggests,  as  a  fair  compromise.  When  the  ministry  refused 
to  accept  this  view  of  the  situation,  and  assumed  an  uncompromising 
attitude  in  favor  of  absolute  veto,  a  deadlock  was  created  which 
could  only  be  broken  by  the  defeat  either  of  the  Storthing  or  the 
ministry',  and  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  one  or  the  other  of 
the  more  extreme  views. 

The  resolution  of  June  9th  had  scarcely  been  expected  by  Stang. 
He  realized  that  a  determined  struggle  would  be  waged  by  the  Stor- 
thing, and  as  he  was  getting  old,  and  feared  the  consequences  of 
the  impending  conflict,  he  resigned.  He  was  a  highly  gifted  man,  and 
in  his  long  public  career  he  had  rendered  his  country  eminent  serv- 
ice as  professor  of  jurisprudence,  as  la-^yer,  and  especially  as  head 
of  the  department  of  the  interior.  But  he  was  not  a  great  states- 
man. He  was  in  spirit  a  bureaucrat,  who  loved  to  be  shown  implicit 
obedience.  His  legal  learning  made  him  look  at  all  questions  from 
a  jurist's  point  of  view,  and  under  the  influence  of  his  conservative 
friends  he  had  developed  as  minister  of  state  a  decidedly  reactionary 
policy.  He  retired  from  office  with  all  outward  show  of  honor,  says 
Sars.  "  The  king  expressed  his  appreciation  of  the  valuable  services 
which  he  had  rendered  his  country  and  his  sovereign.  But  these 
and  other  honors  shown  him  could  not  conceal  from  his  own  contem- 
poraries, or  from  posterity,  the  fact  that  he  retired  from  office  as  a 
defeated  man,  whose  political  policy  had  miscarried,  because  it  rested 
on  erroneous  premises." 

After  Stang's  retirement  a  new  ministry  was  formed  by  C.  A. 
Selmer,  who  had  been  representative  in  the  Storthing  and  member  of 
the  Stang  ministry.  Hitherto  he  had  not  been  conspicuous  as  a  polit- 
ical leader,  his  only  special  qualification  being  his  stanch  adherence 
to  the  policy  of  Stang  and  "Morgenbladet,"  who  considered  it  to  be 
the  chief  object  of  the  cabinet  to  defend  the  royal  prerogatives. 


PI.ATK    XIX 


Cllll.     Al   (i.    SlM.MKK 


KMri.  Stam;. 


OSCAU    II. 


JOUANNKS    StKKN. 


Silia.N     .1  \  Vll.V.K. 


n  TUK    VKTO    QUESTION  539 

The  position  taken  by  the  Storthing  was  enthusiastically  suppcjrted 
by  a  Kreat  majority  of  tlie  people.  A  few  days  after  the  resolution 
of  June  9tli  had  been  passed,  many  thousands  marched  to  Sverdrup's 
residence  and  thanked  him  for  his  great  service.  Throu^h(tut 
the  coimtry  the  representatives  wlio  had  \()ted  for  the  resolution 
received  a  joyous  welcome,  and  were  lauded  by  the  press  and  at 
public  political  meetings.  The  ninUi  of  June  became  for  a  time  a 
national  lioliday.^ 

Instead  of  attempting  to  allay  the  controversy  between  ministry 
and  Storthing,  Selmer  pursued  a  narrow  bureaucratic  policy  which 
only  aggravated  the  situation.  In  1878  a  bill  was  passed  transferring 
the  power  of  apjiointiug  Unwunonul  from  the  amtviand  to  the  hrrrcd- 
ntyre,  a  very  timely  and  useful  reform,  but  the  measure  was  vetoed. 
Other  controversies  also  arose  which  served  to  increase  the  hostility 
between  ministr\'  and  Storthing.  In  ISSO  the  Storthing  instructed 
the  committee  on  military  affairs  to  i)repare  a  i)lan  for  a  new  army 
organization  to  be  submitted  to  tlic  next  session,  but  the  ministry 
claimed  that  committees  of  the  Storthing  could  not  continue  tlieir 
work  between  sessions,  and  refused  to  pay  tlie  allowances  granted 
the  members.  In  1868-1809  a  commission  had  been  appointed  to 
propose  plans  for  the  extension  of  the  suffrage,  but  when  a  bill  was 
finally  passed,  in  1881,  proposing  to  restrict  male  suffrage  only  by  a 
slight  property  qualification,  the  measure  was  vetoed.  The  following 
year  an  appropriation  bill  was  passed,  granting  financial  aid  to  the 
folkevaebningssamkig,  or  skytterlag,  a  national  organization  of  rille 
clubs,  aiming  at  training  tlie  people  in  the  use  of  firearms.  But 
also  tliis  measure  was  vetoed,  as  it  was  feared  that  the  rifle  clubs, 
organized  for  tlie  purjwse  of  strengthening  tlie  national  defense, 
were  the  beginning  of  a  parliamentary  army  created  for  tlie  sake  of 
supporting  the  Storthing  in  ease  of  emergency.  A  bill  ]>rovi(ling 
for  a  central  railway  commission,  six  members  of  which  should 
be  apjiointed  by  the  Storthing,  was  sanctioned  in  part,  but  the  last 
clause,  describing  in  what  manner  the  members  should  be  chosen,  was 
vetoed.  It  was  evident  tiiat  the  dictatorial  attitude  of  the  ministr>', 
if  allowed  to  pass  iwichallenged,  wouKl  <lestroy  the  prestige  and 
impair  the  power  of  the  Storthing.     Not  only  had  the  ministers 

*  Erik  Vulluin,  F^lgcrne  af  den  Ode  Juni. 


540  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

undertaken  to  settle  by  their  own  fiat  the  mooted  question  of  the 
king's  veto  power  in  cases  of  constitutional  amendments,  but  the  veto 
had  been  extended  even  to  bills  of  appropriation,  and  had  been  used 
in  a  way  which  would  make  the  crown  the  supreme  power  in  all 
affairs  of  government.  Instead  of  being  the  servants  of  the  people, 
carrying  out  the  behests  of  the  national  legislature,  the  ministry 
had  become  the  representatives  of  the  king,  who  regarded  the  will 
of  the  people  as  a  hostile  force,  which  had  to  be  checked  and  curbed 
in  order  that  the  royal  prerogatives  might  be  preserved.  If  a  system 
should  be  allowed  to  develop,  under  which  the  executive  department 
should  arrogate  to  itself  the  power  of  successfully  resisting  the  will 
of  the  people,  expressed  by  its  chosen  representatives,  the  principle 
of  democratic  government  would  be  destroyed.  The  royal  preroga- 
tives, which  might  constantly  be  enlarged  by  inference  and  cabinet 
interpretation,  would  be  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  a  constitution, 
which  in  doubtful  cases  would  be  given  the  preference  over  the 
written  fundamental  law.  Progress  was  hindered,  and  the  efficiency 
of  the  administrat  on  greatly  reduced  by  the  continual  rivalry  be- 
tween the  executive  and  legislative  departments.  True  develop- 
ment would  demand  that  the  king  and  the  ministry  should  cease  to 
stand  in  opposition  to  the  people ;  that  the  executive  and  adminis- 
trative department  should  become  the  organ,  not  of  the  will  of  the 
ruler,  but  of  the  sovereign  will  of  the  people,  in  harmony  with  the 
constitution.  By  vesting  in  the  Storthing  the  power  of  impeachment, 
which  might  be  used  against  any  minister  who  pursued  a  course 
deemed  to  be  inimical  to  the  interests  of  the  country,  the  men  of 
Eidsvold  had  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people  a  weapon  which  had 
already  been  used  on  several  occasions  against  recalcitrant  members 
of  the  cabinet.  This  sword  might  again  have  to  be  used  to  sever 
the  Gordian  knot,  but  before  resorting  to  so  drastic  a  measure  the 
leaders  of  the  Liberal  party  would  place  the  issue  before  the  country 
at  the  next  election,  1882.  The  king  arrived  in  Christiania,  and  in 
a  speech  from  the  throne  he  openly  censured  the  Storthing  for  its 
attitude  on  the  veto  question.  The  excitement  throughout  the 
country  grew  very  intense,  and  the  campaign  became  one  of  the 
stormiest  ever  witnessed  in  Norway.  The  Liberal  leaders  —  Johan 
Sverdrup,  Johannes   Steen,  Bj0rnstjerne  Bj0mson,  and  other  able 


II  THK    VKTO    grF.STl(»\  5-U 

speakers  —  urged  the  peoj)!!-  to  rally  to  the  drfnise  of  their  pohticjil 
rights,  and  to  suj)i)ort  tlie  resohition  of  June  \iih.  As  tlie  suffrage 
was  restricted  to  Umdowners,  many  who  on  this  account  were  dis- 
franchised secured  the  riglits  to  vote  by  aetjuiring  title  to  marshy 
and  otherwise  useless  land.  By  thi*  Consi-rvativt's  they  were  ealh'd 
in  derision  fagot-voters  {mijriiurnd)}  The  Liberals  won  a  dceisive 
victory,  returning  eighty-tliree  members  to  the  Storthing  whilr  the 
Conser\'atives  secured  only  thirty-one  seats.  But  even  after  this 
overwhelming  defeat,  the  ministry  showed  no  inclination  to  resign. 
Impeachment  was,  therefore,  the  sole  remaining  constitutional 
remedy  to  which  the  Storthing  could  resort.  The  precaution  was 
taken  to  choo.se  only  Liberals  to  the  Lagthing,  and  on  March  30, 
1883,  a  measure  was  introduced  in  the  Odelsthing  instituting  impeach- 
ment proceedings  against  the  members  of  the  cabinet  for  having 
advised  the  king  to  veto  a  bill  passed  by  three  Storthings,  and  for 
refusing  to  promulgate  the  bill  as  law  upon  the  request  of  the  Stor- 
thing. As  the  constitution  provides  tiiat  the  king  is  blameless,  and 
that  all  responsibility  falls  upon  his  ministers,  they  alone  could  be 
called  to  account.-  An  attempt  to  negotiate  a  compromise  Ix'tween 
tlie  ministrv'  and  the  leaders  of  the  majority  in  tlie  Storthing  failed. 
The  Conser\'atives  were  unw  lling  to  agree  to  the  retirement  of  the 
ministrA',  and  demanded  that  the  L  berals  should  concede  nearly 
every  point  in  the  controversy,  among  other  things  that  they  shojild 
accept  the  theory  of  the  king's  absolute  veto.  Such  a  demand  left 
no  room  for  compromise,  and  the  bill  of  impeaclmient  was  passed 
with  fifty-three  votes  against  thirty-two,  April  23,  1883. 

The  impeachment  proceedings  began  May  ISth  befon^  the  liigarct, 
a  trii>unal  consisting  of  thirty -<'ight  members,  i.e.  nine  judges  of 
the  High  Court  of  Justice,  and  the  members  of  tlie  Lagthing  num- 
bering   twenty-nine.^     The    accused    used    their    right    to   challenge 

'  K.  Ivous,  Dct  radikalc  Parti  og  M ijrmnndsvcrscnet .  RJ0rnstjornoBJ0rn«on. 
Om  Folkvs\ivcr(rnitvlcn  eUer  del  norskc  Folks  Ilu.tbond.snt,  1SS2. 

'Jjikob  Sverdrup,  }finiKl(rnnsrarlighcdfn  og  Rigsrrlltn,  Sctravtryk  af  Vc*/- 
landsfxhsli  ti,  lH><i. 

'  liigsirtlen,  dina  Sammrusa-tniug  og  forfatningsmcrssigc  \fyndighcd.  Chris- 
tiania.  1880.  HartviK  Lasson,  Del  radikale  Parti  og  fiigsrctten.  G.  Blom. 
Merc  om  del  radikale  Parti  og  Rigsretten.  Haakon  Ixikon.  .\findrr  frn  Riga- 
retstiden.     Yngvar  Nielsen,  Under  Oscar  II's  Rcgjering,  p.  22*2  ff. 


542  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

and  dismiss  one-third  of  the  members.  The  remaining  twenty-six 
conducted  the  trial,  which  lasted  till  Febriiars'  18,  1884.  All  the 
ministers  were  found  guilty.  The  minister  of  state,  J.  A.  Selmer, 
was  dismissed  from  office,  and  had  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  trial.  His 
associates,  Vogt,  Holmboe,  Helliesen,  Jensen,  Munthe,  and  Bachke, 
were  dismissed  from  office.  Johansen,  who  in  1880  had  opposed 
the  veto  of  the  measure  in  question,  and  Chr.  Schweigaard  and  Hertz- 
berg,  who  had  become  members  of  the  ministry  after  the  measure 
was  vetoed,  escaped  with  a  fine. 

For  some  time  after  the  decree  had  been  rendered,  the  greatest 
excitement  prevailed,  as  it  was  rumored  that  the  king  would  disre- 
gard the  decision  of  the  court.  In  the  London  "  Pall  Mall  Gazette  " 
a  correspondent  writes,  October  10,  1883 : 

"Rumors  have  reached  England  that  the  decision  of  the  tribunal 
now  engaged  in  trying  the  Norwegian  ministry  —  in  case  the  verdict 
should  be  the  dismissal  of  the  ministers  from  their  office  —  will  be 
set  aside  or  disregarded,  and  that  the  king  will  express  his  confidence 
in  the  ministers,  and  retain  them  in  his  Council,  or  that  he  may  even 
appoint  a  new  Conservative  ministry.  But  surely  this,  in  a  consti- 
tutional country,  is  the  first  step  towards  revolution,  and  I  cannot 
believe  the  Executive  entertains  such  treasonable  designs.  This 
court  is,  unquestionably,  a  national  tribunal,  and  the  judgment 
there  expressed  is  the  will  of  the  people,  which  history  teaches  us  it 
is  not  well  to  tamper  with.  A  coup  d'etat  on  the  part  of  the  king 
has  also  been  spoken  of,  and  more  than  once  recommended  by  the 
Conservative  papers  in  the  country.  It  is  surely  too  late  in  the  day 
for  any  constitutional  king  to  think  of  forcing  an  absolute  veto,  which 
is  now  really  the  bone  of  contention,  upon  his  people  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  and  if  the  Norwegians  do  not  belie  their  traditions, 
there  seems  but  little  chance  of  success  for  the  king,  if  he  were  to 
attempt  to  thwart  the  national  will  by  force  of  arms.  The  Norwe- 
gian people,  who  in  1814  took  the  bold  and  resolute  step  of  standing 
up  for  their  liberty,  and  declaring  themselves  a  free  and  independent 
nation,  may  in  the  present  year  of  grace,  or  whenever  occasion  de- 
mands it,  prove  themselves  as  valiant  as  their  forefathers  to  defend 
their  liberty.  All  the  reports  circulated  about  a  rupture  with  Sweden, 
tlie  object  of  the  majority  in  the  Storthing  to  establish  the  republic, 
and  about  civil  war,  may  be  entirely  overlooked. 


II  TlIK    VKTO    urEfiTION  543 

"The  uiixit'ty  displaNwJ  hy  the  (.\)ns<Tvative  press  of  tlie  oouiitr}' 
at  the  prospect  of  a  cliaiiKc  of  tlie  ministry  is  ahnost  ainusiiiK  to 
Englislumn,  Nvho  have  become  pretty  accustoiiitd  to  sueli  political 
vicissitudes;  tJiese  reactionary  organs  preilict  tin-  ruin  of  the  couiitr>' 
if  the  Liberals  were  to  win  the  day,  and  the  country  he  hlessed  witli 
a  ministry  who  would  work  in  hannony  and  good  earnest  witli  tlie 
people's  representiitives.  If  the  Norwegian  people  will  have  a 
Liheral  niiuistry,  let  the  kin^  hy  all  means  apj)oint  such  a  one.  Surely 
tlie  well-known  honorahle  and  sedate  character  of  the  Nonvegians 
is  more  tlian  sufficient  guarantee  tliat  the  welfare  and  the  liberty 
of  the  country  will  be  as  zealously  guarded  in  such  an  evt-nt  as  by 
any  Conservative  ministry'." 

Man>'  strange  acts  on  the  part  of  the  government  increased  the 
excitement,  and  gave  further  support  to  the  belief  that  tlie  decision 
of  the  court  of  impeachment  would  not  be  respected.  It  liecame 
known  that  Selmcr  had  presided  as  minister  of  state  after  the  decision 
of  the  court  had  been  rendered.  It  was  rumored  that  loaded  can- 
nons were  mounted  on  tlie  fortress  of  Akershus,  and  that  tlie  anny 
rifles  belonging  to  the  national  troops  in  many  places  had  been  ren- 
dered useless,  for  fear,  as  it  was  said,  of  a  rebellicnis  uprising.  But 
this  nervous  alarm  was  finally  allayed  when  on  Marcli  lltli  the 
king  dismissed  Selmer  in  obedience  to  the  decision  rendered  by  the 
court.  The  Storthing  had  won  the  battle.  Its  supreme  authority 
could  no  longer  be  questioned,  nor  could  it  be  doubted  that  tlie  parlia- 
mentar>'  system,  according  to  wKwh  the  cabinet  niiLst  cooperate 
with  the  majority  in  the  legislative  assembly,  or  retire,  would  hence- 
forth be  carried  out  in  practice.  The  king,  it  is  true,  did  not  recog- 
nize this  principle,  and  appointed  a  new  Conservative  ministry  headed 
by  Emil  Stang,  leader  of  the  Conserv'ative  party.  But  the  Storthing 
continuetl  to  follow  up  its  victory.  The  bill  regarding  tlie  appoint- 
ment of  lensuurnd,  which  had  been  vetoed  in  1S7.S  and  18S1.  wjus 
passed  a  third  time.  The  ministt-r  of  the  war  department,  Dahl. 
and  his  successor.  Muntlie,  were  sumnu)ned  before  the  Storthing  to 
ex])lain  the  strange  occurrences  in  tluir  department  at  the  time  of  tlie 
trial  of  Selmer  and  his  colleagues.  The  Liberal  majority  demanded 
of  the  new  ministry  that  tliey  should  promulgate  as  law  tlie  bill 
regarding  the  seating  of  tlie  ministers,  according  to  tlie  resolution 


544  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

of  June  9th,  and  that  the  decision  of  the  court  of  impeachment 
should  be  accepted  in  all  its  parts.  If  this  was  not  done,  impeach- 
ment proceedings  would  immediately  be  instituted  against  them. 
The  Stang  ministry,  finding  that  they  could  not  resist  the  majority 
in  the  Storthing,  resigned.  The  king  now  requested  O.  J.  Broch 
to  form  a  coalition  ministry,  but  this  attempt  failed,  and  he  advised 
the  king  to  intrust  the  task  of  forming  a  new  ministry  to  the  Liberal 
leader,  Johan  Sverdrup.  A  compromise  was  agreed  upon,  and  Sver- 
drup  formed  a  Liberal  ministry  which  quickly  settled  the  pending 
issues.  The  appropriations  to  the  rifle  clubs  were  sanctioned ;  so 
also  the  bill  providing  for  a  change  in  the  method  of  appointing 
lensmcend.  The  bill  providing  for  a  central  railway  commission  was 
also  signed  without  any  modification.  But  with  regard  to  the  bill 
providing  for  the  seating  of  the  ministers,  which  involved  the  ques- 
tion of  the  king's  veto  power,  a  compromise  was  arranged.  The 
measure  should  again  be  introduced  in  the  Storthing  with  the  addi- 
tional clause  providing  that  members  of  the  cabinet  should  be  made 
eligible  to  the  Storthing  from  districts  in  which  they  do  not  reside. 
The  bill  was  introduced  by  Levins  Smitt,  and  was  promptly  passed  and 
sanctioned.  On  July  2,  1884,  the  Sverdrup  ministry  took  their  seats 
in  the  Storthing,  and  were  bidden  welcome  by  President  Johannes 
Steen.     The  parliamentary  principle  had  been  formally  recognized. 

65.   Further  Development  of  the  Norwegian  Literary  and 
Cultural  Renaissance 

The  great  political  struggles  stirred  the  Norwegian  people  to 
intense  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  roused  them  to  a  new  national 
life.  During  the  exciting  conflicts  waged  for  the  defense  of  their 
liberty  and  independence  they  had  become  active  participants  in 
events  which  involved  their  most  vital  social  and  national  interests. 
The  newborn  independence  had  brought  increased  privileges  and 
opportunities,  but  it  had  also  made  new  demands  on  the  vigilant 
intelligence  of  the  individual.  Every  boy  had  begun  to  consider 
himself  a  politician ;  in  every  household  the  conversation  centered 
on  the  great  issues,  the  popular  political  leaders,  the  technical  points 
in  the  all-absorbing  controversy.     Business  interests  and  economic 


II  hp:\iuk  ihsk.v  FA'} 

qiU'stioMs  wen*  pushed  into  the  hack^roiiiKl.  From  year  to  year 
tlie  mind  followed  the  deej)euiii^  conflict  with  anxious  fascination,  or 
joyous  controversial  interest.  The  poets  who  lived  through  tills 
exciting  period  as  young  men  and  j)olitical  leaders  imhilu'^l  tiie 
strongly  realistic  spirit  and  love  for  the  solution  of  great  problems, 
the  distinguishing  features  of  the  intellectual  as  well  as  of  the  polit- 
ical life  of  the  age.  At  first  they  had  heen  influenced  by  romanti- 
cism. They  had  stood  in  romanticism  to  the  waist,  as  Brandes 
says  of  Ibsen.'  Hut  tlie  age  of  vague  symbolism  and  sentimental 
ballads  had  jiassed,  and  they  developed  under  the  influence  of  the 
national  conflict  a  modern  novel  and  drama  dealing  with  social  and 
psychological  j)rol)lems.  Ibsen  and  Bjornson.  who  were  the  founders 
of  the  new  realistic  school,  were  soon  joined  ])y  their  great  contem- 
poraries Jonas  Lie,  Alexander  Kielland,  and  Arne  Garborg.  In 
"Peer  Gynt"  Ibsen  makes  the  visionary  romanticist  tlie  mark  (jf 
his  sui)erb  satire.  Peer,  the  gifted  dreamer,  never  accomplishes 
anything,  never  even  attempts  it.  He  goes  tlirough  life  waiting 
for  good  luck  to  perform  the  miracle  of  making  him  great.  A  more 
wortliless  caricature  of  a  man  has  never  stirred  an  audience  to  laugh- 
ter, but  even  tlie  mirth  is  tinged  witli  sadness.  The  trifling  with 
life's  most  solemn  duties,  the  dreamy  hallucinations  of  greatness  in 
the  midst  of  poverty  and  indolence,  the  wasting  of  gifts  and  oppor- 
tunities, the  ludicrous  self-centered  egotism  which  destroys  his  soul 
and  his  hapi)iness.  because  he  refuses  to  contribute  to  the  happiness 
of  others,  become  a  i)rot"ound  tragedy  when  viewed  against  tlie  back- 
ground of  the  struggling  and  suffering  wliich  surround  him.  So 
useless  are  the  romanticists  in  this  practical  world  of  ours,  Ibsen 
would  say.  This  j)hilosoj)hy  that  the  i)oet.  the  artist,  tlie  great 
man  is  a  divinely  inspired  individual  who  does  not  need  to  exert  him- 
self, who  triumphs  by  virtue  of  his  genius,  which  is  thrown  like  a 
witch's  dowry  into  his  cradle,  is  destroyed  with  one  fell  stroke.  In 
"The  Pretenders"  and  "Brand"  Ibsen  had  already  set  up  another 
philosophy,  in  which  he  makes  tlie  will  and  the  character  the  centnil 
forces  in  life,  thi^  true  source  of  greatness.     Success,  or  even  grtnit- 

'  Georg  Brandos.  Ucnrik  Ibsen.  Honrik  .Iirjror.  Urnrik  Ibsen  og  hana 
Verker.  Anatlioii  Aal,  Ifmrik  Ibsen  als  Dirhter  und  Denktr.  Just  Bing, 
Norskc  Digit  og  Digtrre.     Honrik  Jaeger,  Sorske  Forfatlerc. 

VOL.    H  —  2  N 


540  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

ness  itself,  is  not  a  gift  which  luck  drops  into  the  lap  of  the  indolent ; 
it  is  a  trophy  won  by  the  one  who  has  the  resolute  will,  the  courage 
to  conquer.  Life  is  a  perpetual  conflict  between  things  as  they  are 
and  as  they  ought  to  be.  Into  this  conflict  we  must  all  enter,  and  as 
a  strong,  undaunted,  truth-loving  character  is  the  only  true  quali- 
fication for  a  useful  life,  so  an  indolent  and  compromising  spirit 
is  the  source  of  our  undoing.  Brand  raises  the  demand  of  "all  or 
nothing."  You  must  not  compromise  with  sin  and  injustice.  You 
must  do  what  is  right  to  the  full  extent  of  the  demand  of  the  divine 
law.  The  will  is  the  main  thing.  "Willingly  and  joyfully  you 
must  suffer  every  anguish,"  says  Brand  to  Agnes,  and  when  she  feels 
her  inability  to  fulfill  such  a  demand,  and  leans  her  head  upon  his 
shoulder,  he  consoles  her  by  saying :  "  That  you  can't  will  be  for- 
given, but  never  that  you  lack  the  will."  In  "The  Pretenders"  he 
shows  the  conflict  between  the  doubting,  hesitating,  plotting  Skule 
Jarl  and  the  upright  and  self-confident  King  Haakon.  Both  desire 
to  accomplish  great  things.  Achievements  are  their  fascination. 
The  ability  to  do  great  deeds  they  regard  as  the  true  worth  of  life, 
the  measure  of  success.  "Who  is  the  greatest  man?"  asks  Bishop 
Nikolas.  "The  one  who  is  the  most  courageous,"  replies  Skule. 
"So  says  the  chieftain,"  answers  the  bishop.  "A  priest  would 
say  the  most  pious,  a  sage  would  say  the  most  learned,  but  it  is 
neither  of  them,  Jarl.  The  happiest  man  is  the  greatest.  The 
happiest  is  he  who  does  the  greatest  deeds,  he  to  whom  the  demands 
of  the  age  come  like  a  passion,  and  create  in  him  thoughts  which  he 
cannot  understand,  points  out  to  him  the  way  which  he  does  not 
know  whither  it  leads.  But  he  must  continue  on  the  way  until 
he  hears  the  people  shout  for  joy ;  and  he  looks  about  with  staring 
eyes,  wonders,  and  realizes  that  he  has  done  a  great  deed."  This  is  a 
characterization  of  Ibsen  himself  and  of  his  age.  In  his  epigrammatic 
sentences,  into  which  he  has  compressed  fundamental  truths  regard- 
ing life,  character,  personality,  truth,  right,  the  mission  of  the  indi- 
vidual, we  find  expressed  the  spirit  of  the  age  which  waged  war 
against  oppression,  desired  a  life  of  freedom,  solved  great  problems, 
and  assailed  with  youthful  vigor  the  crmnbling  bulwarks  of  antiquated 
political  and  social  ideas. 
The  old  social  forms  in  Norway  did  not  conform  to  the  new  polit- 


IM.A'I'K    XX 


e 


L 


IIknUIK     lltsKN 


II  BJpllXSTJERNE    liJ^RNSO.V  547 

icftl  \<\ons,  neither  did  tluy  meet  the  wants  of  the  kind  of  personality 
which  Ihseti  and  liis  contemporaries  demanded.  Sechite  respecta- 
bility and  decorous,  time-hononnl  fonns  from  which  lon^  since  all 
spirit  had  fled  served  as  a  cloak  of  hypocrisy  and  dishonesty.  Old 
prejudice  stood  in  the  way  of  the  recojjnition  of  talent  and  ability; 
closer  scrutiny  revealed  falsehood  and  hidden  corrui)ti{jn  in  all  rela- 
tions of  life.  Against  this  spiritual  weakness  and  moral  depravity 
in  high  i)laces  as  in  low  the  great  writers  declare<l  relentless  war  in 
tlieir  social  dramas  and  novels.  Society  was  to  be  purged  of  its 
falschof)d  and  corruption;  the  life  of  tlie  community  as  of  the  indi- 
vidual should  be  based  on  truth  and  purity;  the  relations  in  love, 
marriage,  home,  and  state  shoiildJie_rendert?drsacred,  not  by  con- 
ventional forms,  but  by  true  aflfection,  chastity,  and  honesty.  In 
social  as  in  political  life  there  was  need  of  men  and  women  who  could 
do  great  deeds.  Only  through  a  regeneration  of  society  could  the 
development  of  free,  moral,  intt-lllgcnt  personalities  become  possible. 
Every  phase  of  life  was  scrutinized  by  Ibsen's  searching  eye  in 
"Love's  Comedy,"  "The  Pillars  of  Society,"  "A  Doll  House." 
"Ghosts,"  "An  Enemy  of  the  People,"  and  the  whole  list  of  his 
modern  social  dramas.  Bjdrnson  ceased  writing  idyllic  descriptioru 
of  country  life,  and  turned  his  attention  to  social  j)r()blems.  In  his 
novel  "Magnhild,"  in  whicii  he  treats  of  woman's  position  in  married 
life  and  the  mission  of  the  individual,  both  scenery  and  people  have 
assumed  somber  traits  which  remind  us  of  Ibsen's  "  lirand  "  rather 
than  of  "Synn0ve  Solbakken."  It  has  all  tlie  characteristic  features 
of  the  new  philosophizing,  reforming  realism,  and  in  his  succeetling 
works,  as  "The  New  System,"  "Leonarda,"  "A  Mitten."  "\ 
Bankruptcy,"  etc.,  he  deals  with  various  features  of  social  and  moral 
life  with  great  dramatic  force. 

Among  the  great  masters  of  this  period  no  one  excelled  Alexander 
Kiellaiid  in  elegance  of  style  an<l  mastery  in  narrative  and  character 
painting.  At  thirty  he  wrote  his  first  novel,  and  at  forty  his  literary 
career  was  closed,  but  during  this  short  period  of  ten  >ears  he  en- 
riched Xorwegian  literature  with  a  series  of  masterpieces  in  which 
he  sharply  attacked  the  prevailing  social  wrongs.  About  his  first 
novel,  "Garmann  and  Worse, "  Henrik  Jaeger  writes  : '   "This  son  of 

^  Illuslreret  norgk  Liltirnturhutorie,  vol.   III.,  p.  Ml   (T. 


548  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

a  Stavanger  patrician,  who  for  a  number  of  years  had  been  manager 
of  some  tile  works,  had  early  discovered  the  fatal  contrast  in  modern 
society  between  capitalist  and  laborer;  the  contrast  between  the 
fortunate  ones  who  sleep  in  their  soft  beds,  and  those  who  never 
sleep  on  anything  but  chaff  and  straw ;  the  contrast  between  those 
who  have  a  taste  for  oysters  and  champagne,  and  can  satisfy  their 
taste,  and  those  who  during  their  whole  life  never  learn  to  know 
what  oysters  and  champagne  are,  who  are  condemned  to  live  on 
the  shady  side  of  life ;  the  contrast  between  that  which  is  fine,  but 
can  be  simple,  and  that  which  is  simple  and  still  may  be  fine;  the 
contrast  between  opulence  and  want,  between  wealth  and  poverty; 
the  contrast  between  those  who  dance  on  the  floor,  and  those  who 
cause  the  same  floor  to  tremble  with  the  hatred  of  millions;  the 
contrast  between  those  who  are  buried  with  the  singing  of  hymns  and 
the  tolling  of  bells,  and  those  who  are  buried  as  paupers  about  in 
the  same  way  that  a  dead  cat  is  put  into  the  ground,  only  with  the 
difference  that  in  the  former  instance  the  minister  speaks  a  few 
words  at  the  grave.  About  these  contrasts  Kielland  speaks  in  his 
first  novel.  His  attacks  on  vice  and  corruption  are  often  very  severe, 
but  he  never  stoops  to  anything  coarse  or  indelicate."  Professor 
J.  E.  Sars  says :  "The  works  of  Alexander  Kielland  are,  as  all  know, 
singularly  free  from  everything  coarse  and  impure.  In  his  de- 
scriptions he  never  attempts  to  unduly  stimulate  the  senses,  nor  does 
he  ever  overstep  the  boundaries  which  the  strictest  modesty  may 
draw.  His  satire  is  unusually  sharp  and  poignant,  but  it  is  never 
directed  against  anything  but  falsehood  and  humbug,  the  vicious 
and  ridiculous,  which  without  controversy  ought  to  be  removed  from 
the  positions  of  honor  into  which  it  has  been  able  to  climb.  His 
works  show  no  anti-Christian  tendency ;  on  the  contrary,  they  must 
be  said  to  reveal  a  deep  sympathy  with  the  genuine  spirit  of  piety 
and  an  appreciation  of  all  true  Christianity."  ^  Kielland  was  a 
novelist,  less  versatile  than  Bj0rnson,  but  no  less  a  master  in  his 
chosen  field.  In  popularity  as  an  author  he  is  only  excelled  by  Jonas 
Lie,  who  has  won  the  hearts  of  the  Norwegian  people  to  an  unusual 
extent.  Lie's  first  novel,  "The  Clairvoyant  "  ("Den  Fremsynte"), 
was  a  literary  triumph  which  suddenly  made  him  known  as  a  great 

^  Norges  Historic,  vol.  VI.,  2,  p.  12  ff. 


TLA  IK    .\.\I 


II  JONAS    LIK.       AR\E    CARBORG  549 

author.  From  the  (lc|)tl».s  of  his  mystic  mind  he  \uu\  hmiiKht  fortli 
cm*  of  the  hiu'st  {)icci's  of  art  in  narrative  Hterature.  He  be^an 
late,  as  he  was  slow  in  diseoverinj;  his  own  Uik'nts.  Hut  he  s<k)U 
captivated  the  wliole  North,  and  won  world-wide  fame  through  his 
matchless  sea-Udes,  "The  Pilot  and  his  Wife,"  "Rutland,"  and 
other  novels,  in  which  he  has  contrihuted  the  best  tliat  tlie  world 
literature  owns  in  that  fitld.  Thf  scope  and  true  greatness  of  his 
genius  reveals  itself  in  his  novels  dealing  with  family  life,  especially 
"The  Family  of  Gilje,"  in  many  ways  his  greatest  work.  The 
various  phases  of  social  life  he  has  treated  in  a  series  of  novels,  as 
"A  Life  Convict,"  "Alaisa  Jons,"  "Xiohe,"  and  other  works.' 

Arne  Garborg,  the  youngest  of  the  five  leading  authors  of  this 
period,  was  born  in  ISol.  He  is  a  deei)rand  original  thinker,  a 
doubting,  searching,  critical,  introspective  soul  of  the  type  of  Iy<-o 
Tolstoi.  "That  which  constitutes  myself,"  he  says,  " is  a  contempla- 
tor  in  ceaseless  hope  and  struggle,  with  a  faith  which  every  day  van- 
quishes doubt,  and  a  dt)ubt  which,  nevertheless,  pulls  tlie  founda- 
tion from  under  my  faith,  so  that  I  must  move  further  and  further 
upland  whenever  tiie  river  swallows  up  the  sod  which  I  believeil  to 
be  a  sure  foothold."  -  No  one  in  Norway  has  wielded  a  better 
pen,  and  no  one  has  been  his  superior  as  a  polemicist.  His  lyrical 
productions  have  a  rare  charm,  and  his  prose  writings  excel  in  bril- 
liant idiomatic  style  aiul  rare  dcscripti\'e  power.  Very  early  in 
his  career  he  chose  the  Lundsuuuil  as  his  literary  language,  but  his 
paper  "  Fedraheimi-n,"  which  began  to  appear  in  1877  in  tliis  language, 
lived  only  seven  years.  Later  he  founded  "  \)v\\  17de  .^Lli."  whiih 
has  become  one  of  the  leading  papers.  He  has  been  an  active  liln-ral 
politician  and  journalist,  intensely  interesttnl  in  every  public  issue. 
His  contributions  to  tiie  various  (piestions  of  the  day  would  fill 
volumes,  and  constitute  an  important  part  of  his  lit»'rary  work. 
In  some  of  his  best  books,  like  "  Koli)otnl)re\  "  and  "  Knudaheibrev," 
he  narrates  the  story  of  his  own  (piiet  family  life  in  his  humble  log 
cabin  among  the  lonely  inount^iins  of  Osterdalen  and  on  tlie  heatli- 
ery  heatlis  of  his  native  district  of  Jiederen.  In  tliese  channing 
narratives  he  has  achieved  the  highest  in  description  of  countrA  life 

'  Arne  Garborg,  Jonas  Lir.  P>ik  Lie,  Jonas  Lie,  Oplrvflsrr.  Jonas  Lu, 
et  Festskrift.  *  Ivar  Mortonseu.  Arne  Garborg,  p.  IKi. 


550  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

and  scenery.  But  his  musing  spirit  has  especially  dwelt  on  the  often 
ghastly  problems  of  social  life,  which  have  yielded  themes_for  works 
like  "Bondestudentar,"  "Tratte  Msend,"  "Fred,"  "Hjaa  ho  Mor," 
etc.  "Garborg  is  at  the  same  time  romanticist  and  rationalist, 
ascetic  and  a  lover  of  beauty,  ironist  and  believer.  As  author  and 
journalist,  politician  and  agitator  for  the  Landsmaal,  atheist  and 
Christian  advocate,  he  has  shown  tireless  flexibility  and  alertness. 
He  has  been  at  the  same  time  the  most  impressible  and  most  inflexible 
spirit  in  our  literature,"  writes  Reider  pksnevad.  He  manifested 
early  the  strong  will,  the  undaunted  courage,  and  self-confidence  of 
the  leader,  who  never  shrinks  from  the  conflict.  For  many  years 
he  was  the  recognized  head  of  the  Landsmaal  movement,  and  through 
his  intensely  national  spirit  he  became  an  inspiration  to  the  young 
people,  who  flocked  in  great  numbers  to  his  standard.^ 

These  great  authors  and  their  contemporaries,  like  Jon  Klaebo, 
Elias  Blix,  Kristofer  Jansen,  John  Lie,  Theodor  Caspari,  Peer 
Sivle,  and  others,  created  a  literature  which  gave  Norway  rank  among 
the  great  nations  in  the  field  of  higher  intellectual  culture.  The 
power  and  originality  of  this  literature  was  soon  recognized,  and  it 
has  exerted  a  great  influence  on  the  nineteenth  century  literary  art 
throughout  the  whole  world.  The  creative  Norse  mind,  freed  from 
political  and  social  obstructions,  has  again  given  the  nations  a  heri- 
tage equaling  that  of  the  Eddas  and  sagas  of  old. 

In  all  fields  of  intellectual  activity  the  creative  spirit  showered 
its  wealth  upon  this  age.  A  new  national  school  of  music  was 
originated  by  Norway's  greatest  composers,  Edward  Grieg,^  Johan 
Svendsen,  and  other  contemporaries,  and  in  painting,  a  new  realistic 
school  was  founded  by  J.  F.  Thaulow,  Christian  Krohg,  G.  Munthe, 
and  E.  Werenskiold.  In  sculpture,  Stephan  Sinding,  Vigeland,  and 
Utsond  have  won  great  fame.  In  the  various  branches  of  higher 
learning  the  same  productivity  and  originality  may  be  observed  as 
in  literature  and  art.  In  mathematics  Norway  has  twice  produced 
a  genius  whose  name  is  forever  linked  to  the  highest  achievements 
in  this  field.  The  first  was  Niels  Henrik  Abel,  who  died  in  1829,  less 
than  twenty-seven  years  old,  but  who  at  that  youthful  age  had  won 

^  Arne  Garborg,  T.  Mauland,  Hulda  Garborg,  and  others,  in  Syn  og  Segn, 
January,  1911.  *  Henry  T.  Finck,  Edward  Grieg. 


n  NEW    RrriDOU?    IN    ART    A.VD    BCIIOLAItHIlII'  .551 

world-wide  fame  as  one  of  the  ^'reatest  li^lits  in  the  field  of  mutlie- 
matics.'  'I'he  other  was  Sophus  Lie,  wlio  after  having  been  to>sed 
about  for  some  time  with  uncertainty  as  to  his  calhnK.  suddt-niy 
rose  to  greatness  as  a  mathematician.  "  Yet  in  1867  Lie  was  groping 
around  in  uncertainty  as  to  himself  and  his  destiny,"  writes  his 
bio^'rapher,  Hoist.  "Two  years  later  he  was  the  leader  among  tlie 
mathematicians  of  his  age.  Ever>-  new  work  was  like  a  stroke  of 
the  swoni,  which  won  new  territory  for  his  .scienc<',  and  new  renown 
for  himself  and  his  countrv.  His  mathematical  prmluctions  are 
ver>'  extensive.  In  his  chief  work,  "Theori  der  TraiLsfonnations- 
gnippen,"  in  three  large  volumes,  he  has  openeti  a  new  field  in  mathe- 
matical science.  In  ISSO  he  was  called  as  regular  professor  of  mathe- 
matics to  the  University  of  Leipzig,  but  in  l.VJt  tlie  Norwegian 
Storthing  offered  him  a  salarv  of  1(),()(M)  kr.  per  year  if  he  would 
return.     He  accepted  the  offer,  but  die^i  in   1899  in  Christiania. 

In  the  field  of  philology'  Sophus  Bugge  luis  won  world-wid«-  rep- 
utation. ()f  the  many  able  men  whidi  Norway  has  produce*!  in 
this  field  no  one  has  quite  equaled  him  in  renown.  His  ri*searches 
cover  nearly  all  phases  of  Indo-Gemianic  philology,  but  espwially 
important  are  his  interpretations  of  the  runic  in.scriptions,  his  theory 
regarding  tlie  origin  of  the  runic  alphabet,  and  his  work  on  tlie  origin 
of  the  Northern  myths,  "  Studier  over  de  nordiskeGude-  og  Heltesagns 
Oprindelse,"  which  has  created  a  new  epoch  in  the  study  of  Northern  \ 
mythology.  Bugge  opened  new  fields  of  research  in  Nortliern  historj' 
and  tradition.  Through  his  new  viewpoints  and  profound  scholarship 
he  fostered  an  intense  scholarly  interest  and  strictly  scientific 
methods,  and  contributed  much  to  the  awakening  of  a  national  s{)irit. 

A  most  tyi)ical  ex])onent  of  tlie  spirit  of  this  age  is  the  great  his- 
torian J.  E.  Sars,  one  of  the  most  influential  lejulers  of  the  national 
liberal  movement.  The  founders  of  tlie  Nor\vegian  historical  school,  Ki 
II.  Keyser  and  P.  A.  Munch,  had  developed  a  .scientific  hi.storical 
research,  and  had  formulat(Ml  the  fundamentjd  tliet^ries  of  Nonve- 
gian  nationality,  on  which  l;it<r  historians  have  continueti  to  build. 
They  had  written  great  works  on  the  earlier  pericxls  of   Norwegian 

'  Nonimarid  i  dii  I ihlc  Aarhuiulridc,  .ViV/.s  11,  nrik  Ahrl.  Alwl's  works, 
edited  by  Sylow  and  Sophus  Lio,  were  published  in  the  French  langiia^i^o  in 
Christiania,  1881,  at  the  expense  of  the  govemmont. 


552  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

history,  but  a  systematic  exposition  of  the  national  development  of 
the  Norwegian  people  was  still  lacking.  All  the  older  historians 
had  regarded  the  history  of  Norway  as  consisting  of  two  parts,  to 
which  they  might  with  profit  devote  their  attention;  the  earlier 
period  up  to  the  time  of  the  Kalmar  union,  and  the  modern  period 
after  1814.  The  period  of  union  with  Denmark  was  regarded  as 
an  era  of  dependence  and  national  stagnation,  about  which  they 
preferred  to  keep  silent.  In  1834  Henrik  Wergeland  had  charac- 
terized the  situation  as  follows :  "  Modern  Norway  and  ancient 
Norway  appear  like  two  halves  of  a  broken  ring  which  fit  exactly 
together;  the  middle  period  is  but  the  bogus  soldering  which  we 
must  break  away  to  restore  the  genuine  parts."  This  view  was  cor- 
rect in  so  far  as  it  recognized  the  intimate  relation  between  ancient 
and  modern  Norwegian  culture,  but  it  was  wholly  erroneous  as  an 
explanation  of  the  historic  development  of  the  Norwegian  people. 
The  unbroken  continuity  and  general  character  of  this  development, 
the  national  warp  and  woof  in  the  whole  social  and  historic  fabric 
was  first  fully  shown  by  Sars  in  his  leading  work,  "  Udsigt  over  den 
norske  Historic."  Henrik  Wergeland  first  indicated  it  in  his 
"Norges  Konstitutions  Historic,"  but  Sars  made  it  the  basis  of  a 
new  interpretation  of  Norwegian  history.  He  showed  that  the 
Norwegian  people  in  early  times  did  not  consist  only  of  binder  under 
a  patriarchal  rule,  but  that  an  aristocracy  had  been  developed,  more 
powerful  than  that  of  Sweden  and  Denmark.  When  Harald  Haar- 
fagre  united  all  Norway  under  his  rule,  the  herser,  or  chieftains,  lost 
their  former  power,  but  the  struggle  between  the  kings  and  the  aris- 
tocracy continued  until  the  chieftain  class  was  destroyed.  When 
the  old  royal  line  died  out,  Norway  entered  the  union  with  Denmark 
without  a  warlike  aristocracy  strong  enough  to  be  the  leaders  of 
the  people.  Norwegian  society  had  become  democratic  at  a  time 
when  Sweden  and  Denmark  were  ruled  by  a  strong  warlike  aris- 
tocracy. This  explains  the  inferior  position  of  Norway  during  the 
period  of  union.  But  the  destruction  of  the  aristocracy  was  in  many 
ways  a  benefit  to  Norway.  There  was  no  longer  any  powerful  upper 
class  which  could  oppress  and  enslave  the  people,  as  in  Sweden  and 
Denmark.  The  hinder  retained  their  land  and  their  personal  free- 
dom.    Social  conditions  were  created  which  were  most  favorable 


I'l.AlK    XXII 


II  NEW    SniOOLS    IN    AHT    AND    sniDLAUSHIP  553 

to  a  national  developnifnt  alou^  new  lines,  and  when  the  modern 
era  dawned,  Xonvay  (luickly  outstripped  Denmark  and  Swe<len  iti 
the  development  of  demoeratie  soeial  conditions  and  frer  ]Militical 
institutions.  When  seen  in  tiie  i)roper  li^ht,  the  peri<xl  of  union  with 
Denmark  was  an  era  of  slow  iinuT  growth  whieh  shaped  conditions 
favoraijie  to  a  new  national  development.  The  apparently  sudden 
change  brought  about  in  IS  11  was  the  culmination  of  a  long  social 
evolution,  and  the  rapid  progress  made  by  the  Norwegian  people 
during  the  last  century  finds  its  explanation  in  conditions  which  had 
shaped  themselves  in  the  union  period.  The  political  development 
of  the  Norwegians  under  their  own  representative  government  after 
1814  is  treated  by  Sars  in  his  second  great  work,  "  Norges  i)olitiske 
Historic  1815-1885."  These  two  works  became  hou.sehold  b(M)k.-. 
in  Norway,  and  as  their  spirit  was  not  only  historical,  but  national, 
they  strengthened  the  patriotic  sentiment,  dispelled  the  Pan-Scandi- 
navian dream,  and  inspired  the  peoi)le  with  i)ride  in  their  own  his- 
tor>',  and  confidence  in  their  ability  to  restore  to  tlieir  kingdom  its 
ancient  glor\'.  What  the  Norwegian  historical  schtwl  had  begim, 
Sars  had  continued,  until  Norway  could  now  be  said  to  have  recovered 
the  once  lost  legacy  of  her  own  past  history. 

The  national  develoj)ment  had  also  awakened  new  interest  iti 
popular  and  higher  education,  and  the  improved  schools  in  ttirn 
became  the  intellectual  arsenals  which  equipjjed  the  people  with 
new  ideas  and  mental  force  for  tlie  solution  of  their  cultural  prob- 
lems. (Jreat  stimulus  was  given  popular  education  by  tlie  folk- 
high-schools,  which  began  to  flourish  in  the  seventies.  The.se  .schools 
were  l)uilt  in  the  coimtry  districts  for  the  use  of  the  rural  population, 
and  were  organized  according  to  tlic  i)lan  originated  in  Denmark 
by  N.  F.  S.  Grundtvig.  They  represented  a  strong  patriotic  move- 
ment, and  are  in  reality  not  high-schools  in  any  sen.se  of  tlie  word. 
Their  aim  is  not  to  im|)art  instruction  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  tlie 
pupil  learned,  but  to  awaken  intellectual  life,  to  kindle  interest  by 
lectures  on  history  and  literature  and  the  study  of  tlie  niotlier  tongue. 
Classical  and  foreign  languages  are  banished.  There  are  no  fixtti 
courses  of  study  and  no  examinations.  The  pupils  attend  at  inter- 
vals, especially  during  the  winter  months,  when  they  have  time, 
usually  one  or  two  winters.     It  was  found  tliat  long  courses  of  study 


554  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

often  monopolize  the  attention  and  interest  of  the  young  people; 
hence  short  periods  of  attendance  are  preferred,  as  the  school  is  to 
fit  them  for  a  successful  life  in  their  own  home  environment.  Great 
stress  is  laid  especially  on  the  development  of  character  and  per- 
sonality. Christopher  Bruun,  one  of  the  leaders  of  this  movement 
in  Norway,  writes :  "  As  Norway  has  received  her  great  poets,  so 
we  hope  that  she  may  receive  her  great  statesmen,  great  thinkers, 
great  warriors,  —  if  they  should  be  needed,  —  great  spirits  in  all 
fields.  But  what  we  especially  desire  is  men  who  know  how  to  work 
for  a  cause,  not  only  for  wife  and  children,  who  understand  how  to 
sacrifice  for  it,  to  fight  for  it,  and  carry  it  to  victory.  Even  if  we  do 
not  lack  such  strong  men  nowadays,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  they 
are  few  enough,  and  that  we  need  many  more.  The  education  which 
our  young  people  receive  in  our  higher  schools  cannot  produce  such 
a  spirit.  They  learn  a  number  of  things  which  are  worth  little,  but 
of  that  which  is  most  important  they  learn  little  and  learn  it  poorly."  ^ 

The  folk-high-schools  have  exerted  a  very  beneficial  influence, 
but  as  they  are  private  schools,  their  number  has  always  been  limited. 
In  1877  the  government  took  steps  to  organize  a  system  of  secondare 
schools  for  the  young  people  of  the  rural  districts.  These  were  of 
two  kinds,  the  evening  schools  and  the  amt  schools,  supported  partly 
by  the  government  and  partly  by  the  local  districts. 

In  1865  a  new  school  commission  was  created  with  Hartvig  Nis- 
sen  as  chairman,  and  as  a  result  of  the  labors  of  this  body,  the  school 
law  of  1869  was  passed,  creating  a  new  system  of  secondary  schools. 
The  middelskole,  or  higher  public  school,  with  a  course  covering  a 
period  of  six  years,  was  opened  for  children  between  the  ages  of  nine 
and  fifteen  years  who  had  finished  the  grades  of  the  primary  public 
schools.  By  the  law  of  1896  this  course  was  shortened  to  four 
years.  The  middelskole  prepares  for  the  gymnasium,  where  the  regu- 
lar course  covers  a  period  of  three  years.  A  reorganization  of  the 
public  school  system  was  effected  by  the  law  of  1889,  which  still 
forms  the  basis  of  public  school  organization  in  Norway,  though  it 
has  been  modified  by  later  legislation.^ 

•  Christopher  Bruun,  Folkelige  Grundtanker,  p.  137. 

*  W.  Rein,  Encyklopddisches  Handbuch  der  Pddagogik,  vol.  VI.,  p.  287  ff. 
Da\id  Allen  Anderson,  The  School  System  of  Norway,  Richard  Badger  Pub- 
lishing Company,  Boston. 


ri  THE    SVERDRLl'    MIMHTHY  555 

60.   The  Sverdrup  Ministry.     Norway  lnder  Parliamentauy 

Government 

Johau  Svcrdrup  formed  ii  iiiinistry  iiicliidinn  n  nuinlxT  of  the 
most  iiiftiieiitial  IJlx'ral  Irjuicrs.  Olc  Uicliter  hrcarm*  NOnvcuiuii 
minister  of  stale  in  StoekJinlm,  Ludvi^  Daae  minister  of  war,  Aimar 
S0renssen  minister  of  justice,  Sofus  Arctander  minister  of  tlie  in- 
terior, Baard  Ilaiigland  minister  of  finance,  Eiias  Blix,  noted  scholar 
ami  poet,  minister  of  education  and  clmrch  affairs,  and  Birder  Kildal 
minister  of  tlie  auditing  department.  AH  tliese  were  men  of  ability, 
who  enjoyed  tlie  full  confidence  of  the  people.  But  Sverdrup's  two 
nephews,  J.  Stang  and  Jakob  Sverdruj),  who  became  members  of 
tlie  Swedish  branch  of  tlie  ministry,  were  not  ver>'  prominent,  and 
enjoyed  no  special  confidence.  Their  appointment  was  looked  upon 
with  disfavor,  and  proved  to  be  a  mistake,  as  the  Liberals  favored 
the  able  and  jjopular  Johannes  Steen,  who  was  second  only  to  Svcr- 
drup himself  in  influence.  It  soon  became  evident  that  the  hitlierto 
prevailing  harmony  might  be  disrupted  f<»r  no  very  serious  reason. 
So  long  as  the  Lil)eral  j)arty  had  to  fij;ht  a  strong  and  detennined 
Conservative  opposition,  it  had  jiresented  a  united  front,  but  after 
this  opposition  had  been  almost  destroyed,  the  various  groups  which 
had  united  under  the  leadership  of  Sverdrup  might  cease  to  cooperate. 
Jaabff'k  .still  led  a  large  faction  of  the  bdndrr,  whose  favorite  issue 
was  economy  in  the  administration;  and  the  cliurdi  refonn  group, 
who  were  opposed  to  atheism  and  modern  European  itleas.  was 
growing  ver>'  strong  in  the  southwestern  districts.  The  first  seri- 
ous discord  between  these  factions  occurred  in  connection  witli  a 
proposal  submitted  to  the  Storthing  by  Bjornson  and  Jonas  Lie.  tliat 
Alexander  Kielland  should  receive  a  similar  jjoet's  salary  which 
had  already  been  grantetl  Bjornson,  Ibsen,  and  Lie.  There  could 
be  no  doubt  that  Kielland's  reputation  as  an  autlior  entitled  him  to 
this  recognition,  but  tlie  conmiittee  to  which  tlie  petition  was  referred 
considered  it  inadvisable  "to  give  official  sanction  to  a  liU'raiurc 
which  was  opj^osed  to  tlie  prevailing  views  on  religion  and  morality." 
When  tlie  measure  was  brought  up  in  the  Storthing  by  tlie  di^senting 
chaimian  of  the  committee,  it  was  defeatetl  by  a  small  majority. 
Bj0rnson  brought  the  matter  also  before  the  next  Storthing  in  1SS6, 


556  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

but  it  was  again  defeated,  as  a  faction  of  the  Liberal  party  voted 
witli  tlie  Conservatives.  Lars  Oftedal,  a  very  influential  clergyman 
from  Stavanger,  was  especially  active  in  opposition  to  this  measure, 
though  he  had  on  former  occasions  praised  Kielland's  works.  He  was 
leader  of  the  church  reform  group,  and  editor  of  "  Vestlandsposten," 
a  paper  which  had  gained  considerable  circulation.  Jakob  Sver- 
drup,  member  of  the  ministry,  who  belonged  to  the  same  group, 
proposed  a  reform  by  which  the  congregations  were  to  receive  greater 
influence  in  the  administration  of  church  affairs.  Each  congrega- 
tion should  elect  a  council,  which  might  propose  a  candidate  for 
clerg>Tiian  in  case  of  vacancy,  and  might  grant  permission  to  others 
than  the  clergyman  to  speak  in  the  church.  This  was  a  purely 
administrative  reform,  but  Oftedal  and  his  group  sought  to  bring 
it  forward  as  a  general  issue,  on  which  a  new  Christian  Liberal 
party  could  be  organized  to  oppose  those  who  favored  atheism 
and  anti-Christian  views.  Christianity  and  morality  was  to  be 
associated  with  the  proposed  reform  as  a  campaign  issue,  but  in 
this  he  did  not  succeed,  as  all  other  factions  of  the  Liberal  party 
opposed  it. 

The  Sverdrup  ministry  entered  the  campaign  of  1885  on  the  issue 
of  parliamentary  goverrmient,  and  reforms  in  the  judicial  system, 
the  army,  the  administration,  and  the  public  school  system.  "Full 
confidence  in  Johan  Sverdrup"  became  the  campaign  cry  which 
carried  the  Liberal  party  to  victory.  Wlien  tlie  Stortliing  assem- 
bled, Sverdrup  controlled  a  safe  majority,  and  he  secured  the  adop- 
tion of  the  proposed  plan  for  a  new  army  organization  as  well  as  the 
passage  of  a  bill  providing  for  the  introduction  of  the  jury  system, 
July  1,  1887.  Other  important  measures  might  have  been  carried 
through  but  for  the  attempt  to  establish  the  church  reform  proposed 
by  Jakob  Sverdrup.  This  had  aroused  bitter  opposition,  and  the 
larger  part  of  the  Liberal  party  were  in  favor  of  postponing  the  matter 
for  a  time.  Johan  Sverdrup  himself,  however,  insisted  on  present- 
ing the  bill  to  the  Storthing.  It  was  already  too  late  to  consider 
it  at  that  session,  but  when  it  was  brought  up  in  1887,  it  was  rejected 
almost  unanimously.^  As  the  bill  had  been  originated  by  a  member 
of  the  cabinet,  its  overwhelming  defeat  raised  tlie  question  if  the 

'  A.  M.  St.  Aretander,  De  Sverdrupske  Ministerkriser. 


II  THK    SVEKDIlUi'    MINISTRY  557 

ministry  should  rosiRn.  Three  ministers,  Astrup,'  Aretandor,  and 
Kildiil,  (U'nianded  tlmt  Jakob  Sverdrup,  who  liad  originated  the  hill, 
should  retire,  hut  the  otlier  inemhers  did  not  consider  tliis  neeessar>'. 
The  niinistrs'  mi^ht  remain  unehanKed,  they  thouf^ht,  as  the  hill 
was  not  a  leadinj^  measure,  on  whieh  they  harl  all  united.  Jakoh 
Sverdrup  did  not  retire,  and  tlie  tliree  tendered  their  resignation. 
They  were  })ersuaded,  however,  to  remain  in  office  until  the  matter 
could  be  brought  before  tlie  next  session  of  the  Storthing,  when  the 
question  of  j)arliamentary  principles  would  be  discussed.  The 
Liberal  majority  in  the  Storthing  j)rej)ared  to  question  tlie  ministry 
in  regard  to  its  attitude  to  these  principles,  but  a  majority  of  the 
ministers  had  agreed  that  no  definite  answer  should  be  given.  To 
this  course  Astrup,  Arctander,  and  Kildal  would  not  agree,  and  they 
retired  from  the  mitiistry.  Blix  also  resigned  a  few  days  later.  To 
the  questions  of  the  Liberal  majority  as  to  his  position  regarding 
parliamentary  i)rincii)les,  Johan  Sverdruj)  returned  only  evasive 
answers,  but  he  promised  to  reconstruct  the  ministry  in  harmony 
with  the  Liberal  majority,  such  as  he  considered  tliat  majority  to 
be  constituted.  A  split  had  already  taken  place  in  the  Liberal  i)arty. 
Against  tlie  supporters  of  Sverdrup,  who  called  themselves  National 
Liberals,  or  Moderate  Liberals,  stood  the  Pure  Liberals,  led  by  Johan- 
nes Steen.  The  confidence  in  SNcrdruj)  was  shaken,  and  when  he 
reconstructed  his  ministry  by  appointing  as  members  many  who  had 
not  been  prominent  in  political  affairs,  the  prestige  of  tlie  old  chief- 
tain rapifll>'  waned.  The  Pure  Liberals  demanded  tliat  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  parliamentarA'  system  should  be  carried  out,  and  Sver- 
drup's  great  reputation  could  no  longer  shield  him  from  att^ick, 
when  it  became  evident  that  he  had  forsaken  these  principles,  which 
had  been  the  issue  in  the  wholi>  {)olitical  conflict.  The  tragic  death 
of  Ole  Hichter,  Nor^vegian  minister  of  state  in  Stockholm,  incrcjustxl 
tlie  ill-will  against  the  ministrA-.  He  had  opposed  Sverdrup's  Pie- 
ties in  the  church  reform  (piestion  and  the  manner  in  which  tlie  mini.s- 
trj'  had  been  reconstructed,     lie  held  tliat  the  position  of  the  ministry- 

'  When  Ludvifj  Dane  retired  from  the  ministry  in  .\pril.  ISSTy,  the  depart- 
ments of  war  and  navy  were  united  into  oiu>  depart niont  of  defense,  and  H. 
R.  Astrup  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  new  department  of  labor  which  was 
now  created. 


558  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

was  untenable,  that  by  remaining  in  office  they  violated  the  parlia- 
mentary principles,  which  they  had  made  their  main  issue.  Cir- 
cumstances had  forced  him  into  opposition  to  his  chief,  but  he  was 
unable  to  break  off  all  relations  with  him,  and  resign.  The  attempt 
to  cooperate  with  a  ministry  with  which  he  could  no  longer  agree 
involved  him  in  contradictory  courses  of  action  which  rendered  the 
situation  unbearable.  He  finally  resigned,  June  6,  1888,  bid  fare- 
well to  his  colleagues,  and  was  going  to  return  home.  But  before 
leaving  Stockliolm  he  committed  suic  de  in  his  hotel.  This  news 
caused  a  great  sensation,  and  the  Pure  Liberals  attempted  to  over- 
throw the  Sverdrup  ministry  by  a  vote  of  lack  of  confidence,  but 
the  motion  brought  was  not  considered,  because  of  the  approaching 
elections.  In  1888  the  Conservatives,  led  by  Emil  Stang,  secured 
fifty-one  seats,  the  Pure  Liberals  thirty-eight,  and  the  Moderate 
or  National  Liberals,  who  supported  the  ministry,  only  twenty-two. 
It  was  evident  that  Sverdrup  no  longer  enjoyed  the  confidence  of 
the  people,  and  in  the  face  of  so  overwhelming  a  defeat  he  ought  to 
have  retired.  But  he  preferred  to  remain  in  power,  and  was  able 
to  do  so  for  a  time,  as  the  Conservatives  gave  him  their  support, 
not  because  they  agreed  with  their  old  adversary,  but  because  they 
might  derive  some  advantage  from  prolonging  the  life  of  the  minis- 
try. Finally,  on  June  26,  1889,  the  Conservative  leader,  Emil 
Stang,  proposed  a  vote  of  lack  of  confidence  in  the  Sverdrup  ministry, 
and  Sverdrup  and  his  colleagues  resigned  before  the  resolution  was 
put  to  a  vote.  A  Conservative  ministry  was  now  formed  under  the 
leadership  of  Emil  Stang.  The  split  in  the  Liberal  party  had  become 
permanent,  and  the  two  Liberal  groups  waged  a  bitter  fight  against 
one  another.  The  Pure  Liberals  were  especially  acrimonious  in 
their  attacks  on  Johan  Sverdrup,  whom  they  regarded  as  a  renegade- 
The  intense  party  feeling  led  them,  as  Sars  says,  "  not  only  to  greatly 
misjudge  Sverdrup,  who  despite  his  weakness  and  errors  must  be 
regarded  as  one  of  Norway's  greatest  men,  but  they  slandered  their 
own  party,  and  threw  a  dark  shadow  upon  its  past  history."  Johan 
Sverdrup's  public  career  was  now  closed.  In  1891  he  was  elected 
representative  to  the  Storthing  from  Stavanger  ami,  but  he  died 
before  the  session  opened,  February  17,  1892. 
The  parUamentary  principle  had  gained  undisputed  recognition. 


II  NOUWAY    UNDER    P.VRLIAMENTAIIY    GOVERNMENT  5o9 

By  tlu'  proposed  vote  of  hick  of  confidence  in  the  Sverdruj)  njini;itr)' 
the  C'onservative  leader  himself  had  accepted  the  view  that  no  niini»- 
try  can  remain  in  power  without  the  support  of  the  ujajority  in  the 
Storthing,  Many  of  the  great  issues,  hke  the  abohshing  of  the  office 
of  Mathuldcr,  tlie  iiitrochiction  of  tfie  jur}'  system,  tlie  extension  of 
the  suffrage,  tlie  reform  of  the  school  system,  etc.,  had  also  been 
carried  through  before  tlie  Liberal  party  had  been  swept  froni  power. 
But  one  difficult  (juestion  yet  remained  unsettled,  that  of  Norway's 
equal  rights  with  Sweden  in  dealing  with  diplomatic  and  foreign 
affairs.  According  to  existing  provisions,  the  Cabinet  Council  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  which  should  deal  with  di])lomatic  matters  affecting 
botli  countries,  should  consist  of  the  Swedish  minister  of  state  and 
one  other  member  of  the  Swedish  cabinet,  together  with  the  Non\'e- 
gian  minister  of  state  in  Stockliolm,  or,  in  case  of  his  inability  to 
be  present,  another  member  of  the  Xonvegian  ministry  in  Stockholm. 
In  1885  the  Swedish  Kigsdag  changed  the  Swedish  constitution  in 
such  a  way  as  to  disturb  this  relation,  without  conferring  with  tlie 
Norwegian  government.  According  to  this  change,  Sweden  should 
have  three  members  in  the  Council  to  Nonvay's  one,  and  the  diplo- 
matic affairs,  which  had  hitherto  been  reported  by  the  king,  should 
be  reported  by  the  Swedish  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  This  was 
such  an  undisguised  attem])t  to  treat  Norway  as  a  dependency  tliat 
the  Swedish  government  saw  tlie  necessity  of  taking  steps  to  jjrevent 
a  new  union  controversy.  The  Swedish  mini-ster  of  justice  i)roposed 
in  a  joint  session  of  tlie  Swedish-Norwegian  ministrj'  in  Stockholm 
that  NorAvay  should  be  rei)resente(l  in  the  Council  by  two  ministers. 
But  tliis  attemi)t  at  com])romise  stranded  on  the  protests  from  the 
Norwegian  members,  who  opj)osed  tlie  consideration  of  a  purely 
Norwegian  affair  in  joint  session. 

After  tlie  king  had  sanctioned  the  measure  passt'd  by  tlie  Kigsdag. 
he  proposed  that  the  relative  number  of  Swedish  and  Norwegian 
members  in  the  Cabinet  Council  for  Foreign  Affairs  should  be  fixed 
by  a  new  clause  to  be  added  to  tlie  Act  of  Tnion.  The  Xonvegian 
ministers  in  Stockholm.  Ole  Uichter  and  Jakob  Sverdnip,  i)roposcd 
tliat  the  Council  should  consist  of  six  members,  tliree  from  each 
kingdom.  To  tliis  plan  tlie  Swedish  ministr>-  a)nsented,  with  the 
understanding  that  the  Swedish  minister  of  foreign  affairs  should 


560  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

report  all  joint  diplomatic  matters,  a  condition  which  the  Norwegian 
ministers  accepted.  \Vhen  the  plan  was  proposed  to  the  Storthing, 
it  caused  prolonged  and  animated  debate.  It  was  clear  that  the 
relative  number  of  members  in  the  Council  was  not  the  main  feature 
of  tlie  measure,  for  Swedish  supremacy  would  be  virtually  con- 
ceded by  making  the  Swedish  minister  joint  minister  of  foreign 
affairs.  This  feature  of  the  measure  was  vigorously  opposed.  Johan 
Sverdrup  said  at  the  time :  "  The  amendment  which  is  to  be  inserted 
in  our  constitution  must  not  be  made  to  depend  on  the  action  of 
Sweden  as  to  whether  the  proposed  measure  will  become  a  part  of 
the  Act  of  Union.  It  has  its  own  value,  and  it  will  produce  conse- 
quences which  are  unavoidable."  When  the  matter  was  brought 
up  in  the  joint  ministry  in  1886,  the  Swedish  members  demanded 
that  the  Swedish  minister  should  be  made  joint  foreign  minister, 
but  to  this  the  Norwegian  members  refused  to  agree.  On  June  21st 
the  Storthing  passed  the  following  resolution : 

"In  accordance  with  repeated  and  concordant  declarations,  by 
which  former  Storthings  have  upheld  Noru^ay's  equal  rights  with 
Sweden  in  the  union,  the  present  session  of  the  Storthing  ex- 
presses the  conviction  that  the  Norwegian  people,  in  loyalty  to 
the  king  and  country,  will  defend  the  rights  and  honor  of  the 
kingdom,  and  support  the  government  and  the  Storthing  in  their 
efforts  to  secure  for  Norway  the  share  in  the  administration  of 
foreign  affairs  which  rightfully  belong  to  her  by  virtue  of  her  posi- 
tion as  an  independent  kingdom  placed  on  equal  footing  with  Sweden 
in  the  union." 

In  1891  the  Stang  ministry  reached  an  understanding  with  the 
Swedish  government,  and  a  new  proposal  was  submitted.  The 
question  as  to  whether  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  should  be  a 
Swede  or  a  Norw'egian  should  this  time  be  omitted,  and  should  be 
settled  by  later  negotiations,  a  provision  which  led  the  Swedish  Rigs- 
dag  to  reject  the  plan,  as  they  thought  that  too  great  concessions 
had  been  made  to  the  Nonvegians.  When  it  was  brought  up  in 
the  Storthing,  the  Liberal  leader,  Carl  Berner,  proposed  the  following 
resolution :  "  In  accordance  with  declarations  of  earlier  Storthings, 
the  present  session  of  the  Storthing  maintains  Nor^vay's  equality 
with  Sweden  in  the  union,  and  the  right  of  the  kingdom  to  manage 


II  DEMAND    VOli    A    SEPARATE    CONSUL.Ul    SERVICE  561 

its  own  foriM^n  affairs  in  a  manner  warrantoil  In-  tlu*  constitution ; 
and  expresses  the  confident  belief  tliat  tin*  Nonvej^ian  peoj)Ie  will 
never  agree  to  an  arrangement  which  rna>  i)rove  a  hindrance  to  the 
exercise  of  Xonvay's  full  rights  on  tliis  j)oint."  The  resolution  was 
passed  by  fifty-nine  votes  against  fifty-five,  both  groups  of  tlie  Liberal 
party  supportnig  it,  and  the  Stang  ministn*'  immediately  resigned. 

67.   The  Demand  for  a  Separate  Xorwegun  Foreign  Ofhce 

A\D  CoNsriAU  Service 

When  Eniil  Stang  and  his  colleagues  resigned,  a  new  ministry' 
was  fonned  by  Johannes  Steen,  leader  of  the  Pure  Liberals,  IsyL 
It  was  clear  that  the  chief  problem  awaiting  solution  was  the  ques- 
tion regarding  the  administration  of  Norway's  foreign  affairs.  Recent 
events  had  shown  that  no  attempt  to  strengthen  Sweden's  position 
in  the  union  could  succeed,  as  Norway  resolutely  demande<l  complete 
independence  in  all  matters  not  designated  as  union  affairs.'  That 
the  Norwegians  desired  to  get  their  own  minister  of  foreign  affairs 
was  well  understood  by  tlie  Liberal  leaders,  but  tliey  were  uncertain 
as  to  what  extent  this  desire  should  })e  made  the  issue  in  the  coming 
campaign.  The  platform  drafted  by  the  Pure  Liberals  in  Chri.s- 
tiania  contained  clauses  advocating  universal  suffrage,  the  abolition 
of  the  office  of  viceroy  of  NorAvay  to  which  the  king's  oldest  son 
could  be  appointed,  the  organization  of  the  administration  of  Norwe- 
gian foreign  afi'airs  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  it  under  control  of  the 
Norwegian  government,  etc.  But  in  spite  of  tlie  hesitation  of  the 
leaders  the  question  of  a  separate  Norwegian  foreign  department 
became  the  leading  issue,  and  the  Pure  Liberals,  who  had  been  a 
minority  when  the  new  ministry  was  organiz(xl,  secured  a  safe  ma- 
jority in  the  next  session.  A  bill  passed  by  tlie  Stortliing  abolish- 
ing tlie  office  of  viceroy  was  sanctioned  by  tlie  king,  June  30.  1891, 
but  this  was  a  measure  of  secondary'  importance,     "^riie  (|ut^tion  as 

'  Otto  Varenius,  Den  gemensamme  Utenrigaminislern  och  Likstdllighrtcn. 
Rudolf  Kjellfin,  i'nionen  sddan  den  skapades  och  sUdan  dm  blifit.  I  Vten- 
rigsministerfrdgan.  V denrigssl\/ret  hislorisk  frem.'<tiUet.  H.  L.  Bnrkstad, 
The  Norwegian  Swedish  Contest,  a  Reply  to  Constance  Suiclijfs  article  " Scan- 
dinaina  and  her  King,"  in  The  Fortnightly  Review  of  Ootobor,  1807.  I. 
noodstrom,  I'nionen  och  U nionsdocumenten :  Sverigeoch  Norges  U triktstyreUe. 
VOL.  II  —  2  o 


562  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

to  what  the  ministrj^  should  do  in  regard  to  a  separate  Norwegian 
foreign  department  was  the  topic  of  all-absorbing  interest.^ 

The  Liberal  leaders  saw  that  although  the  people  desired  a  foreign 
minister,  it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  carry  such  a  measure  at 
that  tune,  as  it  would  be  opposed  by  the  Conservative  party  as  well 
as  by  Sweden.  Instead  of  raising  so  difficult  an  issue,  the  Steen 
ministry  re'solved  to  make  the  more  modest  demand  for  a  separate 
Norwegian  consular  service,  about  which  it  could  not  be  success- 
fully urged  that  it  was  a  union  affair.^  This  was  a  matter  of  vital 
importance,  as  it  affected  Norway's  economic  interests  in  a  most 
direct  way.  Norway  contributed  41  f  per  cent  of  the  joint  expenses 
for  consular  and  diplomatic  service,  but  her  trade  interests  were  often 
poorly  cared  for.  The  two  kingdoms  were  to  a  large  extent  com- 
mercial rivals,  and  as  all  consuls  were  appointed  by  the  Swedish 
government,  many  salaried  consuls  were  kept  in  places  where  Nor- 
way had  no  use  for  them,  and  in  many  places  where  Norway  had 
a  large  trade,  no  consuls  were  found.  Bernhard  Dunker,  a  strict 
Conservative,  wrote  in  1866,  that  the  past  twenty  years  had  proven 
the  advisability  for  each  kingdom  in  certain  instances  to  use  the 
right  to  appoint  its  own  consuls.  "But  Sweden,"  he  adds,  "has 
been  so  jealous  regarding  the  diplomatic  representation  in  foreign 
countries  that  there  could  never  be  a  question  of  appointing  Norwe- 
gian consuls  in  places  where  Norway  alone  has  commercial  interests. 
But  since  Norway's  commerce  is  now  twice  as  large  as  that  of  Sweden, 

1  Munch  Raeder,  Unionen  og  egen  Udenrigsminister.  Arne  Garborg, 
Norges  Selvstccndighetskamp,  p.  55  ff.  Det  norske  Venstre  fra  IS 84  til  1909, 
Ulenrigsminister-Sp^rgsmaalet,  Konsulatsaken.  L.  M.  B.  Aubert,  Norges 
folkeretslige  Stilling,  p.  214  ff.  J.  Belsheim,  Selvstcendighet  og  Union,  p.  51  flf. 
J.  Utheim,  Grundloven  om  Norges  Udenrigsstyre.  Marcellus,  Bidrag  til 
den  Skandinaviska  Unionens  Historia.  N.  Hoier,  Statsforbundet  mellan 
Sverige  och  Norge.     H.  C.  Berner,  Norsk  eller  fcelles  Udenrigsminister. 

*"  While  the  Act  of  Union  does  not  mention  the  consular  service,  the 
revised  Norwegian  constitution  of  November  4th  has  two  paragraphs  (22 
and  92)  which  show  that  the  consuls  were  to  be  regarded  as  purely  Norwe- 
gian officials."  Sigurd  Ibsen,  Unionen,  p.  149.  J.  Utheim,  Grundloven  og 
eget  Udenrigsstyre.  Fridtjof  Nansen,  Norway  and  the  Union  with  Sweden, 
p.  48  ff.  The  views  of  the  Conservatives  are  stated  by  Professor  Bredo 
Morgenstjerne,  in  Norges  nuvcerende  Statsforfatning,  vol.  I.,  p.  152  ff.  K. 
Nordlund,  Den  Svensk-Norska  Krisen,  p.  7  ff.  Oscar  AUn,  Unionskomi- 
t^ns  ResuUat.     Sigfried  Wieselgren,  Sammenslutning  eller  Skilsmdssa. 


II  DK.MAND    FOI{    A    SF.PARATF.    ((i\sri,\r<    SKR\  H  K  .^^3 

Norwegian  merchants,  shipowners,  and  seamen  have  always  desired 
consuls  in  some  phiccs  whore  Sweden  has  not  eoiisidcred  it  nerrs- 
sarj'  to  have  any."  *  At  tlie  request  of  the  Storthing  tlie  ministr>' 
appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  the  consular  ser\'ice  and  report 
on  the  necessity  of  separate  Nonvegian  consuls.  The  committee 
found  that  tlie  interests  of  Xonvay  demanderl  separate  consuls. 
But  the  Swedish  niinistrs-  declared  the  consular  service  to  be  a 
union  affair,  which  could  ])e  settled  only  by  mutual  agreement.' 
This  view  was  rejected  ])y  the  Storthing,  which  passed  on  March  1, 
1892,  a  resolution  introduced  by  Moursund,  declaring  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  separate  consular  service  to  be  a  purely  Xon\egian  affair 
to  be  settled  by  the  Norwegian  authorities,  though  the  conditions 
growing  out  of  the  existing  arrangement  had  to  be  adjusted  accord- 
ing to  nuitual  agreement.  The  department  of  the  interior  coiicurre<l 
in  the  findings  of  the  committee,  and  submitted  a  plan  for  separate 
Nonvegian  consuls  which  was  passed  by  the  Storthing.  The  min- 
istry advised  the  king  to  sanction  the  measure,  but  he  submitted 
instead  a  written  document  which  he  claimed  contained  his  opin- 
ion in  the  matter.  The  ministers  pointed  out  that  he  could  submit 
no  such  opinio!!  except  by  the  advice  of  his  cal)inet,  and  further 
action  was  postj)()ned  until  tlie  king  should  arrive  in  Christiania, 
when  he  would  discu.ss  the  measure  with  his  ministers.  After  his 
arrival  they  learned  in  a  private  inter\'iew  that  he  woulrl  not  sanction 
tlie  bill,  and  at  the  formal  meeting  of  the  ministry  they  tenderwl 
their  resignation.  They  consente<l,  however,  to  remain  in  office 
temporarily  until  a  new  ministry  could  be  organized.  Several 
attempts  to  fonn  a  new  ministry  failed,  and  the  Storthing  a<lvised 
Stcen  and  his  colleagues  to  accede  to  the  king's  request  and  remain 
in  office,  with  tlie  understanding  that  tJie  question  of  separate  con- 
sular service  should  remain  in  abeyance  for  a  time.  To  tliis  the 
ministry  consented,  on  condition  that  the  consular  question  should 
be  regarded  as  a  purely  Norwegian  atV.iir.  and  that  the  ministry 
might  bring  it  u])  at  any  time.  Both  the  Nonvegian  Storthing  and 
the  Swedish  Uigsdag  reniaincil  iirin  on  the  pending  issiie,  the  one 

*  B.    Dunker,    Orn    Rcrisiou    nf   Forcningsakten    mcUetn   Sverige    og    Sorgt, 
p.  151  f. 

•  H.  L.  Rj'din,  Anlekningar  om  den  nnrskn  Vtm^icrn.^  Union^polilik. 


564  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

holding  that  Norway  had  the  right  to  organize  a  separate  consular 
service  whenever  it  should  be  deemed  necessary,  the  other  asserting 
that  the  consular  service  was  intimately  connected  with  the  diplo- 
matic service,  that  it  was  a  union  affair,  which  could  only  be  settled 
by  mutual  agreement.  As  there  was  no  prospect  of  any  immediate 
change  in  the  situation,  and  as  the  king  still  refused  to  sanction  the 
bill  providing  for  Norwegian  consuls  when  it  was  again  proposed 
by  the  ministry,  Steen  and  his  colleagues  retired  from  office,  April  22, 
1893.^ 

It  would,  undoubtedly,  have  been  the  wiser  policy  for  the  Steen 
ministry  to  have  remained  in  oflBce  for  a  time  according  to  the  advice 
of  the  Storthing,  without  attempting  to  revive  the  question  of  separate 
consuls  before  the  elections  of  1894.  But  Steen,  who  was  otherwise 
a  very  able  leader,  showed  an  anxiety  to  act  in  harmony  with  the 
majority  which  approached  timidity,  and  made  him  the  servant 
instead  of  the  leader  of  his  party.  His  resignation  at  this  time 
made  it  impossible  to  form  a  ministry  supported  by  the  Liberal 
majority,  and  Emil  Stang  formed  a  Conservative  ministry,  "in  order 
to  avert  the  danger,"  as  he  explained  it,  "of  leaving  the  king  without 
advisers,  and  the  country  without  a  government."  Lack  of  support 
naturally  confined  the  work  of  the  new  ministry  to  routine  affairs, 
and  its  existence  was  threatened  from  the  outset.  The  Liberal 
press  attacked  it  with  bitterness  and  scathing  sarcasm,  claiming  that 
it  was  organized  in  opposition  to  parliamentary  principles  for  the 
purpose  of  helping  the  king  to  defeat  the  measure  for  a  separate 
Norwegian  consular  service.  In  the  Storthing  the  Liberal  majority 
met  them  with  undisguised  hostility.  Ullmann,  one  of  the  leading 
Liberals,  said  that  the  Stang  ministry  was  conceived  in  sin  and  born 
in  iniquity,  that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  and  that  the  ministry 
would  die  a  very  violent  death.  A  motion  of  lack  of  confidence  in 
the  new  ministry  was  immediately  passed,  and  a  resolution  was 
adopted,  stating  that  the  measure  passed  by  the  Storthing  regarding 
the  consular  service  w^ould  have  to  be  acted  upon  by  the  king  before 
the  close  of  the  fiscal  year.  A  bill  was  also  passed  July  3,  1893, 
providing  for  the  removal  of  the  union  sign  from  the  Norwegian 

1  C.  H.  Schweigaard,  Konsulatsagen  som  politisk  Middel.     Alfred  Mohn, 
Une  Page  d'Histoire  de  la  Civilisation  la  Suede  el  la  Revolution  Norwegienne. 


II  THE    STANG    MIMSTKY  5(35 

flap,  but  the  measure  was  vetoed  hy  the  king.  A  few  days  laU-r 
the  ajipaiiaj^es  of  the  kinj^  and  tlie  erown  prince  were  reduced  from 
:^3().()()0  kroner  and  SO.OOO  knjiier  resi)ectively  to  250.()(M)  and  :',().IMK) 
kroner,  and  tlie  aUowance  for  table  expenses  for  tlie  two  ministers 
of  state,  15,000  kroner  in  Stockholm  and  10,000  kroner  in  ('hri-,tiania, 
was  canceled.  Tlie  refusal  of  the  king  to  .sanction  the  bill  j>roviding 
for  a  separate  Norwegian  consular  service,  and  the  selection  of  a 
body  of  advisers  opposed  by  the  Liberal  majority  in  the  Storthing, 
created  an  intensely  hostile  feeling.  A  bill  was  passefl,  providing 
tliat  the  joint  consular  service  should  terminate  January  1.  I.s*.l5, 
and  the  budget  for  this  service  for  tlie  year  1893-1894  was  allowed 
only  on  the  condition  that  the  ministry  should  announce  to  the 
Swedish  govermnent  the  dissolution  of  the  joint  consular  system,  and 
should  submit  to  the  Storthing  a  plan  for  the  organization  of  a  sepa- 
rate Norwegian  consular  service,  liut  the  bill  was  not  sanctioned. 
The  money  for  the  consular  budget,  which  was  not  allowed,  because 
tlie  conditions  were  not  complied  with,  was  taken  from  the  fund  for 
incidental  expenses,  and  when  the  Storthing  passed  a  new  bill  with- 
drawing tlie  contribution  to  tlie  legation  in  Vienna,  tlie  king  decided, 
contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  ministry,  to  continue  that  legation, 
and  Norway's  share  of  the  expenses  was  to  be  advanced  by  Sweden. 
In  the  elections  of  1894  the  Pure  Liberals  secured  fifty-nine  seats, 
and  the  Conservatives  and  Moderate  Liberals  fifty-five.  The  vic- 
tory was  not  so  decisive  as  might  have  been  expected,  but  tlie  Stang 
ministry  immediately  retired  from  office.  They  had  accepted  their 
portfolios,  as  Stang  explained,  only  to  avert  the  danger  t)f  being 
without  a  government,  and  it  had  been  their  aim  to  attend  to  the 
routine  duties  only  until  the  election  could  br  held.  Their  inai»ility 
to  settle  tlie  pending  con.sular  issue  nnist  ha\f  bi-cn  e\  idcnt  to  all, 
and  the  accusation  that  they  attempted  to  i)revent  such  a  settle- 
ment, and  that  they  disregarded  the  parliamentary  principles,  was 
as  unjust  as  it  was  unfounded.  Stiing  had  already  shown  that  he 
was  in  full  sympathy  witli  parliamentary  practice,  and  he  again 
demonstrated  this  when  he  resigned  immediately  after  tlie  elections. 
The  vituperative  attacks  on  him  and  his  colleagues  by  tlie  Liberal 
press  and  the  majority  in  the  Storthing  only  harmed  the  Liberal 
cause,  as  it  was  evident  that  the  blame  for  the  unfortunate  situation 


566  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

could  not  attach  to  those  who  had  undertaken  the  burdens  of  gov- 
ernment only  until  the  people  could  get  the  opportunity  to  express 
their  opinion  through  the  election.  Stang's  statement  that  he  wished 
to  avert  the  danger  of  being  without  a  government  had  been  ridi- 
culed, but  after  his  resignation  it  soon  became  apparent  that  there 
was  real  danger  of  such  a  situation.  The  king  invited  the  Liberal 
leader  Steen  to  form  a  new  ministry,  but  attached  such  conditions 
that  Steen  refused.  Several  other  leaders,  both  Conservative  and 
Moderate,  were  approached,  but  no  one  found  that  he  was  equal 
to  the  task,  and  Stang  was  compelled  to  remain  in  oflBce  for  a  tinie 
against  his  wish.^ 

The  Swedish  Rigsdag  assumed  a  more  hostile  and  uncompromising 
attitude.  Bitter  expressions  were  indulged  in  both  by  the  Rigsdag 
and  by  the  Swedish  press,  and  it  was  urged  that  a  new  act  of  union 
would  have  to  be  adopted,  "  which  should  reconstruct  the  Norwegian 
constitution  on  a  safer  foundation,"  as  Charles  John  had  expressed 
it.  The  war  budget  was  doubled,  war  supplies  were  stored  in  large 
quantities  near  the  Norwegian  border,  and  troops  were  stationed 
in  the  border  provinces.  The  Swedish  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 
Lewenhaupt,  who  had  shown  a  disposition  to  extend  a  brotherly 
hand  to  the  Norwegians,  resigned,  as  it  appears,  according  to  the 
wish  of  minister  of  state  Bostr0m,  head  of  the  Swedish  ministry, 
and  in  his  place  was  appointed  the  uncompromising  Count  Douglas. 
Everything  indicated  that  there  was  grave  danger  of  an  open  rup- 
ture between  the  kingdoms.  Leading  Swedish  politicians  who  sjth- 
pathized  with  Norway  wrote  to  their  Norwegian  friends,  and  warned 
them  to  be  on  tlieir  guard  against  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  Swedish 
ministry.  One  prominent  Swedish  leader,  probably  Adolf  Hedin, 
wrote :  "  It  is  believed  that  the  government,  which  has  a  new  act 
of  union  in  its  pocket,  will  call  an  extra  session  of  the  Rigsdag. 
The  new  act  of  union  is  to  be  adopted  by  the  Rigsdag,  and  will 
then  be  submitted  to  the  Storthing.  If  Norway  remains  without  a 
government,  and  no  agreement  can  be  reached  with  the  majority 
in  the  Storthing,  the  Swedish  army  is  to  march  against  Norway. 
These  are  said  to  be  the  main  features  of  the  plan."  ^    The  Swedish 

^  Forholdet  mellem  Norge  og  Sverige,  vor  Selvstcendighedskamp  i  de  sidsle 
tyve  Aar,  Bergen,  1905.        "  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  Hisiorie,  vol.  VI.,  2,  p.  153  ft. 


II  TIIK    IIAfJKUrP    MI.MSTHY  567 

plan  was  not  to  declare  war.  hut  to  seize  Christiaiiia  and  Trondhjem. 
This  would  have  crippled  the  Nonvej^'ian  defense,  and  would  have 
enahled  Sweden  to  dictate  terms.  The  plan  niij^ht  have  succtv«led, 
as  Norway's  defenses  and  militar\'  affairs  had  been  sadly  neglected.' 
The  feeling  of  grave  danj^er  cooled  to  some  extent  the  ardor  of  party 
strife,  and  a  petition  was  sent  to  the  Storthing  from  Christiaiiia, 
signed  hy  twenty-five  Conservatives,  twenty-two  Pure  Liberals, 
five  Moderate  Liberals,  and  four  Independents,  asking  the  repre- 
sentatives not  to  refuse  to  negotiate  with  Sweden  regarding  a  setth^ 
ment  of  the  controversy,  as  such  a  course  W(juld  be  ])olitical  imjjru- 
dence,  and  would  forfeit  the  sympathy  of  the  European  powers. 
A  similar  petition  was  sent  from  Bergen,  signet!  by  men  like  Sofus 
Arctander  and  Christian  Michelsen.  "These  petitions,"  says  Sars, 
"may  be  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  a  coalition  of  tiie  parties  with 
regard  to  foreign  politics  which  was  to  carry  the  cause  of  independence 
to  ultimate  \ictory."  Even  the  parties  in  the  Storthing  began  to 
show  a  more  conciliatory'  spirit.  On  June  7,  1895,  a  joint  motion 
submitted  by  members  of  all  the  parties  declaring  in  favor  of  nego- 
tiations with  Sweden  was  passed  with  ninety  votes  against  t^venty- 
four,  and  ap])ropriations  were  also  made  covering  Norway's  share 
of  the  expenses  connected  with  the  diplomatic  and  consular  service. 
After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  the  king  finally  succeeded  in 
the  fall  of  that  year  to  fonn  a  new  ministry'  of  prominent  men  fmm 
all  parties,  headed  by  the  conservative  leader,  Fr.  liagerup. 

The  policy  of  the  Liberal  i)arty  regarding  the  consular  question 
had  failed,  and  they  had  sufl'erod  a  defeat  which  was  regarded!  by 
all  as  a  national  humiliation.-  Sweden  had  won  a  signal  vict(»ry. 
and  leading  Swedish  statesmen  felt  sure  that  the  Nor\vegians  would 
soon  learn  to  see  the  futility  of  the  stniggle  in  which  they  had  en- 
gaged ;   tliey  would  offer  to  negotiate,  and  a  new  act  of  union  cx)uld 

'  Threats  of  war  found  e.xprossioii  both  in  tlio  Conservntivo  and  Lihoral 
Swedish  press.  Tlio  Gdtrbnrgs  Hdiidth-  och  Sjojnrts-Tidning,  ono  f)f  tho 
leadinK  Liberal  organs,  wrote  in  November,  1S94:  "'"If  we  ahould  fiually 
deem  it  necossary  to  app(>al  to  the  Ood  of  Hosts  in  order  to  maintain  tho 
union,  wo  should  plaee  as  a  motto  on  our  flaps:  'Not  the  union  as  it  is.  but 
union  with  a  joint  foreiprn  minister,  Norwejjian  or  Swede,  etc.' ."  Den  svcruke 
Kn'i/^plnti   mod  Norge,  Christiania,   1S9.5. 

*J.  E.  Sars,  Svenske  Scire,  norske  Nrdrrlng  i  Unions polUiken,  Samlidtn, 
1905. 


568  HISTORY   OF  THE    NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

be  carried  through  which  would  answer  to  the  demands  of  Sweden. 
They  felt  sure  that  the  defeat  of  the  Liberals  would  split  their  party, 
and  would  greatly  strengthen  the  Conservatives,  who  favored  a 
strong  union.  They  were  soon  to  learn,  however,  that  their  cal- 
culations had  been  based  on  false  premises ;  that  instead  of  weaken- 
ing the  Liberals,  their  defeat  had  only  strengthened  them,  and  that 
even  the  Conservatives  began  to  waver  in  the  strong  union  policy 
which  they  had  hitherto  advocated.  In  course  of  time  the  reasons 
which  had  led  the  Conservatives  to  favor  a  closer  union  with  Sweden 
had  disappeared  one  by  one.  The  attempt  of  the  old  official 
bureaucracy  to  perpetuate  their  political  power  and  social  influence  by 
seeking  the  support  of  the  king  against  the  growing  democratic  spirit 
had  failed  utterly,  as  the  common  people  had  gained  complete 
control.  The  Pan-Scandinavian  sentiment  had  vanished,  and  even 
the  economic  benefit  of  the  union,  to  which  they  had  pointed  with 
pride  and  confidence,  proved  to  be  an  illusion.  The  lack  of  a  sepa- 
rate consular  service  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  growth  of  Norwe- 
gian commerce,  and  as  Sweden  developed  a  system  of  protective 
tariff,  while  Norway  introduced  free  trade,  no  very  intimate  rela- 
tions between  the  two  kingdoms  could  be  maintained.  In  1874  the 
M ellemrigslov  was  passed,  which  admitted  to  Sweden  a  number  of 
Norwegian  articles  free  of  duty.  It  was  renewed  in  1890,  but  in 
1895  it  was  repealed,  and  Norway's  commercial  relations  with  Swe- 
den were  no  more  intimate  than  with  any  other  foreign  power.  The 
growing  national  spirit,  the  desire  of  removing  all  obstacles  which 
stood  in  the  way  of  Norway's  free  development  tended  to  strengthen 
the  Liberals,  to  lessen  party  differences,  and  to  change  the  demand 
for  a  separate  consular  service  from  a  party  issue  to  a  national  cause. 
The  new  ministry  appointed  in  1895  a  committee  of  seven  to  nego- 
tiate with  a  similar  Swedish  committee  regarding  the  pending  consu- 
lar issue. ^  During  the  negotiations  between  these  committees  quiet 
prevailed  both  in  the  press  and  in  the  Storthing.  A  bill  for  the 
removal  of  the  union  sign  from  the  Norwegian  flag,  passed  by  the 

1  The  members  were :  Getz,  Schweigaard,  Blehr,  Thorne,  Olai  Olsen, 
Sivert  Nielsen,  and  W.  Konow.  Olsen  and  Nielsen  resigned,  and  Fritz  Han- 
sen and  J.  L0vland  were  appointed  in  their  place.  The  Swedish  members 
were :  Ehrenheim,  Sparre,  Restadius,  Olof  Jonson,  von  Steyern,  and  the 
professors  Alin  and  Trygger. 


II  THK    ST  F.F.N'    MIMSTKY  FAY.) 

Storthing  for  the  second  tinu-.  was  vi-tonl,  hut  no  other  imporUuit 
measure  was  introduced.  In  the  election.s  of  1.S97  tlu'  Lilji-ral  party 
won  a  deci.sive  victory,  securing  seventy-nine  scats,  while  tlie  (\m- 
servatives  retained  only  twenty-five,  and  the  Moderate  Lihcrals 
ten.  The  Ilagerup  ininistrv'  resigned,  and  Steen  was  inviitfl  to 
form  a  new  Liberal  ministry. 

On  March  26,  1898,  the  union  committee  submittetl  to  the  Stor- 
thing the  result  of  their  negotiations.  Both  the  Xonvrgian  and 
the  Swedisli  members  had  split  into  two  groups,  and  f«»ur  ditVerent 
plans  for  the  solution  of  the  difficulty  were  submitted,  neither  of 
which  had  the  slightest  chance  of  being  adopted.'  The  Swedish 
and  Xonvegian  cabinets  agreed  after  a  short  conference  that  nothing 
further  could  be  done  in  the  matter. - 

The  bill  providing  for  the  removal  of  the  union  sign  from  the 
flag  was  passed  a  third  time  in  1898.  It  was  vetoed  by  the  king, 
but  according  to  article  seventy-nine  of  tiie  constitution  it  was 
promulgated  as  law.  An  intense  agitation  against  this  step  was 
carried  on  in  the  Swedish  press  and  by  Swetlish  historians,  who  de- 
clared that  it  was  "the  beginning  of  the  end,"  that  in  this  measure 
the  dissolution  of  the  union  was  to  be  found  "like  the  embryo  in 
the  seed."^  The  Swedish  foreign  minister,  Douglas,  refused  to 
announce  the  change  to  foreign  powers,  but  he  was  asked  by  his 
chief,  Bostr0m,  to  resign,  and  Lagerheim,  who  succeeded  him.  gave 
due  notice  to  consuls  and  foreign  powers  of  the  change  in  the  Nor- 
wegian flag.^ 

Though  supported  by  a  large  majority,  tlie  new  ministry  did  not 
reopen  the  consular  question.  The  experience  of  past  years  had 
proven  that  tlie  most  careful  preparation  was  necessary-,  and  tliey 
undertook  instead  to  increase  the  nation's  sinews  of  strengtii  for 
the  conflict  which  could  not  long  be  avoided.  It  was  their  aim  to 
introduce  universal  suflrage  in  order  tliat  tin-  i)eoi)le  might  i)articipate 

>  IJndcrdnnig  Belcrnkuing  a/given  nf  dm  til  I'dnrbcidfise  af  Fomlog  til 
fornndrvdr  licslrmmehrr  ntn  Norges  og  Srrriges  Forming  ted  kongrlig  Hmolu- 
tion  af  ISdc  Nonmber  ISf).')  tudnatlr  Kntnilr,  tUligemcd  dc  af  Komiicem  enkelte 
Mcdlcmrncr  udarbeidcdc  Forslag,  Christ iania,  1898. 

'  Oscar  Alin,  I'niottsknmilfus  licsultnt. 

'  Flagfrhgan.     R.  Kjell^n,  Het  och  Sanning  i  Flagfrhgan. 

*  Rudolf  Peersen,  Rent  Flag. 


570  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

more  directly  in  political  and  public  affairs.  By  the  law  of  1898 
full  right  of  suffrage  was  extended  to  all  men  twenty-five  years  of 
age  who  had  resided  in  the  country  five  years,  still  resided  there, 
and  were  not  receiving  aid  as  paupers,  nor  had  received  such  aid 
for  one  year  prior  to  the  election.  In  1901  women  received  the 
right  to  vote  in  local  elections,  if  they  had  an  income  of  400  kroner  in 
the  cities  or  300  kroner  in  the  country,  or,  in  case  of  married  women, 
if  their  husbands  had  that  income.  By  these  laws  the  numerous 
working  classes  in  the  cities  were  enfranchised.  In  1898  the  time  for 
the  meeting  of  the  Storthing  was  changed  from  February  to  the 
first  week-day  after  the  10th  of  October,  This  made  it  possible  to  hold 
longer  sessions,  as  the  representatives  from  the  country  districts 
could  more  easily  stay  away  from  home  during  the  winter  months. 

Since  the  crisis  of  1895,  special  attention  was  also  devoted  to  the 
army  and  navy,  which  had  hitherto  been  neglected.  Large  military- 
budgets  were  voted  for  both  branches  of  the  service,  aggregating 
about  twenty  million  kroner,  and  the  work  of  improving  the  defenses 
of  the  kingdom  was  carried  forward  with  great  energy  by  successive 
ministers  of  the  department  of  defense:  Olss0n,  Hoist,  and  Georg 
Stang.  A  fleet  of  four  armored  warships  and  many  torpedo  boats 
and  smaller  vessels  was  provided,  and  modern  fortifications  were 
constructed  for  the  defense  of  the  seacoast  cities.  The  efficiency 
of  the  army  was  greatly  increased,  large  stores  of  ammunition  and 
war  material  were  collected,  and  in  1901  an  appropriation  of  3,380,000 
kroner  was  made  for  fortresses  to  be  erected  on  the  Swedish  border 
from  Fredrikshald  to  Kongsvinger.  This  plan  was  carried  out  by 
the  energetic  Lieutenant-ColoneJ  Georg  Stang.  Many  modern  forts 
were  built  which  might  have  made  a  Swedish  invasion  difficult.^ 

In  the  election  of  1900  the  Liberals  were  again  victorious,  and 
the  Steen  ministry  could  r,emain  in  office  supported  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. In  1902  Steen  retired,  and  Otto  Blehr  formed  a  new  minis- 
try. In  that  year  the  question  of  the  consular  service  was  again 
brought  up,  this  time  by  the  Swedish  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 

*  These  border  forts  were  dbade^  into  four  groups:  1.  Kongsvinger, 
2.  Urskog,  3.  0rje,  4.  Fredriksten.  See  Karla  ofer  neutrala  Zonen  och 
norska  Grdnsfdsiningarne  jamte  Delegeradcs  Forslag  til  dferenskommelser, 
Stockholm,  1905. 


II  NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    SWEDEN  57 1 

Lagerheim.     lie  proposed  thiit  a  joint  Swedish-Nonv'egian  cr)iiiiiiii- 
tee  should  be  appointed  to  investigate  liow  a  separate  ctJiisular  strv- 
ice  for  the  two  kingdoms  might  be  organized.     A  joint  committee 
of  two  Xonvegians  and  two  Swedes  was  app«)inted  in  Januan',  19()2, 
and  on  July  2Gth  they  submitted  tlieir  report  stating  ttiat  no  serious 
obstacles  to  the  organization  of  sej^arate  consular  service  for  the 
two  kingdoms  could  be  found,  tliat  separate  Swedish  and  Norv^'egian 
consuls  could  be  api)ointed,  resj)onsible  to  their  respective  govern- 
ments, and  that  the  supervision  hitherto  exercised  by  tlie  Swedish 
foreign  minister  over  Norwegian  consuls  could  be  dispensed  with. 
On  tlie  basis  of    this  report    tlie  two  goverimients  resumed   tlieir 
negotiations,  and  in   19<)o  they   reached  a  j)reliminar>'   agreement, 
dated  March  24th,  containing  the  following  points:    (1)  Separate 
consular  ser\ice  is  to  be  created  for  Sweden  and  Non\'ay.     Tin- 
consuls  of  each  kingdom  are  to  be  responsible  to  Uie  autliorities  in 
their'  own  country  wliich  its  goverimient  may  designate.     {'2)  The 
relation  of  tlie  consuls  to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  is  to  be  regu- 
lated in  both  kingdoms  by  identical  laws,  which  caimot  be  alteretl 
or  repealed  except  with  tlie  consent  t)f  the  governments  of  both. 
The  question  regarding  the  minister  of  foreign  aflairs  they  agreed 
not  to  discuss.^    The  difficult  question  seemed  to  be  fairly  on  the 
way  to  a  satisfactory  solution,  but  some  points  in  the  agreement  made 
the  Norwegians  hesitate.     The  Norwegian  consular  service  should 
not  be  wholly  emancii)ated  from  Sweilish  control.     To  some  extent 
the  Norwegian  consuls  wt)uld  still  be  subject  to  tlie  Swedish  minister 
of  foreign  affairs,  who  was  to  act  as  foreign  minister  f(^r  botli  king- 
doms;    and  this  relation  should  be  regulated  by  laws  which  could 
not  be  changed  or  repealed.     That  sucli  aiv  arrangement  might  serve 
to  rivet  upon  Norway  a  sign  of  dependence  and  inferit)rity  was 
justly  feared.     But  it  was  hoped  that  by  continued  negotiations  all 
difficulties  might  be  overcome,  and  jui  effort  was  nuule  U)  unite  all 
parties  in  support  of  this  program.     BJ0i;;istjerne  Bj^rnson  himself 
became  an  earnest  advocate  of  negotiations,-  and  "Verdens  Clang" 

'A.  C.  Drolsum,  Dns  Konigreich  Nortv<;gcn  u/.s  soutrr^rtrr  Staat.  p.  26  ff. 
S.  C.  Hammer.  Del  rticrkvlige  Aar  1905.  Vnderdanig  lieiaukning  a/given 
aj  den  under  ISdc  Januar,  1902,  ncdsalle  Konsulatkomite. 

*  Bjdrnstjerne  Bjdrnson,  Forhnndling,  bare  Forhandling  filer  del  snm  kan 
f^re  til  Krig,  Sarnlidcn,  1904.     J.  Caatberg,  Om  Begivenhedcrne  i  1905. 


572  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

and  other  Liberal  organs  supported  this  poHcy.  In  the  elections 
of  1903  Liberals  and  Conservatives  united  and  formed  the  Coalition 
party  (Samlingspartiet) ,  which  favored  negotiations  with  Sweden, 
a  program  which  gained  such  support  that  the  party  received  a 
majority  in  the  new  Storthing.  The  Blehr  ministry  resigned,  and 
a  new  Coalition  ministry  was  formed  with  Hagerup  as  minister  of 
state.  Norway  had  met  Sweden's  advances  with  all  possible  mani- 
festations of  friendly  spirit,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  negotiations 
officially  instituted  between  the  two  governments  would  result  in 
a  speedy  settlement  of  the  difficulty.  In  a  meeting  of  the  joint 
ministry  in  Stockholm,  December  11,  1903,  Lagerheim  reported  the 
agreement  of  March  24th  of  that  year.  This  was  accepted  both 
by  the  Swedish  and  the  Norwegian  ministers  present,  and  it  was 
ratified  by  the  Norwegian  Storthing,  and  approved  by  the  king. 
This  made  it  an  officially  established  compact  between  the  two  gov- 
ernments. The  protocols  and  documents  from  the  meetings  of  the 
cabinets  were  sent  to  the  Storthing,  which  referred  them  to  the 
constitutional  committee.  The  committee  reported  that  official 
documents  showed  that  full  unanimity  existed  between  the  two  gov- 
ernments and  the  king  regarding  the  agreement  reached  March 
'24th,  i.e.  that  separate  consuls  should  be  appointed  for  the  two  king- 
doms, and  that  the  relation  of  these  officials  to  the  diplomatic  serv- 
ice should  be  regulated  by  identical  laws.  Nothing  seemed  now 
to  stand  in  the  way  of  a  speedy  settlement  of  the  question.  The 
Storthing  took  steps  to  organize  a  Norwegian  consular  serv^ice,  and 
drafted  a  bill  embodying  the  identical  laws  which  were  to  govern 
the  relations  between  the  consuls  and  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs. 
The  bill  was  forwarded  to  the  Swedish  minister  of  state,  Bostrom, 
May  28,  1904,  but  he  waited  till  September  before  he  undertook  to 
examine  it.  This  long  delay  aroused  suspicion,  and  it  was  feared 
that  the  plan  might  miscarry.  This  fear  became  almost  a  certainty 
when  Lagerheim,  the  Swedish  foreign  minister,  resigned,  because 
Bostrom  disagreed  with  him  regarding  the  proposed  settlement  of 
the  consular  question.^  On  November  23d  Bostrom,  arrived  in 
Christiania,  and  submitted  to  the  two  Norwegian  ministers  of  state, 
Hagerup  and  Ibsen,  his  "Reasons,"  a  document  in  which  he  laid 

^  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Norge  i  1905,  p.  159  f. 


II  Tlir,    nKPFVOENCY    CLAISES  573 

down  the  fundanu'iital  i)rincipU*s  for  the  ifh'iitical  hiws.  These 
princij)les  were  widely  ditrcrent  on  many  essential  points  from  tin" 
agreement  already  reaelu'<l.  He  drmandi-d,  among  otlicr  things, 
that  the  Swedish  minister  of  foreign  affairs  should  l)c  madr  joint 
foreign  minister,  while  the  agreement  left  tliis  question  in  aheyanet*. 
He  also  demanded  that  the  Cabinet  C'ouneil  for  Foreign  Affairs 
should  have  the  power  to  dismiss  Nonsegian  consuls,  a  i)rovision 
whieli  would  violate  the  constitution,  and  reduce  Norway  to  a  de- 
pendency. The  two  ministers  refused  to  accept  the  j)rineiples  j)ro- 
posed  by  Bostriim,  and  there  seemed  to  be  little  liopr  of  arriving 
at  a  new  agreement.  But  Ilagerup  still  made  an  attempt.  In 
December,  1904,  he  went  to  Stockliolm,  where  the  Swedish  ministry- 
submitted  to  him  the  laws  which  had  been  drafted  regarding  the 
consuhir  service.  These  laws  had  been  ))a.sed  on  tlie  i)rin(i|)les  of 
Bostrom,  and  contained  among  other  provisions  t}ie  six  "dependency 
clauses"  (5,  6,  8,  Id,  10,  and  19).  5.  provided  tliat  the  autliorities 
governing  the  consular  service  should,  in  case  of  vacancy,  give  the 
minister  of  foreign  affairs  all  desired  information  regarding  the  candi- 
dates for  the  position,  (i.  pro\  ided  tliat  in  consular  reports  the 
name  of  Sweden  should  always  j)recede  tliat  of  Nonvay.  S.  The 
authorities  governing  the  consular  service  should  issue  no  instruc- 
tions to  the  consuls  which  should  come  in  conflict  with  the  decisions 
of  tlie  minister  of  foreign  affairs  11.  If  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs 
should  learn  tliat  a  consul  disturbed  tlie  good  relations  of  the  two 
united  kingdoms  and  a  foreign  power,  he  should  report  tliis  to  the 
Cabinet  Council  for  Foreign  ,\ffairs  o"  the  joint  ministry,  whereupon 
tlie  king  should  examine  the  matter  iii  the  presence  of  the  ministry 
of  the  kingdom  in  question.  10.  Cnder  certain  circumstances  a 
consul  sheuld  be  dismissed  by  the  minister  to  the  country*  where 
he  was  stationed,  and  a  consul  so  dismissed  could  not  be  reappointe<i 
without  royal  order  u])on  report  of  the  minister  of  foreign  atTuirs.' 
19.  In  some  countries  the  joint  consular  servicr  should  ct)ntinue. 
The  Norwegian  ministers  would  not  accept  tlu*se  paragraphs,  and 
asked  Bostrom  to  onii:  them.  This  he  would  not  do,  aiul  the  negi>- 
tiations  terminated.  Why  Bostrom  shouM  consider  it  wortli  while 
to  submit  tlicse  conditions,  which  would  have  reduced  Norway  to  a 

*N.  Gjelsvik,  Hvem  har  bcgaat  Traktatbrudf  Aftenpostcn,  July  25.  1^05. 


574  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

Swedish  dependency,  and  which  he  must  have  known  would  never 
be  accepted,  it  is  difficult  to  explain,  except  by  assuming  that  he 
chose  this  way  of  breaking  off  negotiations,  as  he  did  not  wish  to 
consent  to  a  separate  consular  service  for  Norway.^     - 

The  failure  of  the  negotiations  so  auspiciously  begun  created,  great 
disappointment  in  Norway,  and  precipitated  a  crisis  which  united 
all  parties.  The  minister  of  state,  Hagerup,  said  in  reporting  the 
result  to  the  Storthing:  "Our  people  are  anxious  to  maintain" the 
peace  and  good  understanding  which  are  equally  important  to  both 
nations.  But  the  present  condition  is  unbearable,  and  it  cannot  last 
long  without  endangering  the  good  understanding  which  has  hitherto 
existed  between  them.  The  aim  must,  therefore,  be  to  establish 
to  the  fullest  degree  such  conditions  as  will  give  Norway  the  position 
which  rightfully  belongs  to  her  as  a  sovereign  kingdom,  a  cause  in 
the  defense  of  which  all  Norwegians  have  stood,  and  hencefoi^ 
will  stand  united."  ^  "If  this  cannot  be  done  in  the  existing  union, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  creation  of  such  new  and  freer 
forms  for  the  cooperation  of  both  nations  and  the  promotion  of  their 
mutual  interests  as  all  shall  wish  to  preserve,  and  to  a  higher  degree 
than  institutions  constitute  the  lasting  and  valuable  foundatfon  for 
a  union  between  free  peoples."  These  words  from  a  leading  Conser- 
vative show  that  recent  events  had  caused  the  best  friends  and  sup- 
porters of  the  union  to  ally  themselves  with  the  Liberals.  The  Con- 
servative papers,  like  "  Af tenposten "  and  "Morgenbladet,"  were 
no  less  indignant  than  the  Liberal  press,,  and  urged  that,  since  all 
negotiations  had  failed,  the  Storthing  should  take  matters  into  its 
own  hands,  and  that  Norway's  honor  t»nd  independence  should 
be  defended  at  any  cost.  From  all  parts  of  the  country  petitions 
were  sent  to  the  Storthing  advocating  decisive  measures,  and  giving 
assurance  that  the  people  would  make  any  sacrifice  necessary  to 
defend  their  liberty  and  independence.^ 

1  Forh.  Statsraad  Ckr.  Knudsen,  Spredte  Minder  fra  1905. 

*  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  Historic,  vol.  VI.,  2,  p.  .220.  Del  norske  Venstre 
fra  1884  til  1909,  En  politish-historisk  Oversigt  utgit  dv  Norges  Venstreforening, 
Christiania,  1909,  p.  22  f. 

^Numerous  resolutions  of  that  kind  are  found  in  Unions  Opl^sningen 
by  F.  V.  Heiberg,  1905,  p.  125  fif.  This  work  is  a  coUection  of  oEBcial  docu- 
ments connected  with  the  events  of  that  year. 


II  TIIK    MKIIKIJ^KN    MlNIhrUY  C)75 

The  Storthiii;;  liad  uijpointcd  ji  special  coinniitUf  of  nineteen  U> 
exjimine  tlic  jjrotocols  and  documenLs  dealing  with  tlic  ne^jotiutioiLs. 
and  to  submit  i>lans  for  further  aetion.  Several  liad  been  suKK<"i»ted. 
Some  favored  renewed  negotiaticjius,  but  all  parties  finally  agreed 
that  tlie  Storthini;  should  pass  a  law  fstabli>hin^  a  sej)arate  consular 
service.  Such  a  law  might  be  made  by  jjassing  it  in  tliree  separately 
elected  Storthings,  but  this  would  take  many  years,  and  sucli  a 
delay  might  be  dangerous.  Hut  a  bill  might  also  be  passed  contain- 
ing a  clause  stating  tliat  at  a  certain  future  date  it  would  be  pro- 
claimed as  law.  This,  the  cpiickcst  and  most  direct  way,  was  recom- 
mended by  the  special  couunittci'.' 

As  to  the  manner  of  nu'cting  the  crisis  tlie  ministry  stood  dividtii. 
Ilageruj)  himself,  ])rofessor  of  jurisprudence,  a  scholar,  and  a  nmn 
of  great  ability,  lacked  resoluteness  and  decision.  As  a  hist  resort 
he  would  abrogate  tlic  Act  of  Union,  and  make  a  joint  king  tiie  only 
bond  of  union.  But  he  hesitated  to  take  so  decisive  a  step,  and 
favored  negotiations.  Christian  Miclu-lsen  and  J.  Schoning.  who 
preferred  inimediate  and  energetic  action,  resigned,  and  tlie  ministrj' 
was  forced  to  retire. ^  A  new  ministry  rej)resenting  all  parties  was 
formed  by  Michelsen,  who  selected  as  his  associates  J.  Lovland, 
minister  of  state  in  Stocldiolm,  Sofus  Arctander,  minister  of  com- 
merce, General  \V.  Oi^son,  minister  of  defense,  Gunnar  Knudsen, 
ipinister  of  hnance,  ('hrist()])her  Kiuidsen,  minister  of  ee(  lesiastical 
afVairs  and  education,  A.  II.  Vinje,  minister  of  agriculture,  K.  Ilagerup 
Bull  and  II.  Botlmer,  members  of  tlie  branch  of  tlie  Norwegian  min- 
istry in  Stockhohn.  All  i)arty  diflerences  luuJ  been  droppeti.  and 
all  stood  united  in  suiijxirt  of  the  new  ministry  which  was  to  guide 
tlie  nation  through  so  perilous  a  crisis. 

Because  of  ill  luahh  King  Oscar  II.  had  temporarily  turnwl 
the  govermnent  over  to  his  .son.  Crown,  iVince  Ciustaf,  wlu)  was  to 
act  as  regent.  When  it  became  evident  that  tlie  consular  question 
threatened  to  disru])t  the  union,  the  regent  U)ok  sU'ps  to  open 
new  negotiations.  While  on  a  \  i>it  in  Christiania,  he  sent  a  letter 
to  tlie  si)ecial  committee,  in  which  he  urged  them  t<-»  take  no  step 
which  might  imperil  the  union.     On  his  return  to  Stockholm,  the 

>  P.  V.  Heiborg,  Unionens  OpUsning  1906,  p.  117  fT.  rnionm*  Opl49nint, 
en  Dagbog,  Sccravtryk  av  Aftenpoatcn,  1905.  *  Ibid.,  p.  29  f. 


576  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN    PEOPLE  II 

Swedish  Rigsdag  appointed  a  special  committee  to  confer  with  the 
ministry,  and  on  April  5,  1905,  the  regent  invited  the  cabinets  of 
both  kingdoms  to  resmne  negotiations  with  a  view  to  create  a  joint 
foreign  minister,  who  might  be  either  a  Swede  or  a  Norwegian,  and 
to  establish  separate  consular  service  for  both  kingdoms  in  such  a 
way  that  in  all  matters  touching  foreign  relations  the  consuls  should 
be  responsible  to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  Bostrom  resigned, 
and  Ranstedt,  who  had  been  member  of  the  ministry,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  be  more  favorably  disposed  towards  the  Norwegian  demands, 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Swedish  cabinet.  But  these  apparent 
concessions  did  not  change  the  situation.  Ranstedt  had  voted  in 
favor  of  the  "dependency  clauses"  in  Bostrom's  document,  and 
there  was  no  evidence  of  any  change  in  the  Swedish  point  of  view. 
The  Norwegian  government  refused  to  renew  the  negotiations  until 
a  separate  Norwegian  consular  service  should  be  established.  This 
condition  was  not  accepted,  and  nothing  further  could  be  done  in 
regard  to  the  matter.  By  these  offers  of  continued  negotiations 
Sweden  succeeded,  however,  in  gaining  some  sympathy  among  for-r 
eign  powers,  while  Nor\tay's  refusal  to  negotiate  was  interpreted 
as  wrong-headedness  and  obstinacy.^  But  several  able  Norwegian 
writers,  /as  Fridtjof  Nansen,  A.  C.  Drolsum,  and  H.  L.  Brsekstad, 
pleaded  Norway's  cause  in  foreign  countries  with  such  success  that 
the  tide  of  sentiment  turned,  and  sympathy  for  Norway  became 
pronounced '  in  France  and  Germany,  and,  finally,  also  in  England.^ 
A  foreign  loan  of  forty  million  kroner  was  also  floated  on  very  favor- 
able terms,  and  it  was  resolved  by  the  Storthing  that  this  sum  should 

1  In  England  The  Daily  Graphic  declared  that  jealousy  and  vanity  had  led 
the  Norwegians  to  \dissolve  the  union,  and  other  leading  papers  Uke  The 
Daily  Express,  The  Daily  Mail,  and  The  Standard  spoke  in  a  similar  strain. 
Only  the  Liberal  Westminster  Gazette  sided  with  Norway.  The  leading 
French  papers  Uke  Le  Temps  and  Journal  des  Debats  sympathized  with  Nor- 
way, as  did  also  many  of  the  leading  Russian  papers.  S.  C.  Hammer, 
Del  merkelige  Aar  1905,  p.  64. 

2  Fridtjof  Nansen,  Norwegen  und  die  Union  mil  Schweden;  Norway  and 
the  Union  with  Sweden.  H.  L.  Braekstad,  The  Constitutional  Crisis  in  Nor- 
way; The  Norwegian-Swedish  Conflict;  The  Constitution  of  Norway.  A.  C. 
Drolsum,  Sovereign  Norway  and  her  State  Rights;  Das  Konigreich  Norwegen 
als  souverdner  Staat;  together  with  a  German  translation  of  the  Norwegian 
Constitution;   Skal  Norge  bcere  Skylden  for  Ufreden  i  Nordenf 


iM.ATi-;  \xm 


TllK    StOUTHINi.     lil    II  I'l 


KoYAL  Palack,  Cjikistiama. 


fl  TIIK    CUISIS    OF     I'M).',  r,77 

constitute  a  resen'o  fund  to  lu'  used  only  in  cases  of  cnuT^rfncN . 
On  May  lOtli  tlic  sjx'ciiil  coinnjittcc  swhinittcd  a  bill  providing  for 
tlie  creation  of  a  separate  Norwegian  consular  service.  The  law 
should  go  into  effect  April  1.  1<)()(),  and  the  government  shoulfl  he 
instructed  to  notify  the  Swedish  government  that  the  joint  consular 
service  would  tenninate  on  that  date.  The  hill  was  pas.sed  !)y  both 
branches  of  the  Stortliing  unanimously  after  a  ver>'  short  debate. 
The  resolution  that  the  Swedish  goveriunent  should  be  notifi*^!  of 
tlic  termination  of  tlic  joint  consular  service  was  passed  again.st 
ten  dissenting  votes. 

It  was  h()j)ed  by  some  tluit  tlie  king  would  sanction  the  bill.  Many 
believed,  or  professed  to  believe,  that  as  king  of  Xonvay  he  would 
yield  to  the  unanimous  wish  of  the  i)eo])le.  Hut  in  this  they  were 
disappointed.  At  a  meeting  of  the  joint  Swedish-Xonvegian  ministry- 
in  StockJiolm  tlie  Norwegian  members,  Ixivland.  Botlmer,  and  E. 
Ilagcrup  Bull,  strongly  urged  him  to  sanction  tlie  measure,  but  he 
yielded  to  the  wish  of  his  Swedish  advisers,  and  vetoed  it.  The 
Nonvegian  members  refused  to  countersign  tlie  veto,  and  iuune<li- 
ately  handed  him  their  resignations.'  These  he  would  not  accept, 
as  he  feared  tliat  he  would  get  no  new  Norwegian  ministers.  But 
tliey  would  not  undertiike  tlie  responsibility  of  remaining  in  office, 
and  returned  to  Christiania.  The  whole  ministry  thereupon  notifie<l 
the  king  that  tliey  found  it  nccessars'  to  retire  from  office,  and  no 
one  could  b(>  found  in  all  Nonvay  willing  to  attempt  to  fomi  a  new 
ministry  under  the  circum .stances. 

The  ultimate  crisis  had  been  foreseen,  and  the  |)eople  remainetl 
calm  and  collected.  The  pres.s' indulged  in  no  invectives,  but  spoke 
with  a  finiiness  and  straightforwardness  which  could  not  be  misun- 
derstood.    "The  Swedish  papers  fear  that   Norway  will  \  iolatc  the 

'  Tlu«  Swedish  professor  Wicksell,  of  the  university  of  Lund,  wrote :  "If 
such  a  deinund  as  Kinjj  Oscar  made  in  a  letter  to  President  Berner,  that  thi' 
king's  will  ev(>n  without  the  atlvico  of  a  resiH>nsil)Ie  ministry  ha-s  tlu'  char- 
acter of  a  public  act  and  can  void  a  resolution  ptussinl  l)y  the  Storthinj;.  had 
been  made  in  Sweden,  it  would  have  been  met  with  indignant  prot<'st  hy  all 
parties.  Such  a  king's  days,  not  to  say  hours,  would  surely  have  been 
numbered  in  Swe<len." 

The  German  paper,  Frnnkjurlvr  Zcilumj.  said,  June  S.  100.'):  "If  then*  is 
a  revolution,  it  has  l)een  started  by  the  kinir.  and  not  by  tln»  Storthing." 
Unset  Jaren,  Ilvem  tvang  os  ind  i,  og  hnm  Ivang  oa  otter  ud  av  Unionrn  t  p.  50. 
VOL.  II  —  2p 


578  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

constitution,"  wrote  "Verdens  Gang,"  June  5th.  "There  is  no 
cause  for  anxiety.  The  constitution  will  be  upheld  on  all  points 
where  it  has  not  been  violated  by  others.  In  Sweden  they  have 
found  it  necessary  to  deprive  us  of  our  king.  He  has  been  deposed 
without  cooperation  from  Norway.  On  the  contrary,  his  Norwe- 
gian advisers  made  the  most  earnest  remonstrances  to  prevent  it, 
but  to  no  avail.  The  king  of  Norway  has  been  deposed  in  Sweden. 
Thereby  certain  changes  took  place  in  the  constitution  itself.  The 
Norwegian  government  will  prove  that  this  has  happened,  and  there- 
upon, supported  by  the  nation,  without  hesitation  or  excitement, 
it  will  undertake  to  establish  normal  conditions  in  the  country  on 
tlie  basis  of  the  constitution."  ^  On  June  7,  1905,  tlier  Storthing 
assembled  to  receive  notice  of  the  resignation  of  the  ministry.  After 
the  minister  of  state.  Christian  Michelsen,  had  reported  the  king's 
veto  of  the  consular  bill,  and  had  stated  that  he  and  his  colleagues 
had  found  it  necessary  to  resign,  as  they  would  not  be  responsible 
for  the  step  taken  by  the  king,  the  president  of  the  Storthing,  Carl 
Berner,  proposed  the  following  resolution  *.  "  Whereas  all  the  mem^ 
bers  of  the  ministry  have  resigned,  and  whereas  His  Majesty  the 
king  has  declared  himself  unable  to  secure  a  new  cabinet,  and  whereas 
the  constitutional  royal  power  thereby  has  ceased  to  operate,  the 
Storthing  empowers  the  members  of  the  ministry  which  has  this 
day  retired  from  oflSce  to  act  as  a  temporary  government  for  Norway, 
and  to  exercise  the  powers  granted  the  king  in  accordance  with  the 
constitution  and  the  laws  of  the  kingdom,  subject  to  the  changes 
made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  the  union  between  Sweden  and  Nor- 
way under  the  same  king  is  dissohcd,  and  tliat  the  king  has  ceased 
to  act  as  king  of  Norway."  ^  No  one  asked  for  the  floor  to  discuss 
the  resolution,  and  it  was  passed  unanimously  without  being  debated. 
A  communicatioji  was  also  sent  to  the  king,  informing  him  of  the 
dissolution  of  the  union,  and  asking  him  to  consent  to  the  election 
of  one  of  the  Bernadotte  princes  as  king  of  Norway.  The  union 
existed  no  longer.  Norway  and  Sweden  had  parted,  but  tlie  greatest 
anxiety  ^^revailed,  and  every  one  asked  himself :  "  What  will  Sweden 
do?" 

1  Quoted  by  J.  E.  Sars,  Norges  Hi&torie,  vol.  VI.,  2,  p.  253. 
*  F.  V.  Hoiberg,  Unionens  Opl^sning  1905,  p.  289  f. 


IM.ATK    WIV 


II 


TMF.    CUISIS    OF    1005  579 


Norway  was  well  prqiand  for  tin-  ciiHTKoncy,  but  Sweden  has  a 
population  more  tliaii  twico  as  numerous,  led  by  u  strong;  lujliility, 
jealous  of  tlioir  honor,  and  j)roud  of  their  country's  former  gre^itness. 
No  one  could  d()u])t  that  the  dissolution  of  the  union  by  Norway's 
own  fiat  would  be  a  rude  shock  which  would  be  felt  especially  by 
the  Swedish  nobility  as  a  distinct  humiliation,  and  war  between 
the  two  luitions,  lonj;  and  destructive,  equally  niinous  to  both, 
mi^ht  be  the  unavoidable  result.  But  many  circumstances  served 
to  restrain  the  ardor  of  those  who  felt  dis]M)sed  to  make  the  sword 
the  arbiter  of  tlie  dispute.  Tlie  introduction  of  a  new  army  organi- 
zation, which  had  been  but  half  comi)leted,  and  the  lack  of  stores 
and  ammunition  greatly  reduced  the  efficiency  of  the  Swedish  mili- 
tary forces.  Tlie  possibility  of  Russian  aggression,  as  well  as  the 
symi)athy  for  Nonvay  shown  by  the  great  powers,  would  render  a 
war  hazardous  even  under  more  favorable  circumstances,  and  King 
Oscar  II.,  who  had  always  been  a  noble-minded  friend  of  peace,  would 
scarcely  now  in  his  old  age  embroil  the  two  nations  in  a  fratricidal 
war  for  tlie  i)reservation  of  a  union  which  could  be  maintained  only 
by  sacrificing  the  peace  and  well-being  of  both  peoples.  Among 
the  common  classes  in  Swede  ''cUc  desire  for  a  peaceful  settlement 
of  tlie  dirtieulty  was  very  strong.  The  laborers,  socialists,  and  numer- 
ous friends  of  the  peace  movement  spoke  in  defense  of  Nor\\'ay,  and 
declared  themselves  opi)osed  to  war  in  a  manner  which  must  have 
made  a  deep  impression.  "The  (la\'  when  old  Sweden  recognizes 
that  goodness  is  greatness,  and  abandons  all  evil  witli  its  em])ty 
titles,  the  day  when  our  national  assembly  joins  the  Stortliing  in  a 
friendly  dissohiticm  of  tlie  union,  will  be  a  holy  day,  and  all  Swedes 
will  be  a  united  people."  wrote  K.  P.  Arnoldson.  one  of  tlie  leading 
Swedish  peace  advocates.  "The  safest  thing  in  the  midst  of  all 
uncertainty,"  he  says  in  another  place,  "  is  to  be  just  to  your  neighbor, 
be  he  an  individual  or  a  nation.  Let  the  Norwegians  ])e  permittetl 
to  manage  tlieir  own  atTairs  in  peace.  This  i)rineiple  tlic  press  with 
its  great  influence  should  impress  upon  the  people's  mind  during 
the  growing  difficulties.  This  is  an  admonition  as  well  as  a  prayer. 
It  is  tlie  prayer  of  one  who  loves  his  country."  '  In  10()5  the  Swedish 
peace  association  deeiiU-d  to  join  in  the  May  demonstrations  of  tlie 

1  K.  P.  Arnoldson,  i'nionens  aidete  Dagar,  p.  21,  p.  27. 


580  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

labor  organizations,  and  on  the  1st  of  May  a  procession  numbering 
30,000  marched  through  the  streets  of  Stockholm.  The  peace 
association  carried  two  banners  with  the  inscription :  "  Justice  to 
Norway,  Peace  with  Norway,"  and  "Pax  quaeretur  Justitia"  (peace 
is  secured  by  justice).  Emil  GuUers  spoke  to  the  vast  audience  on 
the  subject  "Peace  with  Norway,"  and  emphasized  that  peace  is 
won  by  justice,  as  stated  on  the  peace  banner.  But  justice  to  Nor- 
way required  the  application  of  the  Golden  Rule :  "  Therefore  all 
things  whatsoever  that  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them."  "Justice  to  Norway,"  said  the  speaker,  was 
interpreted  correctly  by  the  Norwegian  peace  advocate,  who  said : 
"  Sweden  should  treat  Norway  as  the  Swedes  would  wish  to  be  treated 
by  the  Norwegians,  if  Norway  was  the  larger  and  stronger  nation." 
After  the  speech  the  vast  audience  sang  the  Norwegian  national 
song:  "Ja,  vi  elsker  dette  Landet,"  and  the  following  resolutions 
were  adopted  by  all  the  30,000  people  assembled : 

"  We,  the  laborers  and  other  peace-loving  and  liberal-minded  men 
and  women  of  Stockholm,  express  our  positive  disapproval  of  the 
short-sighted  union  policy  of  our  government  and  the  Swedish  Con- 
servative press,  which  endangers  the  union  of  the  two  countries, 
and  the  future  welfare  of  both  nations. 

*'  Union  and  good  understanding  with  Norway  can  be  maintained 
only  through  complete  equality  of  the  two  kingdoms,  and  the  un- 
qualified recognition  of  the  right  of  both  to  manage  their  own  affairs, 
including  such  foreign  affairs  as  concern  either  kingdom  alone. 

"  We  demand  that  our  government  shall  respect  Norway's  right  to 
establish  a  separate  consular  service,  and  that  so  soon  as  a  measure 
is  submitted  which  has  been  passed  by  the  Storthing  and  sanctioned 
by  the  cabinet,  negotiations  with  Norway  shall  immediately  be 
instituted  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  an  arrangement  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  foreign  affairs  which  will  receive  the  sanction  and  support 
of  both  peoples. 

"  We  demand  justice  for  Norway,  peace  with  Norway."  ^ 

No  one  exerted  a  greater  influence  for  peace  than  the  Swedish 
statesman,  Adolf  Hedin.     J.  L0vland,  Norwegian  minister  of  state 

1  Emil  Gullers,  Fred  med  Norge.  Gustaf  Bdw.  FaMcrantz,  Sveriges  Rdtt 
och  Pligt.     Ernst  Liljedahl,  Sveriges  Rati  och  Ara. 


II  TTIE    CKISIS    (»F     IIKJ.")  581 

in  Stockholm,  writes:  "I  rcceivrd  hiin  in  tlic  ministfr's  hotel  in 
Storkhohn  after  the  kiu;^  had  refused  to  sanction  tlie  consular  hill. 
When  he  heard  what  had  happened,  he  talked  a  lon^;  time  al)out  tlie 
situation.  Ih-  was  sick  and  sulVered  niueii.  Death  had  already  set 
its  mark  upon  him,  hut  he  retained  his  interest  witli  wonderful 
energy.  When  I  had  helped  him  down  tlie  stiiirway  and  throuj,'h 
tlie  entrance  he  said  with  tears  in  his  eyes :  *  Farewell.  I  .see  what 
will  follow.  You  are  the  last  Nor^vegian  minister  of  state  in  Stock- 
holm. M>'  hope  of  a  happy  union  hetween  the  three  free  and  inde- 
pendent Northern  nations  has  been  shattered.  But  jjossihly  it 
is  best.  If  we  only  can  avoid  inaugurating  the  future  witli  war  and 
brother  hatred!  My  days  are  soon  ended.  Farewell  I'  During 
the  whole  summer  he  used  his  influence  for  peace  in  the  press  and 
in  tlie  Rigsdag.  I  received  many  letters  from  him,  but  I  could  not 
answer  them  until  I  was  in  Karlstad.  Then  I  wrote  him.  and  asknl 
him  not  to  refuse  reelection  to  tlic  Rigsdag.  Later  I  was  able  to 
telegraph  that  there  was  prospect  of  a  i)eaceful  settlement.  This 
news  gave  him  great  joy  in  his  last  moments.  He  died  before  the 
Karlstad  negotiations  were  completed."  ' 

When  the  king  was  notified  that  Norway  had  dissolved  the  iniion, 
he  hnmediately  telegraphed  an  earnest  jirotest,  and  tlie  Rigs<lag 
was  convened  in  extra  session  to  consider  the  situation.  A  proposi- 
tion submitted  by  the  ministry  recommended  that  no  attempt  should 
be  made  to  i)reser\'e  tlie  union  by  force,  as  a  union  so  niaintainetl 
would  1)»'  a  source  of  weakness  rather  than  of  strength.  Hut  the 
union  could  not  be  dissolved  without  the  consent  of  Swcnlen,  and  a 
demand  would  be  made  for  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  various  im- 
portant matters,  as  tliis  alone  could  insure  i)eaceful  relations  in  the 
future.  In  order  that  an  agreement  might  be  reached  on  the  l)nsi3 
of  which  the  dissolution  of  the  union  could  be  etfectetl.  the  king  should 
be  empowered  to  institute  negotiations  with  N(»nvay.  The  pniposi- 
tion  was  referred  to  a  special  committee,  whieh  submitte<l  its  rei>ort 
July  25.  The  report  represents  a  comprt^mise  betwtHMi  the  extnMue 
views  of  those  who  demanded  that  Non^ay  should  be  subduetl  by 
force  of  anus,  and  tliose  who  favored  a  peaceful  disst)lution  of  the 
union  witliout  any  attempt  to  dict;ite  tenns.     As  ct)nditions   for 

1  FoT  AUe,  tMrsk  KcUender,  1909.  p.  7ti  f. 


582  HISTORY   OP  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

consent  to  the  dissolution  the  committee  proposed  that  Norway 
should  present  a  formal  request  after  a  new  Storthing  had  been 
elected,  and  after  the  Norwegian  people  through  a  plebiscite  should 
signify  their  desire  for  the  dissolution  of  the  union.  If  these  condi- 
tions were  complied  with,  negotiations  might  be  entered  into  for  the 
arrangement  of  terms,  on  which  the  final  agreement  might  be  based. 
This  measure  was  passed  by  the  Rigsdag,  but  on  the  same  day,  even 
before  it  had  been  officially  announced  in  Norway,  a  government 
bill  was  introduced  In  the  Storthing  ordering  a  general  plebiscite  in 
order  that  the  people  might  get  an  opportunity  to  ratify  the  step 
taken  on  June  7th.  The  bill  was  unanimously  passed,  and  the 
plebiscite,  which  was  held  August  13,  1905,  revealed  a  singular 
unanimity.  The  notice  given  was  very  brief,  and  many  sailors 
and  tishennen  could  not  reach  home  in  so  short  a  time.  But  of  the 
435,576  voters  in  the  kingdom,  371,911,  or  So  per  cent,  were  able  to 
cast  their  ballot.  Of  these,  368,208  voted  in  favor  of  the  dissolution 
of  the  union,  and  184  against  it.  3519  ballots  were  discarded.  Never 
has  a  nation  expressed  a  more  unanimous  opinion  on  a  public  question, 
and  never  has  a  people  made  a  more  determined  effort  to  be  present 
at  the  polls. ^  The  Storthing  thereupon  extended  a  formal  request 
to  Sweden  to  cooperate  in  the  dissolution  of  the  union  by  entering 
into  negotiations  for  the  purpose  of  arriving  at  an  agreement.  A 
committee  consisting  of  Christian  Michelsen,  J.  L0vland,  Carl 
Bemer,  and  B.  Vogt  was  appointed  to  treat  with  a  similar  Swedish 
committee,  consisting  of  the  minister  of  state,  Lundberg,  and  the 
cabinet  members,  Wachtmeister,  Hammarskjold,  and  Staaff. 
During  the  negotiations,  which  were  carried  on  at  Karlstad  from 
August  31  till  September  23,  1905,  great  anxiety  prevailed,  and 
troops  were  statiohed  on  both  sides  of  the  border.  But  the  commit- 
tees finally  succeeded  in  reaching  an  agreement.  Both  kingdoms 
agreed  to  submit  to  the  Hague  Tribunal  all  controversies  which  they 
cannot  settle  by  direct  negotiations,  providing  that  they  do  not  in- 
volve the  independence,  integrity,  or  vital  interests  of  either  kingdom. 
Along  both  sides  of  the  border  from  Predrikshald  and  Str0mstad 
to  a  point  where  Ulv^  and  Klaralv  cut  the  sixty-first  parallel,  a 

1  F.  V.  Heiberg,   Unionens  Opl^sning  1905,  p.  309  ff.     Yngvar  Nielsen, 
Norge  i  1905,  p.  433  ff. 


I'l.ATK    XXV 


II  TOR    KARI>*TAD    Af}REF:ME>rr  583 

neutral  zone  was  created,  inside  of  which  no  military  operations  of 
any  kind  can  be  carried  on.  The  new  fortresses  which  of  hit*-  years 
had  been  erected  within  that  zone  should  be  razed,  and  no  new  ones 
are  to  be  erected  in  tlie  future.' 

For  humanitarian  reasons  the  Finns,  who  live  as  nomads  in  the 
northern  part  of  botli  ciMUitries,  shoulil  be  allowed  to  enjoy  the  .same 
privileges  which  were  <^raiited  thetn  l)y  codicil  I,  in  the  treaty  of  17.")1. 
But  the  law  of  ISS:^,  which  had  been  sub.stituted  for  this  ccnlicil, 
is  to  remain  in  force  till  U)I7. 

Both  kinKd»Mns  pledf^ed  themselves  not  to  hinder  or  prohibit 
the  free  trans{)ortation  of  gf^ods  in  transit  throu<jh  either  realm,  and 
rules  were  established  for  the  utilization  of  lakes  and  water  courses 
common  to  both  countries. 

The  clause  providing  for  a  neutral  zone  and  the  dismantling  of 
the  fortresses  created  much  ill-will  in  Norway,  as  it  was  felt  that 
Sweden  sought  to  humiliate  tlie  kingdom.  Botli  in  the  press  and 
in  the  Storthing  spirited  protests  were  made  against  tliese  feature^ 
of  the  agreement,-  but  the  members  of  the  committee  conducting 
the  negotiations,  and  their  sujjporters,  showed  that  tlie  fortresses 
in  question  were  of  little  or  no  military  value.  It  was  urged  that 
in  order  to  avoid  war  and  all  its  evil  consequences  tlie  conditions 
ought  to  be  accepted,  as  they  involved  no  vital  interests,  and  as 
Sweden  would  accej)t  nothing  less.  This  wisely  chosen  course  of 
the  most  prudent  leaders  finally  prevailed.  On  October  Dtli  the 
agreement  submitted  by  the  committee  was  sanctioned  by  the  Stor- 
thing, only  sixteen  votes  being  registered  against  it.  The  Swe<lish 
Iligsdag  anruille(i  the  Act  of  Union  October  l()th.  and  authoriz*-*! 
the  king  to  recognize  the  union  as  dissolved.'     On   Octtiber  27tli 

>  Tho  fi)rtres.ses  wliii-li  Iwul  to  l)o  rivivd  wito  :  I'rskoK  (Diiijrsru<l).  Orje' 
and  Kroksund,  and  the  now  fortresses  of  Fredrikstcn,  ( ivlcleidtu ««,  ( >\  »'rhjerv«'t. 
Veden,  and  Iljolmkollen.  The  old  forti(U'!i(ioii.s  at  FrtHlrikHton.  with  which 
many  historic  ineinorios  arc  associal«Ml,  remaiii,  l>iit  they  are  not  t<i  l>o  ustnl 
for  military  purposes.  Konpsvin^ror  was  h'ft  outside  the  neutral  «ono,  but 
its  fortifications  aro  not  to  bo  oxtondod  or  increased. 

*  Hvad  Landd  inencr;  Karlstadforhandlingimr  og  Grarnjit/.riitningrrnr. 
This  is  a  collpction  of  quotations  from  forty-oight  N'orwojnan  papors  retnunling 
the  Karlstad  acrrooinont.  Christiania,  1905.  H.  D.  Lowzow.  Orttntrfor- 
terne,  en  miUtirr  I'lrcdning. 

'  The  Acl  of  Union  was  in  reality  a  treaty  hetwooa  the  two  nations.  See 
N.  Gjelsvik,  Rigsaktcn  sorn  TraktcU,  Samtidcn,  1905. 


584  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

King  Oscar  II.  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Norwegian  people  an- 
nouncing his  abdication  as  king  of  Norway.  To  this  he  added  the 
statement  that  he  could  not  consent  to  the  election  of  a  prince  of  hi^ 
family  as  successor  to  the  vacant  throne. 

After  the  union  with  Sweden  had  been  dissolved,  the  attention 
was  directed  to  the  problem  of  establishing  a  new  government. 
Many  hoped  that  a  republic  would  be  proclaimed/  but  all  agreed 
that  on  account  of  the  gravity  of  the  situation  any  agitation  for  the 
purpose  of  changing  the  form  of  government  would  be  inopportune 
and  unwise.  By  preserving  the  old  Norwegian  throne  the  new  gov- 
ernment would  revive  in  a  most  direct  way  the  proudest  traditions 
of  the  past,  and  no  great  change  would  have  to  be  made  in  the  consti- 
tution. The  leading  men  were  in  favor  of  a  liberal  monarchy,^  and 
the  people  would  be  sure  to  welcome  a  national  king  appearing  as 
the  successor  of  the  Haralds,  Haakons,  and  Olavs  who  in  time  past 
had  made  Norway  great. 

After  Oscar  II.  had  signified  his  unwillingness  to  consent  to  the 
choice  of  a  Bernadotte  prince,  the  government  turned  to  Prince 
Charles  of  Denmark.  This  step  was  supported  by  the  press,  and 
it  soon  became  clear  that,  if  elected,  the  prince  would  be  received 
with  enthusiasm  in  Norway.  Through  marriage  with  Princess 
Maude,  daughter  of  Edward  VII.  of  England,  he  was  closely  related 
to  the  English  royal  family,  which  could  only  serve  to  strengthen 
the  friendship  between  the  two  realms.  Prince  Charles  declared 
himself  willing  to  accept  the  throne,  if  the  Norwegian  people  should 
signify  their  consent  through  a  general  plebiscite.  The  Storthing 
accordingly  ordered  a  plebiscite  to  be  held,  November  12th-13th. 
Four-fifths  of  the  total  number  of  votes  cast  were  registered  in  favor 
of  the  monarchical  form  of  government  and  the  election  of  Prince 
Charles.  On  November  18,  1905,  the  necessary  changes  were  made 
in  the  constitution,  and  on  the  same  day  the  prince  was  unanimously 

1  Nikolai  Lundegaard,  Republik  eller  Konged^mme.  Stian  Beeh,  Konge- 
d^mme  eller  Republik.  Urbain  Gohier,  La  Republique  escamotbe  en  Norwege, 
Paris,  19Q.5. 

^  Norges  Statsforfatning,  Udtalelser  af  Bj^rnstjerne  Bj^rnson,  Fridtjof 
Nansen,  Ernst  Sars,  Johan  Bredal.  J.  E.  Sars,  Unionsopl^sning  og  nationalt 
Konged0mme.  Stortingspresident  Berners  Tale  i  Storthinget  den  28de  Okto- 
ber  1905. 


IM.ATK    XXVI 


KiM.   Haakon   \  I  I. 


II  POLITICAL    AND    SOCIAL    CON'DITIGNH,    UM)',    1014  585 

chosen  king  of  Norway  by  the  Storthing.  In  thr  aftcrn(K)n  s<*ssion 
a  telegram  from  the  prince  was  read,  tliroiigh  which  he  announcetl 
that  he  accepted  th«'  tlirone,  that  he  assumed  the  name  of  Haakon 
VII.,  and  tliat  liis  little  son,  tlie  crown  prince,  would  l>e  callc<l  Olav. 
On  November  25tli  the  king  with  Queen  Maude  and  Prince  Olav 
arrived  in  Nonvay,  and  two  days  later  he  took  the  oath  on  the  con.sti- 
tution  in  tlie  presence  of  the  assemhle<i  Storthing.  On  June  22,  19()G, 
King  Haakon  VII.  and  Queen  Maude  were  crowne<i  in  tlie  Trondhjeni 
cathedral.  After  centuries  of  national  oh.scurity,  of  l)itt<T  stnij;gle 
for  freedom  and  independence,  the  people  could  at  last  mingle  their 
voices  with  the  joyful  anthems  of  prai.se  and  thank.sgiving  that  Nor- 
way had  gained  her  full  freedom,  untarnished  by  foreign  guardianship, 
or  irksome,  unprofitable  union  with  another  sUite. 

68.   Political  and  Social  Conditions,  1905-1914 

Shortly  after  the  coronation  ceremonies,  the  campaign  for  the  new 
elections  was  opened  in  Trondhjem  by  Christian  Michel.sen,  who  advo- 
cated a  moderate  policy  aiming  to  secure  further  guarantees  for  the 
integrity  and  independence  of  Nonvay.  He  failed  to  secure  a  ma- 
jority of  the  members  returned,  but  his  ministr>-  remained  in  power 
for  a  time  by  mutual  consent,  as  no  party  was  strong  enough  to  form 
a  new  ministry  representing  a  majority.  In  19<)7  a  controversy 
arose  regarding  the  regulation  of  the  water  in  Lake  Mjosen.  The 
different  party  groups  combined  again.st  the  ministry,  and  as  Michel- 
sen  had  been  in  delicate  liealth  for  some  time,  he  resigned.  Hefon* 
he  left  Christiania,  oO.lMM)  people  marched  to  his  residence  to  expn^ss 
tlieir  love  and  admiration  for  the  retiring  leader,  who  ha<l  guideti  the 
nation  with  such  skill  tlirough  the  great  crisis  of  19().").  On  the  2n«l 
of  Novcml)er  a  treaty,  which  was  largely  tlie  result  of  his  elTorts,  was 
concluded  with  England,  I'Vance,  (iennany,  and  Russia,  by  which 
tliese  powers  agrei'd  to  guarantee  tlie  independencv  atid  int«*grit> 
of  the  kingdom,  Norway  pn)mising  not  to  vcdv  any  territory  U)  a 
foreign  power.  Tlie  treaty  shoidd  remain  in  force  for  tliv  peri<Mi  of 
ten  years,  and  if  not  abrogated  two  years  befon'  tlie  expiration  of 
that  term,  it  should  be  continued  for  anotlier  decade. 

After  Michclsen  retired,  J.   Lovland,  who  had  Ihvu  minister  of 


586,  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  11 

foreign  affairs,  formed  a  new  cabinet.  He  is  a  statesman  of  great 
ability  and  sound  liberal  views,  but  he  found  difficulty  in  uniting 
a  majority  on  any  definite  policy.  The  political  parties  were  in- 
creasing in  number,  and  the  growing  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of 
the  common  classes  had  created  a  great  divergence  of  opinion  on 
nearly  all  jjublic  questions.  The  Moderate  Liberals,  or  Ofted0ler, 
practicall}'  disappeared  in  1900,  but  new  parties  appeared.  The 
Labor  party,  organized  in  1887,  developed  strong  socialistic  ten- 
dencies, and  under  the  leadership  of  John  Castberg,  who  entered 
the  Storthing  in  1900,  it  grew  in  strength  and  influence.  In  1903  the 
Socialists,  led  by  Alfred  Eriksen,  appeared  as  a  new  political  party 
in  the  Storthing.  Both  these  groups  opposed  the  L0vland  ministry, 
and  other  even  more  serious  opposition  was  soon  encountered.  The 
question  of  conservation  of  natural  resources,  raised  by  the  Michel- 
sen  ministry  through  the  "  concession  laws,"  which  aimed  to  prevent 
foreign  capitalists  from  gaining  permanent  possession  of  the  mines, 
forests,  and  w^aterfalls  of  the  country,  had  developed  into  an  issue 
which  produced  a  split  in  the  Coalition  party.  Gunnar  Knudsen, 
who  favored  a  strong  conservation  policy,  seceded  and  organized 
the  Radical  Liberal  party.  Aided  by  the  Socialists,  this  group  suc- 
ceeded in  overthrowing  the  L0vland  ministry,  and  Knudsen  formed 
a  new  ministry  in  March,  1908.  The  remaining  part  of  the  Coalition 
party  was  organized  into  the  Liberal-Liberal  party  (Frisindede 
Venstre)  in  1909.  According  to  conservative  or  radical  tendencies 
the  political  parties  in  Norway  now  ranked  as  follows :  Conser- 
vatives, Liberal-Liberals,  Radical  Liberals,  Labor  Party,  and  So- 
cialists. 

The  attention  of  the  new  ministry  was  chiefly  devoted  to  the  prob- 
lem of  conservation  of  natural  resources,  probably  the  most  important 
economic  question  which  the  Norwegian  people  has  hitherto  been 
called  upon  to  settle.  Norway,  which  was  generally  regarded  as 
a  poor  country,  where  the  tillable  area  is  very  small,  and  the  natural 
resources  limited,  was  found  to  possess  great  abundance  of  mineral- 
bearing  rock  and  a  vast  amount  of  water  power  which  can  be  turned 
into  use  in  mining  and  manufacturing,  the  great  wealth-producing 
industries  of  modern  times.  The  rapid  development  of  mining  and 
manufacturing  bid  fair  to  revolutionize  economic  conditions  in  Nor- 


I'l.ATK    XXVII 


>.      a 


II  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL  ro>n)rno\s,  i90&-igi4  587 

way.  and  to  produce  most  important  social  changes,  but  no  ffreat 
harm  may  ht- (ioiic  to  the  people's  s^xial  well-lxinj;  if  an  indiLstrial 
life  is  develoix-d  as  n  result  of  inn«T  national  growth.  The  use  of 
electric  ])o\ver  makes  it  possible  to  eliminate  one  of  tlie  most  objec- 
tionable features  of  modern  industrial  life,  tlie  Rroupinj?  of  factories 
in  great  commercial  centers,  due  to  the  use  of  steam  p(»\ver.  which 
requires  a  large  supply  of  coal.  The  use  of  wat«T  power  and  elec- 
tricity makes  it  convenient  to  locate  factories  in  the  neighl>orhofMi 
of  waterfalls.  This  insures  to  the  industrial  labon-rs  more  healthy 
conditions,  and  tends  to  identify  them  socially  witli  the  rural  rather 
than  with  the  urban  po])ulation,  a  feature  which  may  pntve  of  great 
importance  in  the  future  social  development.  But  a  danger  of 
another  kimi  threatened  to  make  the  new  industrial  development  a 
mo.st  serious  social  problem.  Foreign  capiUilists  sought  to  acquire 
possession  of  the  mines,  waterfalls,  and  power  stations  of  the  coun- 
try. This  i)eaceful  conquest  made  by  foreign  capital,  if  allowetl  to 
proceed  unhindered,  might  lead  to  the  establishing  of  tlie  kind  of 
industrial  feudalism  found  in  other  countrit's  where  caj)italism  holds 
sway.  Foreign  laborers  would  be  })rought  into  the  country-,  and 
the  Norwegian  peoi)le  would  be  gradually  reduced  to  a  cla.ss  of  wage- 
earners  toiling  for  foreign  masters.  Gumuir  Knudsen,  minister  of 
state,  wrote  in  1910:  "The  question  connected  with  the  concession 
laws  has  been  debated  during  the  last  four  years.  In  llXKi  the 
Michelsen  ministry'  proposed  the  concession  laws,  which  were  callnl 
'panic  laws'  l)y  the  Conservative  press.  At  tluit  time  a  veritable 
raid  was  made  on  our  natural  resources,  especially  by  foreigners. 
But  we  might  ask :  Were  there  no  laws  which  could  put  a  stop  to 
this  raid '(  Yes,  even  the  law  of  1888  provides  tliat  foreigners  in 
order  to  secure  realty  in  tliis  countr>'  mu.st  obUiin  conce.ssion  or 
royal  jjcnni.ssion.  But  it  ap])eared  that  it  was  the  so-oalh'd  Nonve- 
gian  companies,  capitalized  by  foreigners,  who  under  tliis  guise  se- 
cured a  ver>'  large  share  of  our  natural  resources;  not  waterfalls 
alone,  but  alst)  forests  and  mines.  Then  tlie  Michelsen  ministry 
proposed  the  so-called  'panic  laws,'  whicli  provided  tliat  foreign 
stock  companies  had  to  obtain  conc«*ssion  in  order  to  j)btain  title 
to  real  estate  in  our  countrv'.  This  was  a  ver>'  imj>ort-»int  provision, 
and  it  was  bitterly  opposed.     But  tlie  bill  became  a  temixjrary  law, 


588  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

which  remained  in  force  till  last  year,  i.e.  the  temporary  law  was 
reenacted  from  year  to  year.  But  there  was  a  constant  demand  that 
this  temporary  arrangement  should  cease."  In  1909  the  Knudsen 
ministry  secured  the  passage  of  more  rigorous  concession  laws,  con- 
trolling the  purchase  of  forests,  mines,  waterfalls,  and  power  stations. 
In  regard  to  real  estate  in  general  this  law  provides  that  foreigners 
must  obtain  concession  in  order  to  secure  realty  of  any  kind,  but 
citizens  and  Norwegian  stock  companies  may  buy  without  concession 
timber  areas  not  exceeding  250  acres.  From  250  to  1250  acres  may 
be  bought  by  Norwegian  citizens,  or  local  communities,  with  the 
restriction,  however,  that  they  must  not  own  over  one-tenth  of  the 
total  timber  area  of  the  herred,  and  the  community  has  the  right  of 
preemption  in  all  such  purchases.  The  aim  of  this  provision  is  to 
prevent  foreign  as  well  as  native  capitalists  from  securing  possession 
of  the  forests,  which  are  to  be  left  as  far  as  possible  in  the  hands  of 
the  local  communities. 

With  regard  to  mining  the  law  provides  that  prospecting  and  trial 
operation  may  be  carried  on  without  concession,  but  the  right  to 
work  a  mine  must  be  secured  through  concession,  which  imposes 
several  conditions.  The  government  has  the  right  to  impose  a 
tax  of  three  per  cent,  figured  on  the  value  of  the  output  of  the  mine. 
The  concession  is  granted  only  for  a  fixed  period,  not  exceeding 
eighty  years,  after  which  time  the  ownership  of  the  ceded  property, 
together  with  machinery  and  improvements,  reverts  to  the  govern- 
ment without  compensation. 

The  purchase  and  sale  of  waterfalls  and  rapids  representing  less 
than  1000  horse  power  are  unrestricted.  The  right  to  use  larger 
waterfalls  must  be  secured  through  concession,  which  imposes  quite 
rigid  conditions.  Citizens  must  be  allowed  to  become  partners 
in  the  undertaking  for  which  the  concession  is  granted,  and  condi- 
tions may  be  established  preventing  persons  who  use  another  water- 
fall, or  who  own  a  majority  of  shares  in  another  company,  from  secur- 
ing a  majority  of  shares  in  the  new  undertaking.  The  herred  in 
which  the  power  station  is  located  is  to  receive  at  a  moderate  price 
for  public  use  five  per  cent  of  the  power  developed,  and  the  state  is 
to  receive  five  per  cent  on  the  same  conditions.  The  concession 
is  granted  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  sixty  years,  and  not  more 


II  POLITICAL    AND    SOCIAL    fOVDITIONS,     190,'i-1914  589 

than  eighty  years.  After  tliis  period  the  waterfalls,  dams,  water 
mains,  pipes,  etc.,  become  the  projM-rty  of  the  state  witliout  com- 
pensation.' 

The  most  important  feature  of  the  concession  laws  is  the  provision 
that  mines  and  waterfalls  can  be  leased  only  for  a  term  of  years,  and 
that  at  the  expiration  of  tliat  period  these  resources,  togetlier  with 
improvements,  revert  to  tlie  state.  This  constitutes  an  effective 
barrier  against  the  creation  of  monopolies  controlled  1)\  foreign 
capital.  The  Conservatives,  who  o{)i)osed  the  ineasun'  as  .socialis- 
tic legislation,  directed  tlieir  attack  again.st  tliis  feature  of  the  law. 
It  was  claimed  that  such  a  provision  was  unconstitutional,  tliat  it 
violated  the  right  of  private  ownership,  tliat  it  would  destroy  per- 
sonal initiative,  and  would  retard  progress  by  keeping  foreign  capital 
out  of  tlie  countn*'.  But  the  supj)orters  of  the  measure  pn-ferred 
to  insure  to  the  people  full  control  of  tlie  natural  resources  of  tlie 
countrv',  even  if  industrial  development  should  make  slower  progress, 
and  the  wisdom  of  tliis  policy  is  now  generally  recognizeii.  The 
prophecies  of  the  opponents  have  faiktl  to  materialize.  Rapid 
industrial  progress  is  being  made  under  the  new  law.  and  the  filling 
that  tlie  new  industries  in  reality  Ix-joug  to  the  whole  peoi)le  has 
created  a  confidence  and  optimism  which  will  insure  a  rapid  develo{>- 
ment  of  energy-  and  talent  in  Nonvay's  industrial  growth. 

In  the  elections  of  1909  the  Conservatives  and  Liberal-Liberals 
combined,  and  succeeded  in  electing  si.xty-four  representatives  as 
against  forty-eight  Radical  Lil)erals  and  eleven  Socialists.  Of  the 
majority  group  forty-eight  were  Conservatives  and  nineteen  LilH-rals. 
Owing  to  this  defeat  the  Kniid.sen  ministry  resigned,  and  W.  Konow 
of  Spndrc  Rergenlius,  leatler  of  tlie  Liberal-Liberals,  formed  a 
new  ministry'  in  tlie  winter  of  1910.  Botli  tlie  Coiiser%atives  and 
the  Liberals  recommended  state  accident  insurance  and  .sickness 
insurance  for  .seamen,  and  old  age  pensions  for  all  jxTsons  alx>ve 
seventy  years.  Hotli  parties  favored  a  restriction  of  tlie  o)nccssion 
laws,   and  demanded  that  tlie  right  of  private  ownershij)   .sliouki 

'  Ounnar  Knu(l.><on,  Forctlrag  orn  Konrtssii>n.'<lnt<nr  i  Kri^tiania*  llandfU- 
slands  Forming,  1910.  /  Dagms  Strid.  II.  Vor  0kotwtmjfk<  PolHik,  ('hris- 
tiania,  1900.  Konc^-ssionahvcnr.  RedakUr  lyPkcru  Forrdrag  i  HandcUJor- 
eningen,  1909.     A'orsA;  Lovtidcnde,  1909,  p.  533  ff.     Lov  a»  1909. 


590  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

not  be  impaired.  Both  demanded  the  maintenance  of  the  parlia- 
mentary form  of  government,  and  advocated  the  estabhshing  of 
referendum  and  the  right  of  the  king  to  dissolve  the  Storthing. 
The  Conservatives  also  inclined  to  favor  a  royal  suspensive  veto  in 
cases  of  constitutional  amendments.  The  last  planks  of  their  plat- 
form were  attacked  by  Otto  Albert  Blehr  in  a  speech  in  Bergen, 
September  4,  1910.  He  showed  that  these  features  belonged  to  dif- 
ferent political  systems;  that  the  right  to  dissolve  the  Storthing 
is  a  feature  of  parliamentary  government  not  to  be  recommended 
in  Norway,  where  the  representatives  arc  elected  for  the  short  period 
of  three  years,  though  it  is  used  in  England,  where  the  representatives 
are  elected  for  the  period  of  seven  years.  The  referendum  is  opposed 
in  principle  to  the  parliamentary  system,  as  it  removes  the  decision 
of  important  measures  from  the  legislature,  and  gives  it  to  the  whole 
people.^  Neither  of  these  features  was  carried  through  by  the  new 
ministry,  nor  were  any  changes  made  in  the  concession  laws ;  but 
some  progress  was  made  in  legislation  aiming  at  securing  better 
conditions  for  the  laboring  classes,  a  problem  to  which  the  more 
radical  parties  had  devoted  special  attention. 

By  the  law  of  1894  government  accident  insurance  was  established 
for  certain  classes  of  laborers  engaged  in  more  dangerous  pursuits. 
All  employers  in  these  occupations  are  required  to  insure  their 
laborers.  The  required  assessments  are  collected  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  all  accidents  must  be  reported  to  the  Rigsforsikringsan- 
stalt,  or  Government  Insurance  Commission,  which  has  full  manage- 
ment of  this  kind  of  insurance,  and  decides  what  damages  are  to 
be  paid.  The  employers  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  accidents, 
as  the  government  through  its  inspectors  provides  all  possible  safety 
appliances  for  the  protection  of  the  laborers,  and  the  damages  are 
paid  by  the  commission  in  form  of  insurance.  This  law  was  supple- 
mented by  new  measures  in  1899,  1906,  1908,  and  1911,  by  which 
the  accident  insurance  was  extended  to  an  ever  larger  number  of 
occupations. 

^  Stiftsamtmand  Blehrs  Foredrag  i  Bergen  4de  September  1910  om  Grund- 
lovsvetoet  og  dels  Forbindelse  med  H^ireforeningens  nye  Programsaker :  Op- 
Msningsret  og  Folkeavstemning.  Aa.  Bryggesaa,  Bfir  Opl^sningsret  opstilles 
sow.  Valgprogramf     I  Dagena  Strid,  I. 


II  POLITICAL    AND    HOCIAL    CONDITION'S,    IIXIS^   1011  591 

I}y  tlip  law  of  UK)!)  sickness  iiisiirarice  was  ma«U'  coinpulson  f«ir 
all  lal)ortTs  al)(ne  fifteen  years  of  ajje  who  luul  an  income  not  exciwl- 
ing  12(K)  kroner  in  the  niral  districts,  or  14<M)  kroner  in  the  cities.' 
They  are  divided  according  to  their  income  into  fonr  classes,  ro 
ceiving  a  pr<)])ortionatf  indemnity  in  case  of  sickness.  Tw(»-t«-ntks 
of  tlie  preniiuni  is  ])ai(l  hy  the  state,  on«'-tentli  hy  tlie  empl(»yer,  one- 
tenth  by  the  community,  and  six-tcntlis  hy  the  laborers  coUectively. 
For  other  hilmrers  tlie  insurance  is  voluntary,  if  their  yearly  income 
docs  not  exceed  81)1)  kroner  in  tlie  country,  or  1(M)()  kn)ner  in  the 
cities,  or  if  their  estates  do  not  exceed  7()(M)  kroner  in  the  countn', 
or  10,000  kroner  in  tlie  cities.  In  1014  the  law  was  injide  to  include 
laborers  with  an  income  of  1000  kroner  in  the  (t)untr\-  and  1H(X) 
kroner  in  the  cities.  Tlie  insured  are  now  divided  into  five  chusses, 
receiving  an  indemnity  of  0.60,  0.90,  1.50,  2.10,  and  2.70  kroner  per 
day. 

I^nemplo\Tnent  insurance  according,'  to  the  St.  Gallen  system  was 
introduced  by  the  law  of  1900,  according  to  which  the  government 
furnishes  one-fourtli  of  the  out-of-work  benefits  paid  by  tlie  various 
labor  organizations.  The  local  comnnmities  to  which  the  unem- 
ployed belong  must,  however,  reimburse  the  government  two-tliinls 
of  the  sum  furnished. 

Strict  control  of  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  has  also  helped 
to  improve  the  conditions  of  the  laboring  clas.ses.  In  1871  tiic 
Gottenburg  system  was  introduced  in  Norway.  In  ISO!  the  rules 
for  tlie  organization  of  companies  for  .selling  liquors  under  this  sy.stem 
were  made  more  rigid,  and  in  190-t  a  law  was  ])as.se<l  which  re<lucrd 
the  sale  and  use  of  intoxicants  to  a  minimum,  and  place<l  Nonvay 
next  to  Finland  at  the  very  toj)  of  the  list  in  regard  to  tempenince.* 
According  to  this  law  the  beverages  which  are  subject  tt^  control 

'  /  Dagens  Strid,  I.,  O.  ,\.  Eftost0l,  Sykcfomikringrn.  Del  norske  Vetuire 
fra  ISS/f  til  1,909,  V.,  Socinlc  Spdrgsmaal.  E.  H.  Downoy.  in  hi.s  work 
Accident  Indemnity  in  Iowa,  points  out  tliut  tho  Norwi'tnuti  plan  of  atat« 
insurunco  for  aecideiits  hiis  l)iH>n  adopted  also  Ijv  Anu'ricaii  letn^Iatoni.  8oo 
p.  127,  l')2.  Fninkol  and  Dawsou,  Workingmm's  Injiuranfc  in  Kuropt. 
IlluslriTtt  nnrsk  Kotircrndlions-Ijrksiknn,  Sykr/nntikringrn. 

*  F]ilort  Sundt,  ^SdrucUnhcdstilslanden  t  Norge.  Hs.  Ounitad.  Ixw  om  Salg 
og  Skjanktiing  af  Brandcvin,  Ql,  Vin,  Frugtvin  og  Sfj^i,  of  1 7dr  Mai  1901. 
Knut  Ojorset,  nrtrndcn'tut  Snmlagme  og  Avholdsarbridet  i  Sorge,  Dccoraii, 
Iowa,  1911.     Absalon  Taranger,  BorrcgaardsprivUcgict,  DokumctU  Nr,  IS. 


592  HISTORY   OF   THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

are  divided  into  two  groups:  (1)  Distilled  liquors,  including  all 
beverages  containing  above  fifteen  per  cent  of  spirit,  and  all  wines 
containing  above  twenty-one  per  cent  of  spirit.  (2)  Fermented 
liquors,  including  wine,  beer,  mead,  and  cider,  containing  a  less  per 
cent  of  sjiirit  than  the  first  class.  Denatured  alcohol  is  not  included 
in  either  group. 

Regarding  the  right  to  prepare  distilled  liquors,  strict  rules  are 
found  in  the  law  of  1887.  They  must  be  manufactured  in  distil- 
leries controlled  by  the  state  through  its  inspectors,  and  the  internal 
revenue  amounts  to  1.68  kroner  per  liter,  figured  on  the  basis  of  a 
purity  of  100  per  cent.  The  distillers  may  sell  to  any  one  in  quanti- 
ties not  less  than  250  liters  (a  little  over  fifty-nine  gallons).  They 
may  also  sell  in  small  quantities  of  not  less  than  0.35  liter  on  sealed 
bottles,  which  must  not  be  opened  at  the  place  of  purchase :  (a)  to 
those  who  have  a  concession  to  retail  liquor,  (6)  for  export,  (c)  for 
medical  and  scientific  use.  Concession  to  organize  a  company  for 
selling  intoxicating  beverages  is  granted  in  a  community  only  when 
a  majority  of  all  the  voters  of  the  district,  both  men  and  women, 
vote  in  favor  of  it,  and  only  one  such  company  can  be  organized  in 
each  community.  The  concession  is  granted  for  the  period  of  six 
years,  after  which  time  the  question  must  again  be  submitted  to 
the  vote  of  the  people.  The  persons  receiving  the  concession  or- 
ganize as  a  stock  company,  and  choose  a  manager,  who  must  be 
acceptable  to  the  local  authorities.  Liquor  may  then  be  sold  by 
the  company  in  as  many  places  in  the  community  or  city  as  the  local 
authorities,  or  city  council,  may  designate.  The  stock  company 
doing  business  under  the  concession  receives  a  profit  of  not  more 
than  five  per  cent  a  year  on  the  capital  invested.  Of  the  surplus 
the  community  receives  fifteen  per  cent,  the  stock  company  ten  per 
cent,  the  amt  ten  per  cent,  and  the  goverimient  sixty-five  per  cent. 
The  thirty-five  per  cent  received  by  the  company,  the  community, 
and  the  amt  are  used  for  public  purposes  for  which  funds  have  not 
otherwise  been  provided,  but  the  money  is  so  expended  as  not  to 
reduce  the  burdens  of  taxation.  The  right  to  sell  fermented  liquors 
is  granted  by  the  local  district  authorities  or  the  city  council  to 
companies  or  private  persons.  The  places  of  sale  and  the  number 
of  such  concessions  are  also  determined  by  the  same  authorities. 


II  FOLITRAL    ANb    S<>(  lAI.    (  (JNDlTIuNS,    lUU'/lUU  593 

Tlie  rif^lit  of  salo  may  1)«.-  liiiiite<I  so  that  tliese  WvcruK^-s  can  Ix*  sold 
only  to  guests  and  travelers,  as  in  hotels,  j)r  it  may  Ik-  a  right  to  sfll 
to  all  persons,  except  to  children  helow  the  age  of  fiftin-n  years. 
IIow  eflFective  tliis  system  has  heen  in  controlling  the  lifjuor  traffic 
is  shown  l)y  statistics.  In  all  the  conntry  districts  (»f  Norway  only 
si.x  companies  liave  heen  granted  the  right  to  sell  licjnor.  In  thirty- 
six  cities  no  such  right  has  been  granted.  In  all  the  cities  of  Non^ay 
there  are  only  ISl  places  where  licpior  is  sold.  Tlie  use  of  intoxicants 
has  been  correspondingly  reduced.  In  \s:V.\  the  consuni|)tion  of 
alcoholic  beverages  amounted  to  sixt«'en  liters  i)er  cajjiLa.  In  I'.XHI 
it  had  been  reduced  to  L'.'.l  litiT>.  Tlic  use  of  alcohol  and  di.stillnl 
liquors  in  the  various  countrit-s  in  11)01    l!M).")  was  as  follows: 

D18TILLED  LiquuRS  AuxtaoL 

LiU'rs  Liu-nt 

Finland       2..S  l.y 

Norway Ii.2  2.4 

Sweden        7.0  5.3 

United  States       5. }  5.5 

Great  Britain        t..")  7.8 

Germany S.  9.4 

Denmark M.l  10.9 

France         7 1S.9  ' 

The  temperance  movement  has  spread  so  rapidly  in  Nonvay  that 
21^7,000,  or  about  ten  j)er  cent  of  the  entire  population,  now  belong 
to  the  various  temperance  organizations.  The  restriction  in  tlie  use 
of  intoxicants  has  resulted  in  a  nuirked  re<luetion  in  the  jH-rcvnt^ige 
of  still  birtlis  and  mortiility  among  infants.  In.sanity.  suiciiies, 
and  deatlis  due  to  alct)holism  have  (h'creased,  the  mnnlH*r  of  {HTM)ns 
in  jails  and  penitentiaries  has  been  reduced,  much  energ>-  has  been 
conser\ed  for  producti\e  lab(»r,  and  much  j)o\trty  and  misery  have 
been  averted.  The  successful  work  for  temperance  is  now  ^'cnerally 
regarded  as  a  nutst  import.;int  step  in  the  social  ile\  I'lopment  of  tlie 
Norwegian  j)eoj)le  in  modern  times. 

In  1912  tlie  Konow  nunistr>-  was  overtlirown  by  their  Conserva- 
tive allies,  who  objected  to  the  opinion  exi)resse<l  by  Konow  on  the 
question  of  tlie  use  of  tJie  Lntid.tmaal .     The  c»>ntn)versy  n'ganling 

1  Sundbiirp,  i4;)»Tfi/.s-  slatisdijuis  iuttrtuilioJinuj,  P.XtS.  The  flj^irw  under 
alcohol  represent  the  total  amount  of  aholiol  in  di-stilliil  liquors.  boiT,  and 
wine. 

VOL.  II  — 2q 


594  HISTORY   OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  H 

the  relative  position  of  the  Landsmaal  and  the  Danish-Norwegian 
language  had  grown  very  intense,  and  the  Conservatives  were  very 
dissatisfied,  because  the  Landsmaal  had  been  placed  on  equal  footing 
with  the  Danish-Norwegian.  In  1878  the  following  rule  was  made 
by  tlie  government  regarding  the  use  of  the  Landsmaal  in  the  public 
schools :  "  The  instruction  is  to  be  given  as  far  as  possible  in  the 
children's  own  vernacular.  Gradually  they  can  then  be  taught  to 
understand  and  write  the  Danish-Norwegian  book  language."  In 
1885  the  Landsmaal  was  legalized  as  a  standard  official  language 
equal  to  the  Danish-Norwegian.  The  following  motion  was  passed 
by  the  Storthing  May  12th  with  seventy-eight  votes  against  thirty- 
one:  "The  ministry  is  requested  to  make  such  arrangements  that 
the  Norwegian  vernacular  is  placed  on  equal  footing  with  our  regu- 
lar literary  language  as  an  official  and  school  language."  ^  In  1901- 
1902  it  was  introduced  in  the  normal  schools,  or  teachers'  seminaries, 
on  a  par  with  the  older  literary  language,  and  in  1907  a  bill  was  passed 
by  the  Storthing  providing  that  candidates  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  should  write  twolessays,  one  in  each  language,  to  show  their 
knowledge  of  both.  The  Landsmaal  had,  finally,  been  accorded 
full  recognition,  and  it  is  now  extensively  used  in  the  schools,  in  the 
university  lecture  rooms,  in  the  Storthing,  and  even  by  members 
of  the  cabinet.  But  a  hostile  agitation  has  been  kept  up  against 
its  use  as  an  official  and  literary  language,  and  especially  against 
the  test  imposed  on  candidates  for  the  B.  A.  degree.  Most  of  the 
Conservatives  could  not  be  reconciled,  and  when  Konow  in  a  lec- 
ture expressed  himself  as  favoring  the  Landsinaal,  they  turned 
against  him,  and  forced  him  and  his  ministry  to  resign.  A  new 
ministry  was  formed  February  20,  1912,  by  the  Conservative  leader 
Bratlie.  He  attacked  the  concession  laws,  and  sought  to  effect  the 
repeal  of  the  provision  by  which  they  were  made  to  apply  to  Norwe- 
gian stock  companies.  But  in  this  attempt  he  failed.  In  the  elec- 
tions in  the  fall  of  1912  his  party  was  defeated.  The  Radicals  and 
the  Labor  party  captured  seventy-six  seats,  and  the  Socialists  twenty- 
three;  the  Conservatives  and  their  allies  the  Liberals  retained  only 
twenty-four  seats.  Gunnar  Knudsen,  leader  of  the  Radicals,  re- 
turned to  power  as  head  of  a  new  ministry. 

^  /  Dagens  Strid,  I.,  J.  L0 viand,  Sprogenes  Likestilling, 


II  POLITICAL    ASD   SOHAL   CONDITION'S,    IWiTi-VMi  59.") 

The  question  of  the  king's  veto  powrr  in  cases  of  constitutional 
amcnchncnts  hud  never  been  formally  scttKfl,  hut  after  1905  no 
fear  could  be  enterUiiiied  that  the  kin^  would  ever  a^ain  venture 
to  assert  such  a  prerogative.  Tlu'  matter  niij^lit  have  received  no 
further  attention,  if  an  incident  had  not  occurred  which  made  it 
necessary  to  settle  the  fjuestion  definitely.  Toward  the  close  of 
the  session  of  1908  the  Storthing  had  i)assed  a  bill  reijeuling  article 
thirty-three  of  the  constitution,  and  by  an  oversight  the  bill  had 
not  been  placed  before  the  king  for  his  signature  before  the  Stortliing 
adjourned.  In  this  case  the  question  of  the  king's  veto  wouM  neces- 
sarily have  to  be  raised  in  conformity  with  article  eighty  of  the 
constitution,  which  reads:  "The  Stortliing  remains  in  session  so 
long  as  it  deems  it  necessary.  When  it  is  adjourne<l  by  the  king, 
after  its  deliberations  arc  closed,  he  also  passes  on  the  bills  not  already 
acted  on,  by  either  vetoing  or  signing  them.  All  measures  which 
he  does  not  formally  sanction  arc  to  be  regarded  as  vetoe<l."  The 
question  would  then  arise,  if  the  constitutional  amendment  Avhich 
had  not  been  signed  should  be  regarded  as  vetoed.  That  the  king 
has  no  veto  power  in  such  cases  was  generally  held,  but  nowhere 
expressly  stated.  The  king,  therefore,  made  a  solenm  declaration, 
consonant  with  an  opinion  submitted  by  the  minister  of  justice, 
tliat  in  cases  of  constitutional  amendments  he  has  no  veto.'  But 
it  was  still  possible  that  the  veto  question  might  be  revivwl.  If  the 
king  according  to  the  constituticMi  had  the  right  to  veto  constitu- 
tional amendments,  he  could  not  relinquish  it  even  by  a  .solemn 
declaration.  In  order  to  avoid  further  misunderstandings,  article 
112  of  tlie  constitution  was  so  changed  by  an  act  of  June  11,  1913. 
as  to  dej)rive  tlie  king  of  the  ])ower  of  veto  in  cases  of  constitutional 
amendments. 

The  development  of  democratic  social  conditions  has  been  no  less 
essential  to  the  progress  of  the  Norwegian  people  during  the  last 
centurv'  than  the  establishing  of  political  fre(xlt»m  and  national 
independence.  Without  local  .self-goveriunent  and  the  right  of  all 
to  share  the  rights  and  privileges  as  well  as  tlie  duties  and  n-sponsi- 
bilities  the  work  of  the  Eidsvold  men  would  have  lost  its  real  signifi- 

'  Sliftfiaintmand  Blihrs  Forcdrag  i  licrgcn  4dc  Stptemher  1910  om  Gruud- 
lovsveioct. 


596  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

cance,  and  the  nation  would  have  been  shorn  of  much  of  its  strength. 
This  has  been  clearly  understood,  and  efforts  have  been  made  to 
extend  equal  privileges  and  opportunities  to  all,  in  order  that  the 
interest  and  energy  of  the  whole  people  may  be  united  in  the  work 
for  social  progress.  The  suffrage  has  been  constantly  extended, 
until  all  persons  of  age,  both  men  and  women,  now  have  the  right 
to  vote.  By  the  law  of  May  29,  1901,  women  received  the  right 
of  suffrage  in  local  elections,  if  they  had  an  income  of  300  kroner  in 
the  countr\%  or  400  kroner  in  the  cities,  or,  in  case  of  married  women, 
if  their  husbands  had  that  income.  In  1907  they  received  limited 
suffrage  in  general  elections.  In  1911  the  first  woman  representa- 
tive, Anna  Rogstad,  took  her  seat  in  the  Storthing,  and  in  1912 
women  were  made  eligible  to  all  offices,  except  those  of  cabinet 
members,  or  of  the  ecclesiastical  or  military  service.  In  1898  suf- 
frage had  been  granted  to  all  men  twenty-five  years  of  age  who  had 
resided  in  the  country  five  years,  and  in  1913  the  same  right  of  gen- 
eral suffrage  was  also  extended  to  women.  Article  fifty  of  the 
constitution  was  amended  to  read :  "All  Norwegian  citizens, 
Tnen  and  women,  who  are  twenty-five  years  of  age,  who  have  lived 
in  the  kingdom  for  five  years,  and  still  reside  there,  shall  have  the  right 
to  vote." 

The  economic  development  has  kept  pace  with  the  political  and 
social  progress.  The  increase  in  the  national  wealth  and  the  pro- 
ductive power  of  labor  has  been  verv'  rapid,  especially  during  the 
last  fifty  years,  owing  to  modern  inventions  and  the  use  of  scientific 
methods  in  production.  The  first  few  miles  of  Norwegian  railway 
were  constructed  in  1854.  At  present  the  total  length  of  railways 
in  the  country  amounts  to  about  2000  miles,  and  excellent  systems 
of  government-owned  telegraphs  and  telephones  have  been  con- 
structed. The  water  power  wholly  or  partly  developed  amounts 
to  1.17  million  horse  power,  and  industries  are  being  rapidly  developed. 
The  growth  in  dairying  and  agriculture  may  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing figures : 

Value  of  grain  crop  in  1865,  34.4  million  kroner  ;  in  1907,    38.2  million 

Value  of  potato  crop  in  1865,  19.1  million  kroner  ;  in  1907,    30.7  million 

Value  of  dairying  products  in  1865,  52.8  million  kroner  ;  in  1907,  101.5  million 

Value  of  meat  products  in        1865,  12.7  million  kroner  ;  in  1907,    20.9  million 


II  POLITICAL    AND    SOCIAL    CONDITIONS,     iyO.>-l'Ji4  597 

Tht*  ainoiint  of  milk  prr  cow  has  h«fn  increas<*<l  in  seventy  years 
from  500  liters  U)  \'AS(\  liurs.  'V\iv  improvfinonts  in  t'ajnoinic  condi- 
tions, which  has  incrcasc<l  tli«>  ^<'n<Tal  comfort,  sliows  also  a.s  a  direct 
result  an  hicrcasc  in  |)()i)ii!ati()ii  i'mni  1,7(I2,(H)0  in  1H05  to  2,415,452 
in  1912. 

The  Xonvegiun  i>coi)le  have  become  the  custodians  of  tlieir  own 
destiny  to  the  fullest  ])ossible  extent,  and  the  rapid  progress  made 
during  the  last  decades  proves  how  freedom  and  democratic  social 
conditions  contribute  to  a  people's  general  well-being.  Tlie  spirit 
of  vigor  and  enter])rise  which  has  enabled  the  Nonvegians  to  main- 
tain tlieir  national  independence,  and  to  enter  witli  success  up>on  a 
new  industrial  development,  has  carried  tliem,  also,  into  the  fields 
of  exploration,  where  tliey  have  shown  no  less  daring  and  originality 
than  did  their  ancestors,  the  Viking  sea-kings  of  old.  In  1887-1889 
Fridtjof  Nansen  with  a  few  companions  succeeded  in  crossing  the 
glacier-covered  Greenland  on  ski.  This  feat  of  endurance  and  dar- 
ing was  followed  by  his  arctic  exjjcdition,  1898-1890,  on  which  he 
undertook  to  explore  the  region  of  tlie  north  pole.  By  letting  his 
ship  "Frara"  become  embedded  in  tlie  ice  fields  north  of  Siberia, 
he  hoped  that  the  ocean  current  which  traverses  that  region  would 
ultimately  carry  him  across  the  ])ole  itself.  In  this  he  did  not  suc- 
ceed, but  he  reached  a  higlier  latitude  than  any  ex])lorer  had  done 
before,  and  his  cx])edition  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  interesting 
of  the  kind  ever  made. 

In  1898-1902  Otto  X.  Sverdnip,  who  had  accom{)anied  NaiLseii 
as  captain  of  the  "  Frani,"  led  a  second  Nor\vegian  expedition  to  the 
arctic  regions.  The  northwest  coast  t>f  (ireenland  was  ex})lor«'<l. 
and  several  new  islands  were  discovert'd.  .Vlniost  sinniltanei)U>ly 
Carsten  Borchgre\  ink  made  an  exjiedition  to  the  antarctic  region, 
sailing  from  England  in  1S98  witli  tlie  ship  "Soutliern  ('rt)ss."  He 
spent  the  winter  on  the  antarctic  continent,  locattxl  the  st)utli  mag- 
netic pole,  and  reached,  in  1!)00,  a  latitude  of  78^  50'. 

Roald  E.  (J.  Anumdseii  had  served  as  first  mate  on  the  "Belgica." 
1897-1899,  on  an  expedition  inulertaken  for  the  pur]>«'^<'  <»f  l«»eating 
tlie  soutli  magnetic  jjole.  On  his  return  he  jjurchaseil  a  small  ship, 
"Gj0a,"  and  decided  to  fit  out  an  exptnlition  to  locate  the  nortli 
magnetic  pole.     The  expedition  started  in  1903,  and  a  summer  and 


598  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  I' 

two  winters  were  spent  in  determining  the  location  of  the  magnetic 
])t)Ie,  and  in  studying  the  magnetic  conditions  of  the  earth  in  thos^ 
regions.  In  1905  the  voyage  westward  was  continued  in  the  hop 
of  finding  the  much-sought  northwest  passage.  Through  the  vas ; 
ice  fields  the  httle  ship  proceeded,  and  after  passing  the  Simpsor 
and  Dolphin  straits  it  finally  entered  the  open  sea,  August  21,  1905 
The  northwest  passage  had  at  length  been  found.  Upon  his  return 
the  doughty  explorer  began  preparations  for  an  expedition  to  the 
south  pole.  In  1911  he  established  his  winter  quarters  on  the  Great 
Barrier,  and  by  a  series  of  marches  he  reached  the  south  pole,  Decem- 
ber 16,  1911.1 

These  fearless  explorers  had  found  new  paths  to  enterprise  and 
honor,  and  they  followed  them  in  the  old  Norse  spirit,  which  regarde 
honor  and  achievement  as  the  only  imperishable  earthly  possession 

Cattle  perish, 
kindred  die, 
thou  wilt  die  also, 
but  one  thing  I  know 
which  will  never  die, 
the  honor  which  thou  hast  won. 
(Havamal.) 

69.  Norwegian  Emigration  to  America.    The  Norwegians  in 
THE  United  States 

The  demand  that  the  world  should  be  populated  and  developed 
has  come  to  the  nations  of  Europe  like  the  duty  and  destiny  of 
parentliood.  So  much  vital  force  has  been  contributed  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  new  nations  in  both  hemispheres  that  the  peoples  of  the 
Old  World  have  felt  it  as  a  distinct  loss,  sometimes  even  as  a  calamity. 
Youth  and  vigor  have  been  given  to  the  growing  states  in  North 
and  South  America,  in  Australia  and  Africa,  till  the  cheeks  of  the 
older  social  organisms  have  turned  pale.     But  he  who  looks  beyond 

*  Fridtjof  Nansen,  The  Norwegian  Polar  Expedition,  1893-1896,  London 
and  Christiania,  1900;  Fram  over  Polarhavet,  Christiania,  1897.  C.  Boreh- 
gre\'ink,  Nwrmest  Polen,  1900.  First  on  the  Antarctic  Continent,  1900.  Roald 
Amundsen,  Northwest  Passagen,  1907 ;  Sydpolen,  1912. 


M0DI:RN  NORWAY 


II  NORWEfllAN    KNfinRATIOS    TO    AMF.nirA  599 

the  pangs  of  tlu*  hour,  ami  measurfs  development  by  the  proj^resn 
of  liimianity,  will  roco^^ui/.r  that  even  for  thosi*  \vIk»  havr  ^jivi-n  iiuiht 
a  new  era  of  (Icvelopincrit  has  ef)nie.  I'atlis  ha\r  Immti  Ma/ed  t/>  a 
fuller  (lej^jrec  nf  srjf-rruli/ation,  and  the  strength  Hiu'rifiw'd  n-tunw 
to  tlie  rising  generations  with  new  life  and  fuller  joys. 

In  Nonvay  emigration  has  been  so  heavy  for  almost  a  eentur>'  that 
it  has  been  viewed  with  grave  ai)i)rehension  as  a  serious  m<'na<-e  to  the 
gmwth  and  well-being  of  tlie  nati<tn.  To  a  small  countr>',  numlKT- 
ing  less  tlian  two  and  a  iialf  million  inhabitants,  the  yearly  loss  of 
so  many  tliousands  of  tlie  brst  eitizens  must  be  a  sourei-  of  de<-p  regret. 
Ability  and  energy  are  contimially  lost  by  the  constant  drain ; 
friends  are  partial,  old  firesides  deserted,  and  a  fn-ling  of  sadness  is 
createtl  which  obscures  the  vision,  and  makes  the  jM*<)j)le  view  the 
phenomenon  of  emigration  even  with  nee<llrss  alann. 

Many  circumstances  have  contributed  tn  increase  emigration 
from  Norway  during  the  past  centur\ .  Tlu*  eneouragement  given 
by  friends  and  relatives  already  in  this  comitry,  the  advertising  done 
by  railways  and  steamship  companies,  the  easy  eommunieatioiw 
between  Europe  and  America,  and  love  of  tra\«l  and  atlventure 
have  undoubtedly  stimulated  the  longing  of  the  young  p<'opU'  to  s<f 
tlie  New  World  beyond  the  seas;  but  economic  conditions  have 
been  at  all  times  the  chief  cause.  Since  the  industries  were  little 
developed,  the  chief  jiursuits  were  lumbering,  fishing,  fanning,  ami 
dairying.  Hut  the  tillable  area  is  limited,  and  before  sciiMitifie  metJj- 
ods  came  to  the  aid  both  of  fisherman  and  husbandman,  IalH)r  even 
in  these  pursuits  yielde<l  small  returns.  The  probh*ni  of  finding 
profitable  empIo>!nent,  of  securing  a  degree  of  economic  iiidcjx'nd- 
encc  and  well-being  was  for  many  attende<l  witli  s<'ri»»u.s  difficulty, 
and  the  population  usually  kept  in  advance  of  ecfinomie  pmgresft. 
Modern  science  and  industrial  progress  are  rapidly  changing  the 
whole  economic  character  of  the  cf)untrv.  and  Norway  will,  undoubt- 
edly, be  able  to  support  many  times  the  proent  numlnT  of  inhabit- 
ants. But  emigration  imtil  (piite  recently  mu.st  In*  n-ganle<l  as  an 
overflow  of  population,  an  attempt  of  the  suri)lus  to  find  i»p|Hirtunily 
to  build  new  homes  under  more  favorable  ct>nditions.  Since  this 
is  its  real  character,  it  follows  that  it  is  self-regtdating.  and  that 
it  will  vary  witli  changhig  economic  conditions  botli  at  home  and 


600  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  II 

abroad.  In  the  April  number  of  "  Normandsforbundet "  for  1913 
Mr.  Gottenborg  shows  how  the  emigration  to  America  until  quite 
recently  constantly  increased,  and  how  its  rise  and  fall  have  depended 
on  economic  conditions  at  home.  "Wliile  the  number  of  emigrants 
in  the  period  1836-1842  only  reached  a  few  hundred,"  he  writes,  "it 
rose  in  1843  to  1600,  and  has  since  not  fallen  below  1000  a  year. 
In  1847  the  potato  crop  in  Norway  was  poor,  times  were  hard,  grain 
prices  high,  and  economic  conditions  generally  unfavorable.  For 
this  reason  emigration  rose  to  4000  or  5000,  and  this  number  remained 
quite  constant  with  few  exceptions  from  1851  to  1865,  though  the 
economic  conditions  improved.  ...  In  1866  emigration  increased 
suddenly  to  15,455  from  4000  the  year  previous,  owing  chiefly  to 
the  closing  of  the  Civil  War,  which  had  hindered  emigration.  In  the 
following  years  the  number  was  gradually  reduced  from  10,357  in 
1873  to  about  4000  in  1874-1878,  because  of  improved  economic 
conditions,  extensive  railway  construction,  and  other  large  enter- 
prises. But  in  the  eighties  another  period  of  hard  times  came. 
Railway  construction  ceased,  and  the  emigration  reached  a  volume 
greater  than  ever  before.  In  1882  the  number  rose  to  28,804,  and 
during  that  whole  decade  it  exceeded  20,000  per  year,  except  in 
1884-1886  and  1889,  when  the  number  was  13,000  to  15,000  a  year. 
The  same  conditions  existed  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineties.  In 
1893  about  19,000  emigrated,  but  in  1894  the  number  was  reduced 
to  5642  because  of  good  times.  ...  In  1899,  when  the  times 
again  became  hard,  tlie  number  rose  again.  In  1900  it  reached 
11,000,  in  1901  13,000;  it  soon  increased  to  20,000,  and  in  1903  it 
reached  about  27,000.  It  remained  above  20,000  till  1907,  but  it 
dropped  in  1908  to  8500  because  of  hard  times  in  America.  In 
1909  it  rose  again  to  16,000,  and  in  1910  to  almost  19,000,  but  dropped 
again  in  1911  to  about  12,000,  and  m  1912  to  9105."  Mr.  Gotten- 
borg finds  that  in  the  period  1850-1911  707,986  persons  emigrated 
from  Norway.^ 

1  The  real  emigration  to  America  did  not  begin  till  in  1821.  ."From  the 
year  1820  the  United  States  government  supplies  us  with  immigration  statis- 
tics ;  but  unfortunately  for  our  present  purpose,  Sweden  and  Norway  are 
grouped  together  in  these  down  to  the  year  1868,  and  hence  it  is  impossible 
to  determine  how  many  came  from  each  country.  From  the  year  1836 
we  are  helped  out  by  Norway,  where  the  government  in  that  year  began 


II  NORWEr.IAN    F.MHIUATION'    TO    AMKRICA  001 

As  soon  as  economic  tf)n(liti(»ns  ran  Im*  i*stal)Iishc<l  which  will 
eiial)l<'  all  the  people  to  live  at  iionie  in  reasonalile  (((tnforl.  few  will 
he  teni|)te<i  to  j;o  as  eiiiijjraiits  to  foreign  lands,  ami  eini;;ratioii  will 
soon  cease.  Dr.  Isaac  .\.  lloiirwieh  has  shown  that  tiie  new  eco- 
nomic flevelopment  in  (lennany,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  has  gr'^atly 
reduced  emij^ration  from  tliesc  ctjuntries.  In  Gennany  ami  Den- 
mark emigration  has  ceased  altogether  and  immigration  has  In-gun 
instead.  "The  progress  of  agriculture,"  says  this  autlu»r.  "ha.s 
turned  Deiunark  into  a  country  of  immigration.  ('onsideniI>Ie 
numbers  of  Tolish  j)easants  come  during  everj'  agricultural  .sca.son  to 
work  on  the  farms  in  Denmark;  in  K)()7  tlieir  numln'r  was  0251."  ' 
The  same  will  undouhtedly  happen  in  Norway,  if  tlie  pr<'s<'nt  indu.s- 
trial  and  economic  (leveloj)ment  continues  uninternipted.  "The 
recent  industrial  j)rogress  of  Xonvay  can  he  gauge<|,"  says  llour- 
wich,  "hy  tJie  fact  tliat  from  1S97  to  190S  the  quantity  of  horse 
power  used  increased  140.5  j)er  cent.  The  average  number  of  wage 
earners,  reduced  to  tlie  basis  of  :i(M)  working  days  per  year,  incn^a-setl 
during  the  same  period  forty-five  per  cent,  while  the  population 
increased  during  the  same  period  only  nine  per  cent."  ^  The  vari«tus 
industries  now  support  over  one-third  of  the  populatictn.'  The 
growing  demand  for  labor,  the  increase  of  wag<'s,  the  greaU-r  s^nurity 
given  the  wage  earners  tlirough  accident  and  sickness  insurance 
and  non-emi)loyment  funds,  and  the  rapid  improvement  «)f  ivonomic 
conditions  in  general  have  already  cause<l  a  noticeable  decreas*'  in 
emigration.  Before  many  years  have  pas.setl,  it  may  have  ceas«tl  to 
work  aiuioyantf,  :in<i  to  sap  the  strength  (tf  tlu'  nation. 

The  emigration  from  Nor\vay  to  America  may  be  .s;iid  U)  have 
begun  in  1X21,  when  Cleng  IVerson,  of  Tysva*r  parisli.  north  of  Stav- 
anger,  and  Knud  Olsen  Hide,  from  the  island  of  Fogn,  were  sent  by 
some  Quaker  friends  of  the  <listrict  to  invi^stigate  condilioits  in  tlw 
New  Worltl.  After  three  years  they  retunnnl.  and  their  n-i^rts 
were  so  favorable  that  several  families,  led  by  Lars  Iwirs<'n  .leilane. 

to  colloet  ami  preserve  stati.stic.s  of  t«inijn^iti<>ii."  K.  U.  Anderson,  Firii 
Chapter  of  Norurgi<in  Immigration,  p.  3S. 

'  Isaac  A.  Hourwich,  I mmigration  and  Ij<ihor,  p.  lOS,  JlM. 

^  Stntistiqui-  I udu.itrifUc  pour  I'annfc  1 90S,  idilif  par  Voffict  de*  Auu- 
ranccs  dc  I'Ftnt.  p.  IS*.  2:t0*.  ("hristmnia,  1011. 

'  Thorne  Ilolst,  Imiu^tri  og  industricltc  ProbUtner,  Christiania,  1914. 


602  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE  11 

resolved  to  emigrate.  A  small  sloop,  "Restaurationen,"  was  pur- 
chased, Captain  Lars  Olsen  and  Mate  Erikson  were  hired,  and  the 
little  vessel,  carrying  fifty-two  persons,  set  sail  from  Stavanger, 
July  4,  1825.  After  a  perilous  and  adventurous  voyage  they  reached 
New  York  October  9th  of  that  year,  fifty-three  in  number,  as  Mrs. 
Lars  Larsen  Jeilane  had  given  birth  to  a  daughter.^  In  November 
they  reached  their  final  destination,  Kendall,  then  called  Murray, 
in  Orleans  County,  New  York,  where  the  first  Norwegian  settlement 
was  founded.  Here  they  bought  land  from  Joseph  Fellows  at  the 
price  of  five  dollars  per  acre,  and  agreed  to  pay  for  it  in  ten  yearly 
installments.  The  summer  was  already  spent,  but  they  succeeded 
in  building  a  log  cabin,  and  by  threshing  with  the  flail  the  grain  of 
their  neighbors,  a  work  for  which  they  received  every  eleventh 
bushel  of  wheat,  they  secured  the  necessary  supply  of  food  for  the 
winter.  In  the  spring  they  cleared  and  seeded  a  couple  of  acres, 
and  the  next  fall  they  could  harvest  their  first  crop.  The  difficulties 
and  discouragements  encountered  were  many,  but  the  colonists  soon 
learned  to  love  their  humble  homes  in  the  new  country.  It  appears, 
however,  that  they  failed  to  secure  proper  title  to  their  land.^  Joseph 
Fellows,  who  was  a  Quaker,  seems  to  have  been  very  generous  and 
kind,  but  they  were  probably  unable  to  pay  the  purchasing  price, 
and  most  of  them  sought  new  homes  in  the  western  states,  especially 
in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  where  the  second  Norwegian  settlement 
was  founded  at  Fox  River  in  1834. 

Not  a  few  persons  emigrated  from  Norway  during  the  decade 
1825-1835,  but  they  came  as  individual  immigrants,  and  no  new 
Norwegian  settlement  was  founded.  In  1835  Knud  Slogvig,  who 
had  come  to  America  in  the  sloop  "Restaurationen,"  returned  to 

^  R.  B.  Anderson,  The  First  Chapter  of  Norwegian  Immigration.  George 
T.  Flom,  A  History  of  Norwegian  Immigration  to  the  United  States.  Hjalmar 
Rued  Holand,  De  norske  Setlementers  Historie.  O.  N.  Nelson,  History  of 
the  Scandinavians  and  Successful  Scandinavians  in  the  United  States.  Knud 
Langeland,  Normcendene  i  Amerika.  Symra,  Decorah,  Iowa.  Martin 
Ulvestad,  Normcendene  i  Amerika,  deres  Historie  og  Rekord.  Jobs.  B.  Wist, 
Den  norske   Indvandring   til   1850   og  Skandinaverne  i   Amerikas   Politik. 

An  extensive  bibliography  of  works  dealing  with  Scandinavian  immigra- 
tion and  pioneer  history  is  found  in  O.  N.  Nelson's  work  History  of  the  Scan- 
dinavians and  Successful  Scandinavians  in  the  United  States,  p.  265  ff. 

» Ibid.,  p.  134  m  ff. 


II  NORWEGIAN    EillGRATlON    TO    VMERICA  003 

Norway,  and  inuny  people  from  the  ciiatrieUi  between  Bergen  and 
Stavjui^cr  flocked  to  hear  his  accounts  of  tlie  New  World.  The  de^ 
sire  to  visit  Anu'ricii  spread  rapidly,  and  in  [h'M)  two  hri^s,  "  Nonlen  " 
and  "Den  norske  KliiJjje,"  sailed  from  Stavanger  with  aY)OUt  two 
hundri'd  emigrants,  led  hy  Knud  Shtgvig.  On  arriving  in  America 
most  of  them  were  persuaded  })y  the  intrepid  Cleng  I'eerstjn  to  go  to 
Fox  River,  La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  where  he  had  already  founded 
a  new  settlement  in  the  great  western  wilderness.  Fox  Uiver  soon 
became  a  thriving  connminity,  but  tlie  attempt  U)  found  a  tliird 
settlement  was  less  successful. 

In  18li7  two  ships,  "/Egir"  from  Bergen  and  "Knighe<Ien"  fnjm 
Stavanger,  sailed  to  America  with  about  170  emigrant*.  They 
intended  to  go  to  tlie  Fox  River  settlement,  but  on  arriving  in  Chi- 
cago they  were  told  that  La  Salle  County  was  very  unJiealtliy.  and 
a  number,  led  by  Ole  Rynning,  were  jiersuatled  to  go  to  Beaver 
Creek  in  Iroquois  County.  In  tliis  marshy  wilderness  they  built 
their  homes,  but  tlie  fall  rains  siM)n  turned  it  into  a  swamp,  and  in 
tlie  spring  the  whole  region  was  inundated.  The  privatloiLs  and  utter 
hopelessness  of  the  situation  might  well  fill  tlie  most  courageous 
hearts  with  despair.  Many  fell  victims  to  malaria  and  dysentery, 
among  otliers  Rynning  Inniself.  The  colony  was  abandoned,  and 
tliose  who  were  able  made  their  way  to  the  settlement  at  Fox 
River. 

In  1839  about  forty  emigrants  fomied  a  new  settlement  at  Muskego, 
Wisconsin,  the  first  Norwegian  settlement  in  tliat  state.  Already 
in  1845  plans  were  laid  for  the  publication  i«f  a  Nonvegian  newspaper, 
and  two  years  later  "  Nordlyset,"  published  by  Fven  Ilegg  and  Jami*s 
D.  Reymert.  began  to  appear  in  tlie  town  of  No^^vay,  Racine  County, 
in  this  settlement.'  In  1S41  the  first  Norwegian  Lutlienm  eliurdi 
was  built  by  Rev.  C.  L.  Clausen.  In  LS.iO  tlie  first  Nonvegian  set- 
tlers al.so  ai)j)eared  at  Rock  I'rairie  and  Jefferson  Prairie,  and  in 
1840  tlie  great  Norwegian  settlement  at  Koshkonong.  Dane  (^)unty, 
Wisconsin,  was  founded. 

Tliese  early  settlers  had  shown  tlie  way  where  tliousjinds  were 
soon  to  follow.  In  1843  tlie  number  of  Norwegian  immigrants 
rose,  as  already  stilted,  tt)  Ui(H).  and  during  tJie  next  dtx-atles  they 

1  Jobs.  B.  Wiat,  Norths  A  mtrikancme*  FesUkriJl,  1914. 


604 


HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  PEOPLE 


II 


came  in  ever  increasing  numbers  to  take  possession  of  the  fertile 
unsettled  plains  of  the  great  West.  According  to  "The  Thirteenth 
Census  of  the  United  States"  the  Norwegians  in  this  country  num- 
bered, in  1910,  979,099.  Of  these,  403,877  were  born  in  Norway ;  the 
other  575,222  were  born  of  immigrated  Norwegian  parents.  But 
if  the  Norw'egian  element  in  its  entirety  should  be  counted,  we  would 
still  have  to  add  the  whole  second  generation  born  in  this  country, 
which  is  even  more  numerous  than  the  first,  and  it  would  not  be 
unfair  to  count  also  a  considerable  part  of  the  third  generation. 
According  to  the  most  conservative  estimate,  then,  the  number  of 
Norwegians  in  the  United  States  in  1914  is  not  less  than  1,600,000. 
The  greater  number  have  settled  in  the  northwestern  states  and  in 
Washington,  Oregon,  California,  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  New 
Jersey,  where  according  to  the  census  they  are  distributed  as  follows  : 


Born  in  Norway 

Born  of  Immigrated 
Norwegian  Parents 

Total 

Minnesota    .... 

105,303 

174,304 

279,607 

Wisconsin     .     . 

57,000 

100,701 

157,701 

North  Dakota 

45,937 

77,347 

123,284 

Illinois     .     .     . 

32,913 

35,525 

68,438 

Washington 

28,368 

24,361 

52,729 

New  York    .    . 

25,013 

12,392 

34,405 

Iowa        .     .     . 

21,924 

44,978 

66,902 

South  Dakota 

20,918 

39,828 

60,746 

California     .     . 

9,952 

7,194 

17,146 

Michigan      .     . 

7,638 

9,136 

16,774 

Montana      .     . 

7,170 

6,773 

13,943 

Oregon     .     .     . 

6,843 

6,592 

13,435 

Massachusetts 

5,432 

2,938 

8,370 

New  Jersey 

5,351 

3,001 

8,352 

"The  Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States"  shows  that  68.7 
per  cent  of  the  Norwegians  live  in  the  states  of  Minnesota,  Iowa, 
North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  and  Kansas, 
and  "  they  show  a  greater  tendenc}^  toward  concentration  than  any 
other  nationality,"  says  the  census.  Very  few  live  in  Missouri. 
If  we  substitute  Wisconsin  instead,  the  percentage  will  be  even 
much  higher.^ 

*  Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  vol.  V.,  p.  179. 


n  THE   NORWEGIANS   IN   TI!K    UNITED   BTATE8  606 

According  to  report  of  \V.  I.  Harris,  (Hrectf)r  of  tin*  rniu**!  Sutes 
Buroau  of  the  Ct'iisus.  the  fonij^'ii  clcinrnt  constituU-s  alM)iit  onc^ 
third  of  tilt'  entire  poiJiiiation  of  tin-  rnititi  Stiitf>,  or  .'i2.1.'4.'J.*W2, 
counted  according  to  tlie  mother  tongue.  But  this  nuinlK-r  is  Uki 
low  for  reasons  already  stiitwl.  Of  this  large  foreign  element  S7.5 
per  cent  sj)eak  one  of  the  eight  leading  foreign  languages  in  tlu*  fol- 
lowing proportion  : 

EnRlish I().(),i7,12(),  or  :n.l  jx-r  ct-nt 

Gennan S.S17,l-'<),  or  27.3  per  cent 

Italian 2,I.')I,rJ2.  or  ♦5.7  per  rent 

Polish  l,7()7,t>J().  or  .'>.3  jx-r  rent 

X''J'^'"'')       l.r.7r,.7.ii.'.     or      5.2  iH-r  cent 

H('l)rf\v  J 

SwiMlisIi l,l-t."),.S<)9,  or  4.. 'i  per  cent 

Froiuli l,.'{.')7,l()f),  or  1.2  jx-r  rt-nt 

Norwogiaii l,(Ki".),'.>7'),  or  .'M  jxt  rent 

Other  hiiiKuagos 4,03'.>,"J7'),  or  12..')  per  cent 

The  Norwegian  tongue,  then,  is  one  of  the  eight  languages  which  is 
spoken  most  in  the  United  States.'  But  as  an  ethnic  ••lernent  in 
the  American  people  the  Norwegians  are  of  far  greater  relative  im- 
portance than  even  these  figures  would  indicate.  In  Nonvay  jxtpu- 
lar  education  has  reached  tlie  highest  stage  of  efficiency,  and  illitera<"y 
is  wholly  confined  to  the  mentally  imbecile.  The  rejM)rts  of  tlie 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Immigration  also  show  tliat  Uie 
Scandinavians  are  the  best  educated  immigrants  which  land  on  our 
shores,  and  as  tliey  are  accustomed  at  home  to  poimlar  govrrn- 
nicnt  and  democratic  social  conditions,  tlu'y  are  better  <pjalifie<l 
tlian  almo.st  any  other  immigrants  to  enter  into  tlie  full  .spirit  of 
American  institutions.  In  the  development  of  the  stiites  of  the 
Northwest  they  have  bciii  a  most  potent  factor  both  tvonomieally 
and  intellectually-.  Statistics  show  tliat  as  tillers  of  tlie  soil  they 
rank  higher  than  otiier  nationalities.  an<l  that  they  cIioom-  fanning 
as  tlieir  vocation  to  a  far  greater  (h-grec  than  any  otlier  pet>ple.  In 
190()  41). S  per  cent  of  all  .Norwegians  in  America  were  farmers.  -12.3 
per  cent  of  all  Danes,  and  ;?0.2  per  cent  of  all  Swedes.  If  wc  ad<l  also 
tlic  laborers  in  the  rural  districts,  who  are  u.sually  fann  hands,  the 

^  Symra,  May.   l',»l  1.    Kmil   (Jjorsot.   Litl   am   SoTdm<xnd<nt   i   Amrrika   i 

18U. 


606  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  U 

percentage  will  be :  of  Norwegians  59.3  per  cent,  of  the  Danes  52.3 
per  cent,  and  of  the  Swedes  43  per  cent.^  "The  Thirteenth  Census 
of  tlie  United  States"  for  1910  shows  that  of  the  foreign-born  white 
population  a  much  larger  percentage  own  their  farms  than  of  the 
native  white  population,  the  ratio  being  81.4  per  cent  to  66.3 
per  cent.^  But  the  available  statistics  indicate  that  of  the  Scandi- 
navians a  larger  percentage  own  their  farms  than  of  most  other 
nationalities.  They  own  more  than  their  share  of  the  soil,  and  have 
reached  a  higher  degree  of  prosperity  than  almost  any  other  nation- 
ality in  the  rural  districts.  According  to  the  census  of  1910  10,886 
of  the  farmers  of  the  state  of  North  Dakota  are  born  in  Norway.^ 
Of  these,  9562  own  their  farms,  while  1341  are  renters.  If  the  farms 
were  not  so  large,  the  number  of  renters  would  be  still  smaller,  but 
in  that  state  the  average  acreage  of  farms  is  382.3  acres,  with  an 
average  value  of  $13,109.  In  Minnesota  the  average  acreage  is 
177  acres  and  the  average  value  not  less  than  $12,000.  "The  coun- 
ties where  the  Norwegian  population  is  largely  located  will  be  found 
in  southern,  western,  and  northwestern  Minnesota,  the  richest  agri- 
cultural counties  of  the  state.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  more  prosperous 
agricultural  region  in  the  United  States,"  writes  Auditor  of  State 
Samuel  G.  Iverson.  "Those  who  have  given  the  matter  some 
thought,"  he  continues,  "agree  with  me  that  about  one-third  of  the 
farms  of  Minnesota  are  owned  by  those  who  were  born  in  Norway, 
or  their  descendants,  and  that  these  number  now  in  the  aggregate 
from  450,000  to  500,000 ;  one-third  of  the  165,000  farms  of  the 
state  would  be  55,000,  which  at  an  average  of  $12,000  would  be 
$660,000,000." 

The  intelligence  and  diligence  which  have  enabled  the  Norwe- 
gians to  become  so  successful  in  economic  pursuits  have  character- 
ized their  efforts  also  in  other  fields.  Especially  noticeable  are 
these  traits  in  political  life,  where  they  have  shown  an  ability  which 
has  made  them  an  influential  factor  especially  in  the  Northwest. 
At  first  they  had  many  difficulties  to  contend  with  as  a  foreign  ele- 

^  Reports   of  the   Immigration  Commission,  vol.  XXVIII.,    table   I.   A,  p. 
216  ff.,  quoted  by  Hourwich,  Immigration  and  Labor,  p.  198. 
*  Bulletin  of  Agriculture,  1910,  table  13. 
'  Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  vol.  V.,  p.  180. 


II  THE    NOUWFXJIANS    IN    TFIE    INITED    HTATKS  007 

iiient.  But  as  tiu-y  arc  trained  frt)in  hoine  to  excrcijH'  tiie  dutini  of 
jK)j)iihir  f^'ovcrnincnt,  they  werr  sium  able  to  tjikc  an  activr  part  in 
all  civic  duties.  Many  have  hccornc  tnn-  IcjuK-rs  in  tlu-ir  <i)nununi- 
tics,  and  the  number  of  tiiose  who  have  l)een  elected  to  llie  hiKhcst 
ofKces  is  relatively  ver}'  lar^e.  Five  have  been  governors,  four  li«-u- 
tenant  governors,  twelve  congressmen,  three  Unitnl  Statrs  s«Muitors, 
besides  one  of  the  senators  from  Utah  whose  mother  [»  Nonnejfian. 
Eight  have  been  secretaries  of  state,  seven  state  treasurers,  four  atate 
auflitors,  one  state  attorney-general,  one  stiite  su|)erintendent  <jf 
public  instniction,  and  two  judges  of  stiite  supreme  c«)urLs.  Many 
have  also  been  employed  in  the  federal  serN'ice.  Ttn  have  U-en 
revenue  collectors,  ten  consuls,  and  tliree  I'nitetl  StiiU-s  ministers 
to  foreign  countries.  Tliousands  of  otliers  have  held  positions  of 
trust  and  honor  in  community  and  state.  The  fact  tliat  tlie  Norwe- 
gians in  America  even  in  the  first  generation  have  been  able  to  achieve 
such  success  is  not  an  accident,  but  is  due  to  tlie  inUllectual  culture 
which  they  have  received  as  a  heritage  fn»m  tlieir  fatJj»Tlan<l. 
Closer  investigation  reveals  the  fact  tliat  their  life  in  tliis  country 
is  more  closely  connected  with  their  history'  and  development  at 
home  than  a  casual  observer  might  be  led  to  think. 

The  freedom  of  the  Norwegian  j)('ople  is  the  result  of  a  long  de- 
velopment, and  their  .struggle  for  lii)erty  has  been  of  tlie  same  cx)n- 
servative  kind  as  that  of  the  Ivnglish  nation.  They  did  not  win 
tlieir  freedom  suddenly  tlirough  a  revolutionary-  ui)rising,  but  tlie 
struggle  which  lasted  through  centuries  was  waged  for  Uie  sake  of 
presen'ing  tlie  frewlom  which  was  theirs  from  time  immemorial. 
Throughout  the  jx-riod  of  union  with  Denmark  the  a)nflict.s  were 
small  and  scattered,  but  so  bitter  that  they  fostere»l  an  intens**  spirit 
of  liberty,  and  sen-ed  to  dcvelo])  a  marked  willfulness  in  tlu*  |X)puUr 
character.  In  1814  tlie  national  independence  was  quickly  won. 
but  during  the  union  witli  Sweden.  Norway,  as  the  weaker  statr.  had 
to  exert  the  utmost  vigilance  to  niaint;iin  tlie  principli-s  of  soven-i^nty 
and  equality  granted  in  the  constitution  and  the  Act  of  Union.  .-Ul 
premises  and  provisions  had  to  be  diligently  scnitlni/«ti.  and  kern- 
eyed  stiitesmanship  had  to  preserve  what  the  .spirit  ..f  liUrly  had 
won.  In  tliese  long  struggles  the  Norwegian  people  have  not  only 
had  an  experience  in  popular  sclf-governincnt  which  has  proved  most 


608  HISTORY   OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  II 

valuable  in  their  new  environment  in  America,  but  they  have  de- 
veloped in  the  trials  of  these  struggles  a  self-assertive  social  tempera- 
ment, an  austere  spirit  of  liberty,  a  rigid  adherence  to  established 
principles,  and  a  conservatism  of  thought  which  is  clearly  noticeable 
in  their  political  life  in  the  New  World.  They  have  for  the  most 
part  joined  the  Republican  party,  which  represented  the  principles 
of  freedom  and  the  rights  of  man  in  the  great  Civil  War.  They 
found  in  this  party  to  a  large  extent  their  own  ideals,  they  learned 
to  love  it,  they  felt  proud  of  its  lofty  principles  and  great  achieve- 
ments, and  they  have  clung  to  it  with  a  fidelity  which  finds  its  ex- 
planation in  their  own  long  struggle  for  liberty.  In  politics  the 
Norwegian  could  never  be  an  opportunist.  He  takes  the  matter 
seriously,  and  demands  clear  issues  and  rigid  principles  which  he 
can  fully  sanction.  For  this  reason  he  has  never  been  very  success- 
ful in  American  city  politics,  where  the  bosses  have  held  sway,  where 
everything  has  been  allowed,  and  where  principles  have  often  been 
regarded  as  political  stupidity.  In  their  loyal  adherence  to  their 
chosen  party  the  Norwegian  people  have  been  ably  assisted  by  the 
Norwegian-American  press,  which  with  but  few  exceptions  has  al- 
ways supported  the  Republicans,  an  attitude  which  it  has  not  changed 
even  when  general  defection  has  threatened.  The  Norwegian- 
American  papers  have  always  regarded  new  parties  and  untried 
political  principles  with  skepticism,  and  have  maintained  that  re- 
forms and  true  progress  could  best  be  secured  through  the  tried  old 
party.^ 

The  love  of  liberty  and  the  conservative  loyalty  to  principles 
which  characterize  the  Norwegians  are  nowhere  more  clearly  seen 
than  in  their  church  organizations,  in  which  they  have  realized  to 
the  fullest  extent  their  own  ideas.  The  five  Norwegian  Lutheran 
church  bodies  in  America  now  number  over  half  a  million  members, 
and  they  are  still  growing  rapidly.  Their  own  official  statistics 
show  figures  as  on  the  following  page  : 

1  A  history  of  the  Norwegian-American  press  is  found  in  Norsk-Amerir 
kanernes  Festskrift,  191 4- 


THE   NORWEGIANS    IN   THE    I'NITED   «TATK« 


609 


MsMaxa* 

( 

1  ■  ■> 

1   »-.ri;irrt 

The  United  Church       .     .     . 

276,.')96 

l.-iTO 

589 

|2;>.'icj,(joo 

The  Norwegian  Syncxl       .     . 

162,2.S7 

1(>48 

410 

1>»3,0«)I) 

The  Haijpe  Syncxl          .     .     . 

m.inn) 

:iM 

169 

(k'lO.IMJO 

The  Lutiieran  Free  Church 

:js.(JOO 

371 

172 

i.;j.vj.()rw 

The  Eielsen  Syntnl        .     .     . 

1,5()0 

28 

6 

53H.;iS3 

3379 

1346 

»' 

TluTi'  has  been  much  controversy  hctwcen  tlic^*  (HfTerciit  groups 
rcgiinliiij;  questions  of  doctrine  and  church  practice,  but  witli  re^anl 
to  the  j;reat  issue  of  preserving  tlie  Lutheran  faitli  as  they  have  in- 
herited it  from  tlieir  fathers,  they  have  all  been  animated  by  tlie  same 
spirit.  On  tliis  j)oint  they  liave  shown  a  conservatism  which  has 
its  root  in  tlie  national  character,  and  which  has  j^iven  the  N«»nvt*- 
gian  Lutheran  Church  hi  America  its  dignity  and  strengtli.  This 
trait  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  it  is  associated  witli  the  ni(»st 
pronounced  sj)irit  of  freedom  in  all  matters  tt)uching  the  genrral 
management  of  church  affairs.  Instead  of  preserving  tlie  stati*- 
church  features,  to  which  they  had  been  accustonunl  at  htane, 
they  have  estjiblished  in  this  country-  a  free  church,  basetl  on  the 
most  democratic  jjrinciples  of  })oj)ular  government.  The  congre- 
gation is  at  the  same  time  the  organic  unit  and  the  highest  authoritv , 
and  manages  its  own  affairs  without  outside  official  suiHTvision. 
The  affairs  of  the  whole  church  are  thrided  at  yearly  conventituus 
of  delegates  sent  by  tlic  congregations.  All  »>fHcials  are  cieetetl 
for  short  terms,  and  tlieir  powers  are  so  limite<l  that  tliey  act  as 
counselors  and  advisers  rather  than  as  sui)er\i.sors. 

True  to  their  belief  tluit  knowletlge  is  power,  tlie  Nonvegians 
have  always  been  earnest  supporters  of  the  state  universities  and 
public  schools.  But  tliey  have  also  built  a  number  of  privaU'ct>l- 
leges  and  liigli  sdiools  where  the  courses  nre  supplenient»ti  by  such 
branches  as  will  tend  to  create  among  the  young  p»i)j>I«-  an  inti-rest 
in  the  histor\'  and  culture  of  their  own  j)eople,  as  it  is  In-lievetl  that 
the  inspiring  tratlitions  and  tender  nn'niorii*s  of  the  fatJierland  can 
yet  teach  valuable  lessons,  if  pmperly  preser\-e<l  and  n-sfx-eted. 
Besides  the  regular  liigh  school  and  college  curriculum,  ct.nsiderablc 
attention  is  devoted  in  these  schools  to  Norwegian  histor>-  and  liter- 

VOL.    II  —  2  R 


610  HISTORY  OF  THE   NORWEGIAN   PEOPLE  11 

ature,  religion,  and  music,  the  subjects  which  represent  in  a  special 
way  the  heritage  which  the  Norwegian  people  have  received  from 
their  fathers.  Thirty  such  schools,  with  300  instructors  and  4400 
students,  are  now  in  operation. 

The  centennial  of  Norway's  independence  was  celebrated  in  1914 
with  a  centennial  exposition  and  great  festivities  in  Christiania,  and 
a  great  number  of  Norwegian-Americans  returned  to  the  old  father- 
land for  the  occasion.  On  the  Seventeenth  of  May  a  procession  of 
30,000  children  with  Norwegian  flags,  and  a  large  number  of  Norw^e- 
gian-Americans  with  American  flags,  marched  through  the  streets 
of  the  capital.  At  Eidsvold  the  Storthing  assembled  in  regular 
session  in  the  old  hall  where  the  constitution  was  framed  in  1814, 
and  on  May  20th  a  festive  religious  service  was  celebrated  in  the 
cathedral  at  Trondhjem.  In  June  a  musical  festival  was  held  in 
Christiania  by  thousands  of  singers  assembled  from  all  parts.  A 
choir  of  250  trained  Norwegian  singers  from  America,  led  by  Julius 
Jseger,  Emil  Bj0rn,  and  the  composer  Alfred  Paulson  of  Chicago, 
assisted,  as  did  also  the  Luther  College  Concert  Band,  which  in 
answer  to  a  special  invitation  made  an  extensive  concert  tour  in 
Norway  under  the  leadership  of  President  C.  K.  Preus  of  Luther 
College,  and  the  musical  director.  Carlo  A.  Sperati.  The  celebration 
closed  with  a  festival  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  when  the  visiting  Norwe- 
gian-Americans brought  their  formal  greetings  to  their  fatherland. 
For  over  a  year  a  large  committee,  headed  by  State  Senator  L.  O. 
Thorpe  of  Willmar,  INIinnesota,  had  been  engaged  in  collecting  a 
memorial  fund,  which  on  that  day  was  presented  to  the  Storthing 
by  Professor  H.  G.  Stub,  D.D.,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  President 
of  the  Norwegian  Synod.  The  Memorial  Fund  Committee  was 
represented  by  Dr.  T.  Stabo  of  Decorah,  Iowa,  the  United  Church 
by  its  president,  Rev.  T.  H.  Dahl,  D.D.,  and  the  State  of  North 
Dakota  by  its  chief  executive,  Governor  L.  B.  Hanna,  who  pre- 
sented to  the  Norwegian  government  a  statue  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. This  piece  of  art,  the  work  of  the  Norwegian- American  sculp- 
tor Paul  Fjelde,  was  a  present  from  that  American  commonwealth, 
which  is  indebted  to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Noru^ay  for  so  much 
of  its  progress  and  prosperity.  It  was  a  token  of  the  spirit  which  has 
knit  strong  the  fraternal  ties  between  the  Viking  race  of  the  North 
and  the  land  of  freedom  in  the  New  World. 


INDEX 


Aal.  Jarob,  424-42'),  427. 

Aal,  Niels.  422,  4-42,  444. 

Aa.s(n.  har,  4«>3,  41M) -500. 

Aaspaanlsrci,  07. 

Aasl.'d,  l.attlc  of.  33. 

Ab«'l.  Nii'ls  llrnrik,  r,rA)~ri3l. 

Ahildprjuinl,  F.  S.,  r.lO. 

A]).s()lutisni  iritnxliKM'd  in  Doninark- 
Xi)rway,  22.S-235. 

Act  of  Union,  -t-l') ;  attempt  to  revise, 
514,  52');  new  attempt  at  revi- 
sion, 527,  52y-.'i30;  annulled, 
5S:i. 

AdeUier,  Kort,  Norwegian  admiral, 
2.54-255. 

Adier,  Job.  O.,  410. 

Adlercreutz,  Swedish  penoral,  304- 
30(). 

Adlersparre,  Swedish  general,  305- 
3!Wi,  421. 

".Egir,"  emigrant  .ship,  (iOii. 

"Afteiip(»sten."  532. 

Aginund  Finnsson,  drotmi) ,  42. 

Ahlefeld.  Frederiek,  250.  202. 

•\ linen,  IVehen  von,  221. 

Alhreeht  of  Meeklenlmrg,  duke,  10- 
10.  22. 

Albreeht  of  Mjvklenburg,  king  of 
Sweilen,  IS,  20;  defeate<l  anil 
iiMi)risoned,  33;    lilierati-d,  30. 

All)reeht  the  Voiiiifjer,  20. 

•Mexander  I.  of  Hu.ssia,  3K4. 

Algols.son,  Hengt,  royal  favorite,   li>. 

Alvsson,  Knut.conimandant of  Akers- 
hus,  Ki ;   slain,  N4. 

Amt,  233. 

Amtmand,  23.3;   for  Iceland.  237. 

Amtsthing,  4S2. 

Amundsen,  Roald  E.  CJ..  explorer, 
507  50S. 

Amund  Sigurdsson  Holt,  leads  an  ui>- 
rising  in  Norway  against  King 
Eirik  of  Pomerania,  40-."»0. 

Ankarsvjird,  523-524. 

(31 


Anker,  Carston,  371,  422-423,  431. 

435. 
Anker,  Peter.  41S-^I0.  424.  427.  4.3.''.. 
Anna    Catharine    of     iirandenlmrg. 

(|ueen  of  Christian  IV..  107. 
Anna.      daughter      of      Cliri«lopher 

Trondsson.    married    to    Karl    of 

Bothwell,  157. 
Anna  Gyldenluvi-,  US. 
Annek(-  Jans  Hogardus,  240-247. 
Antoniu.s,  first  i)reaclu'r  of  Lulhonui- 

ism  in  Norway,  124. 
Api)anjiges  redu<'ed,  5<i.'). 
"Arlieiderforeningernes  IJlad,"  UHor 

paper      founded       by       Marku.4 

Thrane,  .500. 
Arboga,  council  of,  4S. 
Archemboldus,  .John  Angellus,  100. 
-\rctander,  .Sofus,  .">.V>,  .5."»7,  567,  675. 
Arenstorf,  Fr»'derick.  '2'A\. 
Aresson,  J6n,  Bi.shop  of  H(>lar,  1.31^ 

142. 
Aristoeraey,   the  old,   disapjH'arauco 

of,     1-3;     why    a    stnuig    feudal 

aristocnu^y    did    n«)t    devulop    m 

Norway,    2-3;     of    little    »igni!i- 

cance,  235. 
Armfelt,    general,    atta<'kii   Norway. 

.302  3'.>4. 
Armfelt,  Swedish  general,  in  Norway, 

317  3 IS;    his  ntn-at.  310. 
Army,  2.">;i-254,  2.'>0.  200;   condilioo 

of    in    the    Mt>veDt4M'nth   runtur>'. 

:U)-l-307. 
.\rnoldson,    K.    P.,    Swodith    pottoe 

a<lvo<"ate,  570. 
Arrebo,  .\ndent  Chriiitoiuivn,  287. 
Art.  21>3. 

Asbjorus«n,  P.  C'hr.,  491-192. 
Aschehoug.  T.  H..  527,  r>:«. 
As<'heiilMTg,  general.  310,  313. 
As,-wmbly  of  Kstat^^.  2UJv  209. 
.\strup.  II.  U.,  557. 
.Vufklarung,    339;     influcnoo    of    io 

1 


612 


INDEX 


II 


Danish    politics,    344-345,    353- 

355,  371,  402. 
August,  Charles  (Christian  August), 

391-398;    elected  Swedish  crown 

prince,  397. 
Augustinuss0n,  Melchior,  292. 
Axtorna,  battle  of,  153. 

Bachke,  O.  A.,  542. 

Bacon,  Francis,  338. 

Bagge,  Jacob,  Swedish  admiral,  151. 

Bagge,  Stig,  Norwegian  sea-captain, 

144,  149. 
Bank  of  Norway,  449. 
Beaver  Creek,  Iroquois  County,  111., 

Norwegian  settlement,  603. 
Bech,  bishop,  422. 
Benedict,  Bishop  of  Bergen,  54. 
Benzon,  Jakob,  statholder,  354. 
Berg,  Magnus,  artist,  293. 
Bergen,   becomes  a  Hanseatic  city, 

19;      sacked     by     the     Victual 

Brothers,    35-36 ;     some    of    its 

finest    edifices    destroyed,     124 ; 

becomes  center  of  Lutheranism, 

137-138. 
Bergen,  Latin  school,  125,  138. 
''Bergens  Fundats,"  163. 
"Bergens  Rimkr0nike,"  163. 
Bernadotte,    Prince   of   Pontecorvo, 

ordered  to  attack  Sweden,  392 ; 

see  Charles  John. 
Berner,    Carl,    Liberal    leader,    560, 

578,  582. 
Berner,    H.    E.,    editor    of    "Dag- 

bladet,"  532. 
Bernstorff,  A.  P.,  360,  363,  378,  379, 

381—382 
Bernstorff,  J.  H.  E.,  344-345. 
Bilde,  Claus,  commandant  of  Bohus, 

121. 
Bilde,  Eske,  commandant  of  Bergen- 

hus,  121,  135. 
Bille,  Anders,  Danish  general,  222. 
Birch- Reiehenwald,  523,  526. 
Birger,  king  of  Sweden,  4. 
Bjelke,  Henrik,  212,  222. 
Bjelke,    Jens   Tillufsen,   married    to 

Lucie  Gyldenl0ve,  217,  225. 
Bjelke,  J0rgen,  221,  225,  226. 
Bjerregaard,  H.  A.,  466. 
Bj0rn8on,    Bj0rnstjerne,    502,    518- 

619,  520-521,  547. 


Bjornstjerna,  general,  Swedish  envoy 
to  Moss,  442. 

Black  Death,  12-14. 

Blanca,  or  Blanch,  of  Namur,  mar- 
ried to  Magnus  Smek,  6,  15. 

Blehr,  Otto,  ministry  of,  570-572, 
590. 

Blekinge,  ceded  to  Sweden,  223,  228. 

Blix,  EUas,  550,  555. 

Blom,  Gustav  Peter,  427. 

Bod0  case,  454. 

Bogardus,  Eberhardus,  246-247. 

Bohuslen,  ceded  to  Sweden,  223,  228. 

Bolt,  Aslak,  archbishop,  55,  59,  67- 
68. 

Bombelles,  count,  in  Denmark,  414. 

Bonde,  Laurents  Hanss0n,  trans- 
lated sagas,  163. 

"Bonden  i  Bryllaupsgarden,"  292. 

B0nder,  not  peasants,  506-507. 

B0nder,  resist  oppression,  83,  85 ; 
condition  of,  in  Norway,  188-192, 
272,  275-276,  278-281,  477,  484- 
504 ;  condition  of  in  Denmark, 
336-337;  in  Norway,  337,  349, 
364-369,  374-375;  after  1814, 
450,  465. 

B0nder-lensm3end,  100. 

Bondevenforeninger,  530. 

Bornholm,  battle  of,  89,  153 ;  ceded 
to  Sweden,  223 ;  given  to  Den- 
mark, 229. 

Bostrom,  Swedish  minister  of  state, 
566-576. 

Bothner,  H.,  572,  575. 

Bothwell,  Earl  of,  157. 

Brffikstad,  H.  L.,  576. 

"Brand,"  519. 

Brandt,  Enevold,  352-356. 

Bratlie,  J.  K.  M.,  Conservative 
leader,  594. 

Bredal,  Nils  Krog,  373-375. 

Bredtvedt,  home  of  Hans  Nielsen 
Hauge,  405. 

Brinch,  Diderich,  293. 

Broch,  major,  442. 

Broch,  O.  J.,  534,  544. 

Br0msebro,  peace  of,  213. 

Brun,  Johan  Nordahl,  373-376. 

Brunkeberg,  battle  of,  76. 

Bruun,  Christopher,  554. 

Bruun,  Samuel  Olsen,  288. 

Budde,  Vincence,  313,  319. 


II 


INDt-X 


(>13 


i| 


BugRe,  Samuel.  288. 

Hiijjfft>,  Soplnis,  41M,  ').')!. 

link,   Oluv,  (■(>iiiiiiuii(laiit   of   Akors- 

Ims,  '>*J. 
Bun'uucrarv,  development  of,  ZH- 

•2A'>. 
Burt'nskjtild,  Swedish  general,  '.U)S. 

."C'ampbellerne,"     drama,    472-473; 

the  ('uiiii)Im'II»t  liattle,  472. 
Camstrup,  Olc,  ixM-t,  2t>2. 
Carolitm  Matliilda,  (jutH'n  t»f  ("liri.n- 

tiaii  VII.,  :j4u  ;r>.s. 

('as|)ari,  Tlu-odor,  ixk'I,  'kjO. 

CastberK,  John,  '>K<i. 

('ustU's,  few  in  Norway,  28. 

Cathedral  schools,  S«»  "«.KJ. 

Catherine  II.  of  Russia,  301-302, 
30i>.  37S. 

Catholic  propai;anda,  lU'.i   I'.M. 

Chancellor,  attempts  to  lin<l  a  n<»rth- 
east  passii>je,  isl    1S2. 

Charles  II.  of  England,  and  Freder- 
ick III..  2:i,S-23U. 

Charles  IX.,  king  of  Sweden,  It>8, 
1«K). 

Charles  X.  Oustavus,  220-227. 

Charles  XII.  of  Sweden.  :i()3-3()4. 
30<> ;  returns  to  Sweden.  :«)•>  310  ; 
his  swond  invasion  of  Norway, 
3ir>-31l>;    his  death.  317  31H. 

Charles  XIII.  of  Sw.den.  3«M).  421; 
issues  procjanuitioii  to  the  Nor- 
wegian pt'ople.  -iliS  ;  t'leeted  king 
of  Norway,  444  ;   death  of.  4'»0. 

Charles  XV.,  viceroy  of  Norway 
wliiU'  prince,  .'»17;  ascends  the 
throne,  ")17  ;   his  reign.  ri23,  '>.34. 

Charles  John.  l)(.><'ome8  Swinlish 
crown  i)rince.  4<M( ;  relation  to 
Napol»H)n  and  Kmp^-ror  Al«'.x- 
amler  I..  407  ;  nn-cives  promi.'M>  of 
Norway,  407  ;  nn-cives  promi.-H.'  of 
SiH'land,  40S  ;  abandons  ho|M«  of 
rtH-eiving  all  of  Norway.  410  ;  aids 
the  allies  air»inst  Nai)ole<in.  4I(V 
412;  invades  Denmark.  414  41.') ; 
his  view  of  tin-  treaty  of  Kiel. 
41(i;  luH'omes  Norwegian  crown 
prince.  444;  his  anuilgamalion 
policy.  401-45-4;  his  onslaught 
on  the  Norwegian  constitution. 
455-560;    his  circular  note  to  the 


power*,  4.'>7 ;  proptwiwi  mmfrui- 
inentM   to  till'  cot  •    - 

4.VJ  ;   eomhatn  Nor  .' 

lil>erty,  401  4M. 

Cliarlotta  Amelia,  qui-«-n  of  C'hri*- 
tian  v..  24i». 

Christian,  prince,  heir  to  the  thruoe, 
215. 

Christian  I.,  C0-<17;   hU  rluuiw,  67; 
crowiKil    and    married,   09;     ad- 
mini'-trative     jMjlicy     «»f.     71-73: 
jH  r-Miuii  traitN  Bn<l  ehn- 
nicirtt:jn.,'is  thf  ()rkrn-' 
land   I^lunds,  74:  Karl 

Knut>{.H4>n  lu.  king  ■>,  75; 

ma4l«<  Duke  of  lluU'.<iii  and 
C<iunl  of  S^-hhttwig  and  .Stor- 
marn,  75;  defeatM  at  lirunke- 
herg  hy  St«'n  .Siure,  70;  vnutji 
Italy  and  the  (iermau  KmiM<rur, 
70  77. 

Christian  II..  as  prin«*e  in  Norway, 
S4  HO;  childhiMxl  of.  IfCi :  nhaV- 
acter,  104  ;  cro»ni-<l  . 
favijrs  the  Lutlnran  U< 
l(W;  8ul.due!i  Swi-»l.n.  1  lU  111; 
th(  Stix'kholm  mn.HMacn*.  112- 
113;  n-lx-llion  agnitiHt  him  ia 
Denmark,  115;  li-aM-s  IVnmark, 
110;  his  reform.^.  110-117;  »l- 
t4^mptM  to  n-gain  hiH  kinj^ilom, 
125  120;  imprisoned,  12tl;  hi<» 
death.  I4K. 

Christian  III.,  as  duke  In  N<t  . 
121  ;  elivN-*!  kin«.  12>  .  • 
tMi'ks  to  re<lue«>  Norway  i«i  a 
pn)vince  «>f  Di'nmark,  131  KM; 
church  ordiimn*"*'  of,  i;iH;  ipo- 
larg«»s  the  na\y.  144;  intn>duc« 
mining  in  Norway,  145;  b»  kinf. 
147   14.S. 

Christian    IV..    l.'vi   IS4  ;       '   '  "       ' 
and  «*<iuc«tion,  1H4  ;   t.. 
rule.   IH-I   IH5:    bis  vi-^ 
way.  1S5;    eode  of,  1'.'. 
t4'r    of.     11»7:      ii 
int4'mal   ailmini*' 
in  the  Thirty   Vcnr*     »i  .•»: 
•JlM^;     attitutle    lowanl    S- 
210;   di-Ath  of.  210. 

Christian  V.,  24tH;  hi*  ohamri*^. 
24«»;  eoronation  of.  24»-25<). 
ebar»ctor   of    his    rule.    262-271  ; 


614 


INDEX 


n 


luxury  laws  of,  264-266;  police 
regulations,  266-267 ;  code  of, 
267  ;  character  of,  270  ;  adminis- 
trative policy  of,  270-271. 

Christian  VI.,  328-335;  his  foreign 
policy,  330-332 ;  his  Sabbath  or- 
dinances, 333. 

Christian  VII.,  349-357. 

Christiania,  taken  by  Charles  XII., 
312. 

Christians  and,  273. 

Christie,  W.  F.  K.,  424,  435,  441, 444, 
449. 

Christina,  Munk,  wife  of  King  Chris- 
tian IV.,  197-198. 

Christina,  queen  of  King  Hans,  de- 
fends Stockholm,  88. 

Christina,  queen  of  Sweden,  211,  219, 
220. 

Christopher  of  Bavaria,  elected  king 
of  the  three  realms,  51-52 ;  his 
reign,  64-65. 

Christopher,  Count  of  Oldenburg, 
128. 

Church  of  Norway,  53-55 ;  change 
in  ritual,  296  ;  condition  of,  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  296-300 ; 
churches  sold,  325. 

Cities  of  Norway,  173-174,  272-273  ; 
population  of,  276-277. 

Clausen,  C.  L.,  pioneer  preacher  in 
America,  603. 

Clementsson,  Arne,  Bishop  of  Ber- 
gen, 55. 

Closterlassius  (Klosterlasse),  193- 
194. 

Coalition  party,  586. 

"Code  of  Christian  IV.,"  192; 
"Code  of  Christian  V.,"  267-268. 

Colbj0rnsdatter,  Anna,  313. 

Colbj0rnsen,  Christian,  363-364. 

Colbj0rnsen,  Peter  and  Hans,  313. 

CoUart,  Claude,  151-152. 

Colleges,  Administrative,  232,  251, 
262. 

CoUett,  CamiUa,  473,  521-522. 

CoUett,  Jonas,  422,  442,  444,  448; 
impeachment  of,  460. 

Colonial  affairs,  44-46. 

Commerce,  see  Trade. 

Concession  laws,  586-589. 

Confirmation,  introduced  in  Nor- 
way, 334. 


Conservative  party  (H0ire),  533, 
541,  555,  565,  567,  569,  589,  590, 
594. 

Consular  service,  562-565,  570,  574. 

Conventicle  Act  of_1741,  485;  re- 
pealed, 486. 

Copenhagen,  bombardment  of,  386 ; 
University  of,  90. 

Copenhagen  roadstead,  battle  of, 
383. 

Council,  the  king's,  development  of, 
4 ;  seldom  assembled  by  Queen 
Margaret,  42 ;  in  the  reign  of 
Eirik  of  Pomerania,  46;  weak- 
ened influence  of,  55-56,  72,  86; 
powers  of,  102,  103 ;  of  Norway 
destroyed,  131,  142. 

Councils  of  magnates,  158-159. 

Count's  War,  128-134. 

Creutz,  Cornelius,  Norwegian  naval 
officer  in  Russian  service,  247. 

Crisis  of  1905,  576-585. 

Crusenstoipe,  M.  J.,  484. 

Daa,  Ludvig  Kr.,  473,  486-488, 
504  ;    turns  Conservative,  513. 

Daae,  Ludvig,  555. 

"Dagbladet,"  531,  532.. 

Dahl,  J.  C,  painter,  493. 

Dalejunker,  Swedish  pretender,  120- 
121. 

Dalman,  524. 

Danebrog,  Danish  flag,  134. 

Danes,  appointed  to  office  in  Nor- 
way, 56 ;  made  members  of  the 
Council,  56 ;  82-86. 

Danish  overlordship,  character  of, 
186. 

Danish  sympathy  for  Norway  in 
1814,  436-437. 

Dass,  Petter,  poet,  289-291. 

De  Geer,  526. 

Deichmann,  Bishop  of  Christiania, 
323-324. 

Deism,  338-339. 

Democracy  in  Norway,  development 
of,  56-64. 

"Den  Constitutionelle,"  Conserva- 
tive paper,  471,  487. 

Denmark,  Reformation  in,  109-110, 
126-127 ;  peasants  oppressed, 
126-127,  186-187;  rule  of  the 
aristocracy  overthrown,  228-229 ; 


II 


ISVT.X 


615 


Norwegian  settlpnu'nt  with,  4.W- 

4r)«). 
"Don  17<1(>  Mai,"  Laiidsniual  paper, 

5-l*>. 
Dopt'iidcnpy  clauses,  rtT.i. 
Del  (ianski)  Li(«'ratur-S«'lskal>,  37.'i. 
Dot   norsko  S<'lskah,  :J7:J,   401,  4(r2, 

40(5. 
Det  skandinaviske  Litorutur-Sclskah, 

380. 
"Dipluiuuturium  Islaiulicum,"  93. 
"Diploinatarium   N'orwrgirum,"  03. 
Diplutiuitic  and  c-onsular  wrvioc,  ^k.•4.' 

("onsulur  service. 
Diriks,  C'hr.  A..  425.  441.  44.S. 
Ditmarski'U,     incorporated     in     tln« 

diiehy   of   llolstein    bj-    Kmperor 

Frederick    III..    7(>-77 ;     attempt 

of  King  Man.'^  to  seize  it,  87-.SS ; 

conquest  of.  14S-149. 
DoIh'Iii.  Swedish  general,  3'.>4. 
Doljjorouki,  in  Copenhagen.  4(>.)— 410. 
Dolmer,    Jens,    author    of    "Norges 

Rij,M«  Arveri>,'e,"  21">*220. 
Donius  Sancti  Olavi,  *.K). 
Dorothea  of  Hrandenhurg.  widow  of 

KinK     ('hristoi)her,     marritKl     to 

Christian  I.,  «>(). 
Dorothea  of  Ljiuenburp,  married  to 

Christian  III.,  147. 
Douglas,  count,  Swedish  statesman, 

')«)«■.,  aO«.). 
"Draft  of  143G,"  new  act  of  union.  '»(). 
Dragsmark.    monastery    of,    secular- 
ized. 110. 
Drivstuen,  170. 
Drolsuni.  A.  C.,  ')70. 
Drotsete,  42.  4S. 
Dunker,    Hernhard.    471,    '^'i,    530. 

r)t)2. 
Dynekilen.  battle  of.  3ir>  310. 
Dyveke,  85;   death  of,  105,  106. 


ast  India  Company,  196. 

(Ida.  495. 

ducation,  prior  to  the  R^'formation, 

S9-'.K);     after    the    H<-forniation, 

294  300;    in  the  time  of  I^ietism, 

334-335. 
dvardsson.  Kdvnrd.  2*.>2. 
i;ede.  Hans.  32:.  320. 
ide.  Knud   Olsen,  pioii"''-  in   \mer- 

iea.  (iOl. 


KidAvold,     Ai»i»«Mnhly     of     Koubl*^. 

419;  Conwti' 

42:{  432;     e- 
KidHNtild  ifuamii!"<     »i->  -4r< 
Kiiiar^Hon.  CtinMur.  140  141. 
KinurrtrMm,   J6u,    prient   of  HluUholt, 

139. 
Kirik  Ma^iuiMon,  rclwU  a^puiut  hii 

father,  10. 
Eirik  of  Pomemnia.  ohfM»«»n  hrir  to 

the      throne      of      Norway,      'Xi , 

crowned  king  of  \on»a-     -       '  - 

ami    Denmark,    30;     • 

Philippa.  daughter  of  Jf  nr .    i  i 

of   Kngland.   39;     hii«   n-ign.   43- 

52;      hi«    adminiiitrmttvo    i>«»li«»y. 

40-47 ;     takfH    up    hin    bIkxIc    m 

(Mjthlanil.  51  ;   d«  ;         '  ••   < '--j 

and  Denmark. 51 
Kirik  XIV.  of  .Sw.Ml.i,.  ...   .  .; 

Kline  (JyldenKuc.  lis.  VJi),  I'M) 
Klizabeth    ilsaU-llai,    kikIit   of    Em- 

jMTor  Charles  \'.  marriitl  to  King 

Christian  11.,  10.'>. 
F'migrati»>n,  Norwopan  in  the  *f\- 

cnt^-enth    centurv    and    la!'*«-     '•• 

II(.lland.   2.39  243;     to    Ki 

243-245;     to  Aniericn      '» 

to    Russia.   247 ;     to    "^ 

the  ninet«'nth  rc'>'>"- 
Kngclbre<"ht.Hdatter.   1  ' 
Kngclbnvhtsson.   Kn^-. 

the   .Swedes    in    r«'lx4hi>n    n 

King  Kirik  of  Pomeran't 
Kngelbrekt.sson,     Olav, 

100.  120.  122-12tV  12'.».  : 
Knglandsfarcn'.    traders   engagfxl    m 

commerce  with  Kngland.  'M. 
Kngli!<ii    sympathy    for    Nonraj    in 

1S14.  435-i;W. 
"Enighe<Ien."  emifrrant  ship,  603. 
Epi<lemic».  174   175. 
Eriksen.    Alfn><I.   leadttr  of  Sorimlbt 

party,  '^s^^. 
E»s«'n.  Ilenrik  von.  gtivrmor-cncnd 

in  N..rway.  421.  44S. 
Kvald.  Johann«»s,  373. 
Kverth.  John.    Knglish   smuggler  in 

Norway,  454. 

Falwn.  Christian  Magnu«.  419.  424. 

4i.'».  42S.  431,  44S  AVJ. 
Kalson.  Kncvold.  .392-39:t.  410.  441 


616 


INDEX 


n 


Faroe  Islands,  Reformation  in,  142, 
237 ;  how  Denmark  retained 
these  islands,  415. 

Fasting,  Claus,  373-375. 

Fauchald,  P.,  478-479,  485,  506. 

Faye,  A.,  491. 

."Fedraheimen,"  Landsmaal  paper, 
549. 

Fine,  Arnoldus  de,  292. 

Finkenov,  Nicholas,  Archbishop  of 
Nidaros,  54. 

Finland,  taken  by  the  Russians,  392- 
397  ;  treaty  of  Fredrikshamn,  397. 

Finns,  missionary  work  among,  327- 
328. 

Flag,  Norwegian,  454,  480-481,  482, 
514,  568-569. 

"Flateyjarbdk,"  93. 

Fleet,  Danish-Norwegian,  12,  88-89, 
196,  269 ;  seized  by  the  English, 
386-387. 

Flor,  P.  P.,  471. 

Fogderier,  101. 

Fogeds,  origin  of  this  title,  28 ; 
tyranny  of,  34,  48-49,  100;  ex- 
tortions of,  158-159,  233. 

Fogstuen,  170. 

"Folkebladet,"  Liberal  paper,  471. 

"Folketidende,"  432. 

Folk  high-schools,  553-554. 

Folk-songs,  94-96. 

Folk-tales  (fairy-tales),  94-100. 

Pontainebleau,  peace  of,  261 ;  treaty 
of  with  France,  387. 

Foreningen  til  norske  Fortidsmindes- 
merkers  Bevaring,  493. 

Forligelseskommissioner  (Commis- 
sions of  arbitration),  430. 

Formandskab,  482. 

Formandskabs-distrikter,  482. 

Forster  August,  English  ambassador, 
in  Norway,  437. 

Fortresses  on  the  Swedish  border, 
570,  583. 

Foss,  Herman,  485. 

Fossegrim,  492. 

Fox  River,  La  Salle  County,  111., 
Norwegian  settlement,  602. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  339. 

Frederick  I.,  117;  becomes  King  of 
Norway,  119;  favors  the  Lu- 
theran Reformation,  123 ;  his 
charter,  126-127. 


Frederick  II.,  148-155 ;  internal  ad- 
ministration of,  155-160. 

Frederick  III.,  216;  charter  of,  216; 
character  of,  218 ;  interested  in 
alchemy,  218  ;  war  with  Sweden, 
220,  223 ;  second  war  ^ath  Swe- 
den, 224—228 ;  introduces  abso- 
lutism in  Denmark,  228-230  ;  in 
Norway,  230-235;  and  Charles 
II.  of  England,  238-239;  death 
of,  247. 

Frederick  IV.,  300-309;  his  char- 
acter, 300-302  ;  takes  part  in  the 
Great  Northern  War,  302-304; 
visits  Norway,  305 ;  hires  mer- 
cenaries, 305  ;  trips  to  Italy,  306  ; 
concludes  treaty  with  Poland  and 
Russia,  306  ;  The  Great  Northern 
War,  309-322;  closing  years  of 
his  reign,  323-328. 

Frederick  V.,  343-349. 

Frederick  VI.,  birth  of,  352;  be- 
comes regent,  363,  370 ;  becomes 
king,  389  ;  in  time  of  Napoleonic 
wars,  385-415 ;  his  narrow- 
minded  absolutism,  389,  396 ; 
his  solicitude  for  Norway,  412- 
414. 

Frederick,  Adolph,  of  Holstein-Got- 
torp,  chosen  king  of  Sweden,  331. 

Frederick,  Christian,  sent  to  Norway, 
412-413 ;  his  marriage  to  Char- 
lotte Frederikke,  413 ;  he  es- 
pouses the  cause  of  Norway,  418  ; 
summons  Assembly  of  Notables 
at  Eidsvold,  419 ;  chosen  regent, 
419 ;  summons  a  Constituent 
Assembly  at  Eidsvold,  420 ; 
elected  king,  432  ;  abdicates,  443. 

Frederick,  Count  of  Palatinate,  mar- 
ried to  Dorothea,  daughter  of 
Christian  II.,  130;  candidate  for 
the  Norwegian  throne,  131. 

Frederick,  Prince  of  Hessen,  311. 

Frederick,  Prince  of  Hessen,  com- 
mander of  Danish  army,  414. 

Frederick,  Prince,  regent,  358. 

Frederick  the  Great,  339. 

Fredriksborg,  peace  of,  321. 

Fredrikshald,  attacked  by  the 
Swedes,  313. 

Fredriksten,  attacked  by  the 
Swedes,  313. 


Ifn)EX 


017 


Frt'driksodde,  capturod  T)y  th«< 
Swi*<le8,  222. 

Friclr,  Chr..  editor  of  ."Morifen- 
l>ladt<t."  r/27.  r>.i2. 

Friis.  JOTK^'n.  slntholiier,   101-192. 

Frii.s,  Pt'dtT  ('laus.s0n,  102;  "Noriuis 
BcskrifTiH'ls*',"  1(52;  translation 
of  "S.'ifjaK  of  the  Kinf^K  of  Nor- 
way." lt)2,  192. 

Frimann,  Claus,  .'i73-37G,  402. 

Frimann,  Pedor,  373. 

Oaard.r.  P.  K..  '^11. 

(lalx'I.  Fn-dvrii'k.  2;i7. 

(Jahn.  ^:l•^^'rul.  dt-ffatod  at  Li<'r  and 

Mat  rand.  VA'J. 
Oallo  of  Thorn.  Olav.   117.   llH)  121. 
(lantziu.s  ((Jaa-s),  Clans  Ilansi-n,  2XS. 
(Jarhor^j,  Arnc,  FAi^Fi'A). 
(lata,  hatth'  of.  18. 
Gohoirm'koncf'il,  3."j9. 
Ciim.s0.    mona.stor>'    of,    secularized, 

110. 
r.jaldki'ri.  28. 
(ij0,  MoKt'ns.  lOo. 
Cilonimcn     River,     fortifications    of, 

269. 
Gottenborp.  founded.  198;  system  in 

Norway.  r)91-.'i93. 
Gottorp.  302-303;    question  of,  s«>t- 

th-d.  344. 
Graiitoj),  Ilalvard,  loads  a  now  upri.s- 

infj  ajjainst  King  Eirik  of  Ponu-r- 

ania,  ')1. 
"Gransk»<r»'n."  LilxTul  jiapcr.  4s7. 
Great  Nortliern  War,  302  MY.). 
Greenland,  trade  wit li,  14;    attempts 

to  reston<  eonnnunications   with, 

10<);      eonimunieafions     reestaW- 

lishod,   19.'>-19«»;    The  (;n'«'nland 

Company,   I'.K};    Hans  Kgede  in, 

32r>-32r) ;     now  colonies   in.   :j.3f> ; 

how   D«'nnmrk  Rot   po.s.se.ssion  of 

the  island.  41.'). 
Oreifswald.  I'niversity  of.  90. 
Gren,  Ma^jnus,  <'onimandanl  of  IJer- 

Ken.  72. 
GritTenfeld.  Peder  S<'humaohcr,  229, 

J.^O-iM.  2')'>-2'.7.  2«V2  2tW. 
Griis.  Peder,  eommandant  of  Akora- 

hus.  S4. 
Gripenstedt.  .lohn  August,  528. 
Grotius,  Huiiro,  .3.39. 


Grundtvig.  N.  F.  S.,  TiOl. 
(iu«l<'.  Mann,  paint«-r,  493 
Guflmundiixon,  I)ad<-.  141    142. 
(iullern,   Kniil,  Swi>»lihh  |x-««-«'  a<ivo- 

rate,  .VSO. 
CiunneruM.    Johan    Kmst,    Bi«hop   of 

TrondhjfMi.  .347. 
fiUHtav,  erownfprin«M»,  ri7!i. 
Gustavus     II.     AdolphuH,     l'.H»-200. 

204  '206. 
Gustavus  III.,  king  of  SwMjen,  360, 

.3»y9;  371.  377. 
(lustavus  IV.,  king  of  Swijdon,  391- 

390. 
CJylil«-nl0Vf,  Hans  I'lrik.  I9H;   ('hri»- 

tian  1  Ink.  19K;    I  Ink  Chriiitian, 

198. 
Gvldenl0vo.     Nils     IlenrikMon,     of 

*  Ostraat.  117   118. 
(ivldenl0ve,    ririk     Fn>diTiok.    ttat- 
'  hoUirr,    ■23<;'2:i7,    '2.V2  Jfil  ;     diw 

fends    the  bpfulrr,  279;    r«;lin<<J, 

302. 
GyIdeiU0ve  War,  2,'i3-261. 
Gylden»tj«Tne,  Ak**!.  itatKoldcr,  183, 

189- 1«M). 
Gyldenstjerne,    Kriok.    eommandant 

of  KlfslM)rK.  84. 
Gyhh'nstjerne.     Mogvns.     comman- 
dant of  Akershus.  121. 
Gyllenstjerna.  ('hrisiina,  111-113. 
Gypsies,  irkV-lG9. 

Haagenstad,  Ole.  477. 

Haakon  VII.  i  I»rin«M>  Charh**  of  Den- 
mark', el«ete«l  king  of  Norway, 
.'>.S4  .'>H.'> ;   crowntHl,  .VCi. 

Haakon  Miignus.s«)n  the  YouniTPr, 
7  8,  l.'»  19;  marrit-M  daughter  of 
Vald.'uiar  Atterdag.  l^;  lajit 
years  of  his  n-ign.  27  2'.». 

Haalognland  harri««<l  l.y  the  UuMtans 
an<l  Kan-lians,  0. 

HagerujvHull.  K.,  .'■>7r..  r.77. 

Hagerup.    Vt.,   ('«>i'  leader, 

.'>,'>7 ;    ministry  .  ».    •«'<*- 

ond  nnnistry  «>f 

Hallanil.  e^nh^l  to  .^  -3.  22«. 

Halnistad.  eouneil  uf.  (kS'i'.i;  new 
council  of.  80  M. 

Halvar<l.'W0n,  Holv,  leader  of  hinder, 
I.V.). 

Hamar.  cathi>dral.  burned.  IM. 


618 


INDEX 


Hamarhus,  destroyed,  154. 

Haramarskjold,  K.  H.  L.,  582. 

Hans  (John),  king,  77;  proclaimed 
king  of  Sweden,  81 ;  charter  of, 
81 ;  expedition  against  Ditmar- 
sken,  87-88;  war  with  Sweden 
and  Lubeck,  88-89. 

Hanseatie  merchants  in  Norway,  8- 
10;  receive  charter  from  King 
Magnus  Smek,  9 ;  make  use  of 
gunpowder,  12 ;  could  not  sail 
north  of  Bergen,  14 ;  wage  war 
with  Valdemar  Atterdag,  18; 
gain  ascendency  in  the  North, 
19-27  ;  wage  war  with  Denmark- 
Norway,  21-24 ;  influence  in 
Norway,  25-27  ;  institute  a  reign 
of  terror  in  Bergen,  65 ;  retard 
development  of  Norwegian  cities, 
66 ;  kill  the  commandant  of  Ber- 
gen and  many  people,  73  ;  shown 
great  favors  by  Christian  I.,  73; 
their  privileges  restricted  by 
Hans's  charter,  81 ;  war  with, 
82 ;  their  privileges  restricted, 
85 ;  lose  their  naval  supremacy, 
89;  sack  Bergen,  118-119;  their 
trade  monopoly  destroyed,  145- 
147. 

Harbitz,  G.  P.,  527. 

TIauge,  Hans  Nielsen,  402-405. 

Haugland,  Baard,  555. 

Hausmann,  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Norwegian  army,  309. 

Haxthausen,  General  Gottschalk, 
422,  440-441. 

Hedin,  Sven  Adolf,  Swedish  states- 
man and  peace  advocate,  566, 
580-581. 

Hegermann,  448. 

Hegg,  Even,  editor  and  publisher  of 
"Nordlyset,"  603. 

Heiness0n,  Mogens,  158. 

Helliesen,  H.  L.,  543. 

Helogaland,  taken  by  the  English, 
387-388. 

Helsingborg,  besieged  and  taken  by 
Valdemar  Atterdag,  17. 

Henriksson,  Henrik,  chancellor,  42. 

Herdekinn,  170. 

Herjedalen,  joined  to  the  diocese  of 
Trondhjem,  155,  170;  ceded  to 
Sweden,  213. 


Herre,  Bernhard,  492. 

Herred,  local  administrative  district, 
482. 

Herredsstyre,  body  of  selectmen,  482. 

Hersleb,  Bishop  of  Christiania,  329, 
334. 

Hertzberg,  N.,  542. 

Hessen,  Prince  Carl  of,  370. 

Heyberg,  Nils,  poet,  292. 

"Hildinakvad,"  96. 

Hirb'stjorar,  28. 

Hjaltesson,  Olav,  Lutheran  bishop  at 
Hdlar,  142. 

Hjelm,  Jonas  Anton,  476,  479,  484, 
504. 

H0eg-Guldberg,  Ove,  356,  358,  363. 

Hoel,  Halvor,  453. 

H0fudfat,  Herlog,  leads  an  uprising, 
85-86. 

Hogland,  battle  of,  370. 

H0iesteret,  230,  236-237;  in  Nor- 
way, 431. 

Holberg,  Ludvig,  339-343,  371-372. 

Hoick,  Count  Conrad,  352. 

Holgerss0n,  Jens,  sea-captain,  88-89, 
153. 

Holland,  Norwegian  seamen  in,  239- 
243. 

Hollanders,  allowed  to  trade  in  Nor- 
way, 182,  184 ;  aid  Sweden 
against  Denmark-Norway,  210- 
211. 

Holmboe,  J.,  542. 

Hoist,  P.  C,  489. 

Holstein,  united  with  Denmark,  75. 

Horn,  Gustav,  occupies  Skane,  210. 

Hornemann,  C.  G.,  459. 

Hostrup,  C,  501-502. 

Houses,  in  Norway,  172. 

Hoved0,  monastery,  burned,  126. 

Hoven,  Reinhold  von,  225,  259. 

"Hrokkinskinna,"  93. 

Huitfeldt,  Henrik  J0rgen,  313. 

Huitfeldt,  Ivar,  Norwegian  naval 
hero,  307. 

Huitfeldt,  Paul,  commandant  of 
Akershus,  155 ;  statholder,  156 ; 
"Stiftsbog,"  156. 

Huitfeldt,  T0nne,  226-227. 

Hulder,  fairy,  492. 

Humanism  in  Denmark-Norway, 
108;    in  Norway,  160-164. 

Hume,  David,  338. 


rVDEX 


619 


Hundebunden,  battle  of.  227. 
HusmHTid,  pfustititH,  rA)7-'A)*,i;   Kivt-n 
Ix'ttur  protcotion,  .')12. 

Ibson,  Ilonrik,  TilO,  M.'V-.'Vl?. 

looliind.  tradp  with.  14,  1.');  Kntflixh 
drivt'n  awuy  from.  107;  K4'f«ir- 
iiiuti(jn.  l.'{i)-142;  Inuilfngnl  for, 
2.'{7  ;  sliflsnmlmatul  for.  2^17;  how 
Dt'iimark  (jot  posjjossion  of  tlu« 
isluud,   Ki'i. 

Indro.  seized  hj-  tho  Swwlos,  211-2Ki. 

InduKtry,  2K4. 

InjjeJijore,  duehosrt,  daujrhter  of 
Ihiakon  V..  4-r). 

InK'<'r.  I^ady  of  t)straat,  US,  120.  124, 

i:io. 

Insiiranco  of  laborers.  .^itMK.VJl. 
Iiitelli>,'eiiee  jtartv.  adherontrt  of  J.  ,S. 

Welliaven,  471. 
Irpens.  X.  K..  .727,  "kM. 
Isebrand,    Wolf,   leader  of   tho   Dit- 

niarsk«'rs,  S7. 
Tvar  A^nundsson,  7. 

.laaba'k.  Suren,  TjOt,  rM),  .'>,T2.  '>.'>.'>. 
Jaek.sori.  Sir  Francis,  Knglish  diplo- 
mat .  :{S«). 
Janson.  Kristofor,  .'i.'iO. 
Jarl,  title  of  abolished,  2. 
Jefferson    I*rairie,    Wi.soonsin,    Nor- 

wejjinn   settlement.  tiO-S. 
Jeilane.  I.rfirs  Ijtirscui.  i>ioneer.  (V)l. 
Jtt>nitlund,   joined   to   the  dioe«».se  of 

Trondhjem,  ITtb;    eoded  to  Swo- 

den.  213. 
Jens.  Hishop  of  Oslo.  07. 
Jensen.  ('..  .'>42. 
Jensen.  P.  A.,  popt,  4!)2. 
Johansen.  J.  L..  .'V42. 
John  111.,  kinjr  of  S\ve«len.  I.'vl. 
Jonas.    Triiia.    mother    of    Anncwko 

Jans  liojjardiis.  24(V  247. 
J()nk(')pinK,  i>ea<'e  of,  ;<1)7. 
Jdnsson.  .\rn>rrim.  2t>2. 
Jdnsson.  Sij^urd.  lirntitrtr,  r>'2,  07. 
J«»tunheitn,  disoover«»<l.  4".>2. 
Judit'iary  of  Norway.  4.{(>— 431. 
Ju(>l,  Nils.  Danish  admiral.  2.">4.  2.r)7. 
Jidiane  Marie,  queen  of  Frederii'k  V., 

:r>().  'Mu^. 
Jurisprudence,     criminal,      177-178, 

192. 


Juul,  Povel.  pool,  2^n-292. 
JuutAM,  liAtthi  uf,  3\M 

Kalmar,  union  of  N«.r\Kay,  .Sw««<lon, 
and  Denmark.  'M',  .in;  Act  of 
Inion.  37;    war,  H*7-'2«i;i. 

Kammen-rt'r,  2^M. 

Karl  of  Hatnar.  bishop,  86. 

Karlstad  oisTwrnont  Ix-twucn  Nor- 
way and  Swi-ilen,  ftXi. 

Kendall,  s*-*'  Murray.  (lr*t  Norwoifian 
K4>ttlement  in  Amrrira,  t'dfj. 

KeywT.  Hudt.lf.  347.  4t»3  41M,  .VjI. 

Kiel,  ir<«aty  of,  41.'»,  444    ll.^i. 

Ki.lland.  .VIe.tander  L..  .'■>47-.''>4«.  .'i.'Wi. 

Kildal,  HirptT,  55.'i.  r*r*7. 

Kinc.  se<-ks  to  inen«»<  hi«  powttr, 
."».'»  ."><) ;  lawmaking  ikjwct  of, 
102  lo;^. 

Kinijo.  Thoma.H.  '2\H\. 

Kjerulf.  Halfdan.  4'.>2. 

Kjendf.  TluHKlor.  41»2. 

Kjoge  Hay.  battlu  of,  2.'j9;  anothor 
battle  of,  307. 

Klu'bo.  Jon.  /WjO. 

KlokkertoMen.  l.W. 

Klopst(K'k  in  Denmark,  372-373. 

Kniprod.  jK'am'  of.  2tX). 

Kniekerlxwkers.  of  New  York,  d«»- 
seended  frofn  tho  Norw€<gian 
midwife,  Trina  Jona^  and  hiT 
daughttT  Anutx'ki'  JaJiH  liogardu*, 
240-247. 

Knijjhi.  title  of  n^taininl.  2. 

Knudsen,  Christ* ipher,  o7.'». 

Knudson,  (runnar,  '>7.'>:  ministry  of, 
.'i.S(»-.SS«> ;    s4<<fond   mininlry,  /ilM. 

Knudsen.  Holand,  2.HS. 

Knutsson.  Jaeob.  Mishop  of  B«nrBn, 
later  of  0^1a.  M. 

Knutsson.  Karl  illonde),  4.S;  elnctttd 
Swe<lish  regi'Dt.  .*»1.  <"».'>;  htteomui 
king  of  .Sweden,  07;  rhimon  ktnx 
«»f  Norway  by  a  fai'tion  lod  by 
Aslak  Holt.  07;  erownwl  kiiur  of 
Norway.  OS;  grautji  n  eliart«>r, 
fkS ;  fon'e<l  to  sumnder  N«>rway 
to  ('hrixtian  I.,  tkS ;  driven  from 
Swinlen.  7.');  rwalli'd  and  nguxn 
oxiltHl,  70 ;  ItocomcM  again  king  of 
Sweden,  70. 

Koggp.  12. 

KollM>rgr'r  Heide,  battlo  of.  212. 


620 


INDEX 


II 


"Kongelov"  (lex  regia),  229. 

Konghelle,  burned,  23,  154. 

Kongsberg,  silver  mines,  195. 

Konow,  W.,  ministry  of,  589-593. 

Koshkonong,  Dane  County,  Wiscon- 
sin, Norwegian  settlement,  603. 

Krabbe,  Iver,  221. 

Krag,  Frederick,  vice-statholder  in 
Norway,  309,  323. 

Krebs,  lieutenant-colonel,  439-440. 

Kringen,  battle  of,  202. 

Kringla,  society,  490. 

Krohg,  Christian,  448,  459. 

Kr0pelin,  Hans,  commandant  of 
Bohus,  56. 

Krumedike,  Hartvig,  56,  67,  83,  117. 

Krumedike,  Henrik,  120. 

Krumedike,  Sophia,  121. 

Kruse,  colonel,  311. 

Kvistrum  Bro,  battle  of,  370. 

Labor  movement  started  by  Markus 
Thrane,  507-514  ;  party,  586,  594. 

Ladegaards0en,  royal  residence,  443. 

Lagerheim,  Swedish  minister  of  for- 
eign affairs,  569-570,  572. 

Lagmandsret,  court  of  justice,  431. 

Lagthing,  branch  of  the  Storthing, 
430. 

Laing,  Samuel,  428-429,  452. 

Land,  distribution  of,  63. 

Landfoged,  for  Iceland,  237. 

Landsmaal,  496-500,  593-594. 

Landstad,  M.  B.,  491. 

Lange,  O.  V.,  527. 

Language,  Norse,  Middle  Period,  91- 
93  ;  Danish  in  Norway,  92. 

Lappo,  battle  of,  394. 

Larvik,  183. 

Latin  school  at  Bergen,  founded,  125. 

Lehmann,  Orla,  503. 

Len,  100. 

Lendermand,  title  abolished,  2. 

Lensherre,  100-101 ;  155-156. 

Lensmand,  100-101,  157. 

Lerche,  F.  G.,  512. 

Lessing,  339. 

Leszezynsld,  Stanislaus,  306. 

Lewenhaupt,  Swedish  minister  of 
foreign  affairs  in  Bostrom's  min- 
istry, 566. 

Liberal  party  (Venstre),  530,  532-533, 
535,  556 ;   split  in  the  party,  557. 


Liberals,  Liberal  (Frisindede  Ven- 
stre), 586,  589. 

Liberals,  Moderate,  557-558,  565, 
567,  569. 

Liberals,  National,  557-558. 

Liberals,  Pure,  557-558,  561,  565, 
567,  569. 

Liberals,  Radical,  586,  589. 

Lie,  John,  550. 

Lie,  Jonas,  548-549. 

Lie,  Sophus,  551. 

Lier,  battle  of,  439. 

Lillethinget,  labor  convention,  510. 

Lillienskjold,  Hans,  292. 

Lindeman,  L.  M.,  492. 

Literatixre,  89-100;  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  285-293 ;  reli- 
gious, in  the  seventeenth  century, 
296-297  ;  at  the  time  of  Holberg, 
337-343 ;  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, 371-376 ;  new  national, 
402,  464-475  ;  romanticism,  490- 
500,  544-553. 

Ljodhus,  burned,  43 ;   council  of,  52. 

Local  self-government,  478-479 ;  es- 
tablished, 481-482. 

Locke,  John,  339. 

Lofthus,  Chr.  J.,  365-369. 

Louise  of  Mecklenburg,  queen  of 
Frederick  IV.,  301. 

Louise  Gyldenl0ve,  120,  130. 

Louise,  queen  of  Charles  XV.,  524. 

Louise,  queen  of  Frederick  V.,  343. 

L0vendal,  U.  F.  V.,  statholder,  308. 

L0venskiold,  Severin,  424,  427  ;  im- 
peached, 481 ;  statholder,  486,  543. 

L0vland,  J.,  575,  577,  580-581,  582; 
ministry  of,  585-586. 

Lumber  trade,  with  England  and 
Holland,  178-182. 

Lund,  battle  of,  258  ;  peace  of,  261. 

Lundegaard,  Teis,  477. 

Lunge,  Vincence,  118-126,  129-131. 

Lungegaarden,  in  Bergen,  121. 

Lutter  am  Barnberg,  battle  of,  206. 

Lutzow,  general,  310. 

Luxury  laws  of  King  Christian  V., 
264-266. 

Lykke,  Nils,  124,  130. 

Maalstraev,  496. 

Magnus  Smek,  king,  6-9 ;  his  cam- 
paign in  Finland,  14-19. 


II 


IVDKX 


021 


Mapnusson,  Ami,  2*)2. 

Muimfaftun',  2.S-1. 

Mllr^J^n•t,  (luujrhUT  of  r'hriMtian  I., 
rnurri('<l  to  Jatii«>s  III.,  of  .S«'ot- 
luiid,  73-74. 

Murjfan't,  (lauf;lit«'r  of  \'ai(l*'niar 
AtttTdu^j,  ruling  qiH'«'n  of  tin- 
North,  niarrit'W  to  Kiiin  Haakon 
Mauiiusson  the  Vounjjrr,  is,  'J-S  ; 
oliH'l»>«I  qin'cn  of  Denmark,  rfj^nit 
of  Norway,  and  (jiumti  of  Swc<lcn, 
li'2-'.i3;  vhariu'lvr  of  Ikt  rul«',  M, 
4<)-43. 

Marpan't  rfyldonl0.ve,  lUI. 

Maril)o««,  Ludvij;,  4r)S),  47G. 

Maristuen,  171. 

Marsk,  4.S. 

Marstrand,  hurntHl  in  llu<  war  with 
the  lian.sa  towns,  2.'i ;  taken  by 
Tor(i»<nskjold,  320-321. 

Mart«>n.s,  Count,  of  I*russia,  in  Nor- 
way, 437. 

Martin  of  Skillholt,  141. 

Masfhius,  Mans  Mortt-nsm,  2.S8. 

Matraml,  hattlo  of,  43'.>-44(). 

Maud,  qui't'n  of  Haakon  \'II.,  .')H4- 
'kS')  ;   crowruHl,  .'kS."). 

ModdonisH't,  court  of  justifc,  431. 

Mi>dliji*I|)«'r(>,  oiisistants  in  tho 
fhurch,  300. 

M»'lU>nirij:slov,  5GS. 

Mcn'antili.srn,  335-33r> ;  ahandoned, 
3»>4. 

Mercenaries,  ;{().'). 

M.Tchant  marine.  12,  283. 

Merchants,  native,  2r>-27. 

Michelsen,  Cliristian,  '>t»7 ;  ministry 
of,  •")7r),  .')7s,  ."kS2,  liS'},  ')S7 . 

Milt/.ow,  Cn-rt  ilenrik.sen,  2t)3. 

Mining,  in  Norway,  144-14'). 

Minister  of  slate,  oOice  oreattHi,  535. 

Moe,  .lorjren,  4'.M    4<»2. 

Mojjensson,  Michel,  2.S7. 

Mohlen,  .lorjjen,  thor,  2M. 

Monklioven,  .Fan  von,  JIM)  201. 

"MorKenl.ladel,"  r.0-1,  .'>0«>,  .'>27,  .'^^2. 

Morier,  I.  P.,  in  Norway,  4.{.">. 

Mcirnor,  ("Jenerai  Carl  (iustav,  310. 

Moss,  Convt<ntion  <)f,  442. 

Moth,  Sophia  Amali.<.  2  l'.>.  2.'.r). 

Motzfeldt.  C.  F.,  '>M. 

Motzfoldt.  Kotil,  r>,30. 

Motzfeldt,  Pet«r,  424,  448. 


Motiffldt,  n.  A..  471. 
.Munch.  A.,  472,  4'.r2  A90.  TAK. 
Munch.  Joimn  Storm,  A<T1  M^\. 
Munch.    P.    A  .    347.    471.    49.1  40rt. 

.'■>.'il-.'i,'i2. 
.Mund,  IVfM*.  Noruii^n  ailmirmi.  212. 
.\lunk,  Krik.  I.'>2.  l.VI. 
Munk,  Jenn.  ZVJ. 
.\Iunk,  LudviK.  l.W.  1S5. 
Munk««liv.  niona.Ht«T\'  of,  73. 
.\Iunth.',  A.  K.,  .'►■12  ''►43. 
Murray,  ««<<•  Kendall,  flrnl  Norwi'ifuin 

M'ttlenient  in,  i'*Y2. 
MuHke^o.  Wi.-w'onftin.  Nurwif^n  wl- 

t lenient,  ri03. 
MuuH,  Andent,  Uinhup  of  Oslo.  K2. 
.Myrnia<nd,  faifot- volant,  .'»41. 

"Naja<l."  detftruction  of,  413—114. 

Nans«'n.  Kridtjof.  .'>7<l.  597. 

Nanseii.  Hans,  22H. 

Na|)oleonic  want,  .'1^2-3^. 

Narva,  battle  of,  'MWt. 

"Naturrtx'ht."  .W.^. 

Navy,  <leterioration  of.  12;   new,  88- 

K'.».  VM\,  2ri'». 
Neorijaard,  John,  477,  47!>. 
NewHpaiM'fu.  Norw«tjian,  fln»t  papm. 

34S,  370. 
Nil.s,s0n,      Jens,      lii.shop,      UVt   H VI ; 

"  VisitalsluHfcr,"  WA. 
Nil.s.son.  Olav.  commandant  of  Ik>r- 

jfi'n.    52;     .s«'<'k»    to    conln»l    tho 

Hanseatic  tnerchanlM,  •'».'».  71-73. 
Nissen  Hartvi^,  .'k>I. 
Noliilitv,  alHili.shiHi  in  Norway.  455. 
Niik,  41V2. 

Nonne.Hi'tvr.  monaj»t«'ry.  121.  123. 
Norhv.  Son'H.  iM«-c«pt«in.  Ks.    11.*. 

1 15. 
Norderhov.  the  Sw«'<ies  nt.  312  313. 
Nordfarere,      nati\««      ll«nj''n      tiior- 

cliants.  24  2.'>. 
Nonlisk«<  KorvninK  in  I»ndon.  379. 
Nordiske  S>Ukah,  in  I>ind«»n.  244. 
"Nt)rdlyH4«t,"  lin«t   Nor»e«na'»  n«'W»- 

|)a|M<r  in  .Xmerica.  UH. 
"N()ri;»'s«  Da'mrinir,'"  471.  .V.Jft  597. 
"Nonr«««  Kamlo  Lov«>,"'  andeii  rvkkr. 

H3. 
"Nori:<»«  Rici'  .\r\erit:«'."  219-220. 
••Nop.k  Kolkehla«l,"  :»30. 
"Nor»k  So."  ItxJ. 


622 


INDEX 


Northeast  passage,  attempts  to  find 
it,  181-182. 

Northwest  passage,  search  for,  196 ; 
discovered,  598. 

Norway,  becomes  an  elective  mon- 
archy, 70-72 ;  its  position  in  the 
union,  131-139;  Council  of,  de- 
stroyed, 131 ;  codes  of  law  of 
translated  into  Danish,  143 ; 
ruled  by  Danish  officials,  142- 
143;  army  of,  206-207;  for- 
tresses of,  207  ;  new  social  classes, 
207-209 ;  conditions  m  tHe  seven- 
teenth century,  272-284;  during 
the  wars  of  1807-1814,  387-398 ; 
attitude  towards  the  treaty  of 
Kiel,  417-419;  sentirofilils.  and 
conditions  after  1814,  446-450 ; 
relation  to""  Sweden,  515 ;  neu- 
traUty  guaranteed  by  treaty,  585  ; 
economic    progress,    596-597. 

Norwegian,  emigration  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  and  later,  see 
Emigration ;  seamen  in  Holland, 
England  and  Russia,  239-247; 
army,  253-254,  259;  sea-cap- 
tains, 260;  army,  269;  colonies 
in  America,  602-610;  language 
in  America,  605 ;  farmers  in 
America,  605-606;  churches  in 
America,  608,  609;  education, 
609-610;  centennial  in  1914, 
610. 

Norwegians  in  America,  602-610 ;  in 
pubUc  Ufe,  606-608. 

Nyborg,  council  of,  43. 

Nykoping,  sacked  by  the  Victual 
Brothers,  35. 

Nystad,  peace  of,  321. 

Nystuen,  171. 

Odelsthing,  branch  of  the  Storthing, 

430. 
Oehlenschlseger,  Adam,  501. 
Official,  class  in  Norway,  282. 
Oftedal,  Lars,  556. 
Ofted0ler  (Moderate  Liberals),  586. 
"Olaboka,"  477. 
Pland,  battle  of,  152,  199;   battle  of, 

257. 
Olav,  crown  prince,  585. 
Olav    Haakonsson,    son    of    Haakon 

Magnusson     the     Yoimger     and 


Margaret,  28 ;  placed  on  the 
throne,  30;    his  death,  31. 

Olavsson,  Amund,  last  Catholic 
bishop  in  the  Faroe  Islands,  142. 

Old  Norse  language,  towards  the 
close  of  the  Old  Norse  period,  10- 
11 ;  East  Norse,  10 ;  West  Norse, 
10 ;  0stlandet  develops  its  own 
dialect  distinct  from  that  of 
Tr0ndelagen,  11. 

Olss0n,  W.,  general,  570,  575. 

Opdam,  Jakob  von  Wassenaer,  224. 

Oravais,  battle  of,  394. 

0resundstolden  (Sound  toll),  44. 

Orloff,  general,  in  Norway,  437. 

Orning,  Eirik  Ottess0n,  Norwegian 
admiral,  212. 

Oscar  I.,  489-517. 

Oscar  II.,  534,  575,  577,  579;  abdi- 
cates as  king  of  Norway,  584. 

^stgaard,  Nicolai,  492. 

Overhofretten,  236. 

Overkrimminaketten,  392. 

Oxe,  Torbern,  105. 

Oxenstjerna,  Axel,  210. 

Paalsson,  Agmund,  Bishop  of  Skal- 
holt,  139-140. 

Parliamentary  system,  Johan  Sver- 
drup  advocates  it,  533  ;  bill  giving 
the  ministry  seats  in  the  Stor- 
thing passed  and  vetoed,  535- 
536 ;  the  resolution  of  June  9th, 
536. 

Patriots,  the  followers  of  Henrik 
Wergeland,  471. 

"Patrouillen,"  Liberal  paper,  459. 

Paul,  Emperor  of  Russia,  382,  384. 

Pederss0n,  Absalon,  teacher  in  the 
Latin  school  in  Bergen,  138,  160- 
162;  ."Liber  Capituli  Bergensis," 
160 ;  widow  of  burned,  175. 

Pederss0n,  Geble,  125,  134-135; 
Lutheran  bishop  in  Bergen,  137, 
138,  160. 

"Peer  Gynt,"  519. 

Peerson,  Cleng,  601-603. 

Peter,  Czar  of  Russia,  303,  306. 

Phihppa,  daughter  of  King  Henry  IV. 
of  England,  married  to  King 
Eirik  of  Pomerania,  39 ;  her 
character  and  popularity,  47. 

Physiocrats,  346. 


II 


IVDEX 


(i23 


PietiMm,  in  Norway,  32.'j.  :«2-:i35. 

l*inin(r,  Didrik.  4.'i.  82. 

Plttton,   B.   B.    von.   BtatholiUr,   4<H 

4«3. 
Plebiscite,    in    Norwav,    Novoml>or, 

UK)').  .'i84. 
Pl0«'n.  Duk.<  .Joliii  Adolpli,  255,  258, 

2(Ki. 

Piout;:.  ('..  r)<)i-.5o;j. 

Poltava.  bultI»Mjf.  ;i()G. 

Pom<>raniu,  Swedish.  r«'d«'d  to  Don- 
mark  hy  tim  tn-utv  of  Kirl. 
41.-,.; 

Poriialovski,  ^fiicral,  .'ill. 

Popiilation.  in  th<>  sixtei>nth  eontury. 
1(14   Hi,'..  51(). 

Potliorst,  45.  S2. 

I^ess,  fori'ifjn.  rcjrardiriK  Xonnepinn- 
Swcdisli  conflict,  .')7t). 

IVosUhakkc.  battle  of.  .mi-;«)4. 

I*riiitin^.  first  book.s  printed  in  Den- 
mark and  Norway,  '.H>  Ul. 

I'ufcndorf.  ;«'.». 

'■Quorelae  Swodieae,"  !.')(). 
(^iiirini's  ac<'ouiit  of  Norway.  .->(>-(iO. 

Railways,     first     in     Norway.     51«»; 

total  mileage  of.  oiXJ. 
Ramsey,  AlexaiidiT,  leader  of  Scotch 

mercenaries,  201-202. 
Rantzaii-Ascheberff.  ;i52. 
Hanfzau,     Cotmt     Christian,     utat- 

hnldir,  .T2<). 
Kaiifzau,  Daniel,  \')'.i. 
Raiitzaii,  John.  12".). 
Rationalism,  402. 
Ravaldsson,    Nils,    commandant    of 

Olavsborjr.  S4. 
TU'fT,  Hans.  Lutheran  l>ishoj).  \'.i7. 
Reformation,  in  Deiinuirk.   1(K>  110. 

120   127;     in    Norway.    l.W   l.i'J; 

in  b'cland  and  the  Fartx-  Islands, 

i;{0   142. 
Reichwein,  (lOorK  von.  225. 
Rein.  eloist(>r  of,  124. 
Rein.  .lonas,  :\7:\.  Mt\,  402. 
l{einhard.      Martin,      Lutheran      n^- 

former  in  Denmark,  !(►".». 
"  Restaurationcn."  sloop.  «102  -(KXi. 
Reventlow.  Anna.  :{01.  :VJ\i. 
Reventlow,  count,  Ml,  'MX'k 
Rovonues,  235. 


Rcymnrt.  Jamoii  D..  editor  and  pub- 

liNher  of  ••\iirdlywt."  nu. 
liilM-r.  fin«l   l.iithcrttn  biithup  rjf  the 

Faro*'  I 
Kichter,  ()!■  7-558.  &59. 

Hiddirvohl,  H..  l.sj.  i34. 
Kidefo(;i-dM,  2(xi. 
HilfHTft.  .'V41. 
RiiK.  C.  P..  41»2. 
Ho<'k  I*rairie.  Wisconsin.  Norwe«fian 

•i^ttlcment.  iMKi. 
Romanticism.  AM.  4St^.''i<X). 
Romsdal.  i'e<li<<l  to  Sweden,  '224  ;    r<- 

store<l  to  Norway.  22s. 
RoroH,  cop|K«r  minc«  «if,  19."). 
Ro.s«'n.  Count  von.  Kovernor-feDerml 

in  Trondt-laffcn.  421. 
Ros«nkiIdc.  P.  v..  4.i'). 
Ros4-nkran».    Krik.   commaDclant   of 

Bcrir«'n.  152. 
Ros<iikrantz,  444. 
Roskildo.  |M>aco  of.  223. 
R0slein,    SwfHlish    K<yrrpt     a^^nt    in 

Norway.  45.'<. 
Rost«K'k.    rnivcmity   <»f.    xnsitwl    by 

Norwei^ian    studentii.  90;    l>attli> 

of.  25«J. 
Rouss4*au.  .■{."W. 

Rud.  Otto.  Danish  admiral.    \:*i\. 
RudlMck.  Olof,  2«r2. 
Ru(;cn,  Island  of,  c«Hi«.<l  to  Denmark. 

415. 
Ru.s.sia,  relation  to.  51(i-5I7. 
Rynninjr.  Ole.  OKi. 

Sa-rna,  s«>i/,»Hi  by  the  Swi«<lt'«,  21 1-213. 

Saija.x,  VXi. 

Sjip-n.  Lyder,  402. 

Salmiindsson.  Kirik.  rrijvnt.  68. 

Sarpsborj;.  burne<i,  IM. 

Sjirs.  .1.  K..  rut  I   .VkI. 

Sawmills,  iwtablishwi.  17\). 

Saxlutid.  ]•'..,  527. 

S<'an<lina\ianiH.ii.  :i.St)-U)t»;  5<Jt>-504. 

.■.17  5 is.  .■.27  5-2'J. 
S«diil)sti«ad,  .\.,  wlitor  of   ;'Morirw»- 

bladpt."  532. 
S«'liiiiiriii  Itii.'uin.  K..  'MX\. 
S.I1I.  suit:  and  .st..rmam,  unit4xl  with 

Dciini.nrk.  7.*). 
S<ditfnint:.  (M-rhnrd.  347. 
Sch0nneb0l,  Knk  Hanmmn,  l(Vi. 
Sch.M.Is.  P.M.  5:n.  h.'ui-.VA. 


624 


INDEX 


II 


Sehultze,  Hans,  492. 

Sehwach,  Conrad,  402. 

Schweigaard,  A.,  471,  486-489,  532- 
533. 

Schweigaard,  Chr.,  542. 

Scotch,  mercenaries,  200-203. 

Sehested,  Hannibal,  statholder,  209- 
211 ;  his  administrative  poUey, 
213-215,  230,  248. 

Seiersted,  general,  440-441. 

Selmer,  C.  A.,  minister  of  state,  538- 
539  ;  impeachment  of  the  Selmer 
ministry,  541-542 ;  dismissed, 
543. 

Selskabet  for  Norges  Vel,  399-401. 

Seventeenth  of  May,  460-463. 

Seven  Years'  War,  148-155. 

Sibbern,  Georg,  528. 

Sigbrit  Villums,  85,  105-106. 

Sigismund,  king  of  Poland,  198. 

Sigurd  Hafthorsson,  7. 

Silverstolpe,  Axel  Gabriel,  451. 

Sinclair,  George,  in  Norway,  201-203. 

Sjoblad,  Swedish  admu-al,  259. 

Sj0-len,  naval  districts,  273. 

"SjurSarkvse'Si,"  96. 

Skane,  added  to  Sweden,  9,  223,  228. 

Skjold,  Lasse,  foged,  84. 

Skram,  Peder,  Danish  naval  com- 
mander, 129. 

Skrivere,  233. 

Slfytterlag,  539. 

Slagheck,  Didrik,  109,  112-114. 

Slogvig,  Knud,  602-603. 

Slotsloven  paa  Akershus,  304. 

Snaphanerne  (guerillas),  257. 

Sneedorff,  F.,  379,  396. 

Socialists,  586,  589,  594. 

Soelvold,  P.  P.,  472. 

Sommerhjelm,  444,  448. 

Song-dance,  94—96. 

Sophia  AmaUe,  queen  of  Frederick 
III.,  216,  248. 

Sophia  Magdalena,  queen  of  Chris- 
tian VI.,  328,  332. 

S0renssen,  Aimar,  555. 

S0renssen,  S.  A.  W.,  480,  484. 

Sound  toll,  44. 

Staaff,  Karl,  582. 

StabeU,  A.  B.,  504-506. 

Stabell,  general,  440. 

Stafifeldt,  major,  defeats  the  Swedes 
at  Trangen,  393  ;  440. 


Stang,    Emil,    Conservative    leader, 

543,  558 ;    ministry  of,  558-561 ; 

second  ministry  of,  564,  566. 
Stang,  Frederick,  471,  515,  526,  527, 

533-534 ;    appointed  minister  of 

state,  535 ;    retires,  538. 
Stang,  Georg,  570. 
Stang,  Jacob,  555. 
Statholder,   office   of    created,    155 ; 

attempt    to    abolish,    512,    523- 

525 ;   abolished,  535. 
"Statsborgeren,"  Liberal  paper,  472, 

485. 
Stavanger,  273. 
St.   Clair,  jarl    of    the    Orkney  and 

Shetland  Islands,  27. 
Steen,  Johannes,  513,  540 ;   president 

of  Storthing,  544,  555 ;    ministry 

of,  561,  564-566. 
Steigentesch,  Count  von,  of  Austria, 

in  Norway,  437. 
Stenbock,  Gustav,  Swedish  general, 

222. 
Stenbock,  Magnus,  Swedish  general, 

307-309. 
Stiftsamt,  233. 
Stiftsamtmand,  233. 
Stiftsskrivere,  office  of,  156,  234. 
Stigss0n,   Otto,   Norwegian  sea-cap- 
tain, 144. 
Stjernskjold,  Claes,  Swedish  governor 

of  Trondhjem,  225-226. 
Stockholm  massacre,  112-113. 
St.  Olav,  tales  about,  97 ;   his  coffin, 

136  ;   body  of,  151-152. 
Storm,  Edward,  375-376. 
Stormarn    and    Ditmarsken    united 

with  Holstein,  76-77. 
Storthing   (National  Legislative  As- 
sembly), 429;    first  regular,  448- 

450 ;   of  1830,  476  ;   of  1833,  478 ; 

of  1836,  436;    of  1839,  485;    of 

1842,  486  ;  bill  for  yearly  sessions, 

532. 
Struensee,  351-356. 
Students'\]inon{Studentersamfundet), 

462,  471. 
Sture,  Sten,  76 ;   Swedish  regent,  81 ; 

wages  war  against  the  nobles  and 

the  Danes,  81,  88. 
Sture,  Sten,  the  Younger,  89,  109- 

111. 
Sture,  Svante,  88-89. 


INDKX 


625 


Siihni,  I'.t«T  Fri«(lri<li.  .{47,  I'.M. 
Supcrstitiiiiis,  ]K)piilur,  '.M^  "(7. 
Svuiif,  liisliop  of  S««1iiihI,  '22.S. 
Svartt'-.Jons,  Duiiish  <-(iiiiinun(laDt  of 

AkiTshus,  4'.».  r»l,  'At. 
Svi'inssoii,  Hryiijulf,  21>2. 
Svordrup,  (u'urjr,  41«»,  424— l^fj.  441. 

4')1>. 
Svcnlrui).  .JikuI),  'i'i.'),  '>')7,  '»'>'.). 
Svonlrui),  Joliiin,  'AVJ,  'A'.i,  r>21 ,  TKiO, 

532-");i4,  .>H);    niinistor  of  slul«<, 

54-t ;    ministry  of,  .').'>.>- .'j/iS. 
Svcnirup,  Otto  N.,  explorer,  iiMl. 
Sweden,  leaves  the  union  with  Den- 

mark-Xorwny.  11'). 
"Synn0ve  Solliiikken."  fjlS-.'jiy. 
Sysselnia?nd,  1U();   .syssfl,  1(X). 
Syvstjernen,  327. 

Talhot,  (Jilhert,  SM. 

Tank.  Carsten,  370.  441. 

Tariff  and  free  trade.  4.SS. 

Tauseii,  Hans,  Lutlieran  refornur  in 

Denmark,  127-12S. 
Tautra,  monastery,  124. 
Ta.\es,  kinds  of.  l.")7.  235. 
T<'{rner,  Esaias.  'A)l. 
Temperance,  work  for,  .")'.)! -.'>93. 
Theater,   in   Denmark,  341-342;     in 

Norway,  .')20  .">21. 
Tiiirly  Years'  War,  11»'.).  204-2U<). 
Thoma.sius,  :i.31>. 
Thomiss0n,        Hans,        author        of 

"Danske  .Salniebog,"  '2*M. 
Thomniesen.  ()..  e<litor  of  ."Verdens 

(ianp."  .'>;{2. 
Thomson's  "  Son.-ons,"  inlluonoe  of, 

373. 
Thornton,     Knplish    ambassador    to 

Denmark.  41.'>. 
Thnine.  Markus,  .')aS-ril(). 
Throndsson,      Olav,      ele«'ted      ardi- 

hisliop,  tiS. 
Tidemand,  AdoIj)h.  i)ainler,  41»3. 
TordenskjoUi,    Peter,  314-310;   3_»0, 

.322. 
TorfjiHis,  Tliormod,  2<)2. 
Torstensson.  Ltuinart,  invades  Den- 
mark, 210. 
Toverud,  battle  of.  3«»3. 
Trade,  with  Iceland  and  (JnH'nland. 

14 ;     conditions    of,    in    Norway, 

VOL.  II — 2  8 


"24-2.1;  with  I<M>bin<l  and  Or<*n- 
lund,  27- 2S.  4^.  ^-"i'  H.-ilnnd 
re»(triet4-<l.  77  ;  id«' 

fnt-,  K2;    with  1  .  .  Hol- 

land,  17U  1K2.  .«.   190; 

of    variouH   eou;.  . .     .    _  »^> ;   273- 
276;    with    KnKland,    27i ;    2K2 
2K-I  ;  3;ji>-.i;«i ;  3«U.  Ts    .'.••7    447 

r,u). 

Tran^en,  butth*  of.  3iW. 

Travel,  in  the  8ixt4<c>ntb  t-cnturv.  loy- 

172. 
Tniventlial,  jM-ace  of.  .'{<M. 
Tresehow,  profe>i.Hor.  422.  44H. 
Trit/.sehler,  H.   K..  (r«tieml.  in  ronj- 

mand    of    the    Nor»«i;ian    army. 

3(M. 
Trolle.  (Justav.  100-110.  112   114 
Trolle  Herluf,  Dani.sh  admiral.  162- 

l.''>,3. 
Trolle,  Nils,  ^t,itli,.t,Ur.  22.'i. 
Trondhjem,  lH'Kiege<i  by  the  SwihIui, 

317  311>. 
Trondlijemskt*     Vidfn»kab»-xSi«Uk«b, 

34(). 
Trondh Jem's    ten    <'«'«IihI    to    Swixlon, 

223  ;    restoHKl  to  Norway,  22>>. 
Trondsson,   Christopher,   Norw«-gi»n 

sea-<-aptain,  144. 
Tullin,  Christian  Hmunninnn,  373. 
Tunsb^•r^,'hus  castle  destroyiHl.  .M. 
Tybrinp,  \  ij:.  battle  of.  223. 

rddevalla.  battle  of.  259. 

I'eland.    Jolian.     Cabriel,     47S  479. 

rAH).  .')13,  527.  r>iV*. 
rifeld.  Korlit-s  215,  2IS  21«»,  2-22. 
rifeld.  l>..n(.ru  Chrihtim-,  210  219. 
rilmann.  \  itnro,  rA'A. 
ririka    Kle<»nora.    Hure«'*HlH    Charlm 

XII.,  on   tho  Ihroiie  of  Swinlfn. 

320,  ;wi. 

Cntrer.  C.  H..  4«M. 

I'nion  with  Swe<Ien.  410.  445;  dif- 
ferent views  of,  451  ;  nhition  of 
Norway  t<i  Sweden,  479  -ISl  ; 
«liss«il\ed.  .'"i7S.  .\s;{. 

rniversiti«>s,  \isit«'<i  by  Norw«'|fi»fl 
students.  S9  90.  I'M 

I'nivorsity.  a  Norwi>jnan,  airitatioD 
f..r,  347  34.S  ;  401 . 

I'psala,  Iniversity  of.  90 

Urup.  Aksvl,  Danish  gvuoral.  222. 


626 


INDEX 


II 


Valdemar  Atterdag,  9 ;  captures 
Pland  and  Gothland,  and  sacks 
Wisby,  17 ;  gains  possession  of 
Sk&ne  and  Blekinge,  17 ;  in  war 
with  the  Hanseatic  cities,  21-22  ; 
relation  to  Denmark,  28-29. 

Valkendorf,  Christopher,  146-147, 
158. 

Valkendorf,  Erick,  archbishop,  82, 
92,  lOG. 

Varberg,  Act  of,  7. 

Vasa,  Gustav  Eriksson,  110,  113; 
heads  a  rebellion  against  Chris- 
tian II.,  114r-115;  king  of  Swe- 
den, 115,  198. 

Venstre  party,  see  Liberal  party. 

"Verdens  Gang,"  532. 

Verelius,  Olof,  292. 

Veto  question,  536-538,  595. 

Vibe,  Ditlev,  vice-statholder,  307,  323. 

Victual  Brothers,  origin  of,  35 ; 
sacks  Bergen,  Malmo,  and  Nyko- 
ping,  35  ;   destruction  of,  36. 

"Vidar,"  periodical,  471. 

Vidkunsson,  Erling,  7. 

Vind,  Danish  admiral,  212. 

Vinje,  A.  H.,  575. 

Vinje,  A.  O.,  500. 

Visborg,  Eilerik,  226. 

Vogt,  B.,  582. 

Vogt,  J.  H.,  486,  505. 

Vogt,  N.,  527,  542. 

Voltaire,  338. 

Vordingborg,  peace  of,  44. 

Wachtmeister,  F.  C,  582. 

War,  Count's,  128-134;  Thirty 
Years',  199,  204-206 ;  with  Swe- 
den, 210-213;  Gyldenl0ve,  253- 
261;  Great  Northern,  302-309; 
with  England  and  Sweden,  1807- 
1809,  387-397 ;  of  1814,  433-442. 

Water  power,  596. 

Wedel-Jarlsberg,    391-392;    his    po- 


litical policy,  396-397 ;  works  for 
a  Norwegian  university,  400- 
401 ;  attitude  towards  Prince 
Christian  Frederick,  413;  424- 
425,  427,  444,  448,  459;  made 
statholder,  481-483,  486. 

Weidemann,  450. 

Welhaven,  Johan  Sebastian,  Henrik, 
Wergeland's  opponent,  469-473, 
485,  491,  502. 

Wergeland,  Henrik,  464—465 ; 
creates  a  new  liberal  national 
movement,  467-475 ;  seeks  to 
secure  just  treatment  of  the  Jews, 
474 ;  historical  works,  474 ;  his 
death,  475;  political  program, 
479,  484;  490-491,  493;  552. 

Wergeland,  Nicolai,  400-401,  424- 
425,  427. 

Wessel,  Johan  Herman,  373-375. 

Westen,  Thomas  v.,  326-328. 

West  India  Company,  196. 

Wieksell,  professor,  of  Lund,  opinion 
of  the  policy  of  Oscar  II.,  577. 

Willoughby,  attempts  to  find  a  north- 
west passage,  181-182. 

Wisby,  sacked  by  Valdemar  Atter- 
dag, 17 ;  taken  by  the  Victual 
Brothers,  35. 

Wistenakker,  Diderich,  received  Tele- 
marken  as  a  fief,  56. 

Witchcraft,  trials,  175-178. 

Wittenberg,  University  of,  90. 

Wittenborg,  John,  commander  of  the 
Hanseatic  fleet,  18. 

Wolff,  Christian,  339. 

Wolff,  Simon  O.,  402,  466. 

Wormius,  Ole,  292. 

Wrangel,  Gustav,  Swedish  general, 
223,  224. 

Wullenwever,  Jiirgen,  128. 

Zetlitz,  Jens,  373,  380,  402. 
."Zinclar  Vise,"  201-202,  375. 


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a  clear  account  of  the  Irish  imperial  and  other  important  political 
questions.  Military  history  is  largely  suppressed.  Especially  wel- 
come, on  the  other  hand,  are  the  excellent  characterizations  of  the 
more  important  works  in  the  long  range  of  English  literature  from 
Beowulf  to  Browning."  —  Nation. 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


NEW  BOOKS  ON  GOVERNMENT  AND   PUBLIC   AFFAIRS 

German  World  Policies 

(Dcr  Deutsche  Gedanke  in  der  Welt  » 

Hv    PAUL    ROHRHACH 
Translated  uv  Uk.  EUMUM)   VON    MACH 

Cbth,  l2mo,  $1.2$ 

Paul  Rohrbach  has  been  for  several  years  the  most  popular 
author  of  books  on  politics  and  economics  in  Germany.  He  is  dc- 
scribed  by  his  translator  as  a  "constructive  optimist,"  one  who,  at 
the  same  time,  is  an  incisive  critic  of  those  shortcomings  which 
have  kept  Germany,  as  he  thinks,  from  playing  the  great  part  to 
which  she  is  called.  In  this  volume  Dr.  Rohrbach  gives  a  true  in- 
sight into  the  character  of  the  German  people,  their  aims,  fears  and 
aspirations.  It  is  his  opinion  that  if  Germany  deserves  it,  knows 
what  .she  wants,  and  learns  how  to  adapt  herself  to  constantly  alter- 
ing condition.^,  her  growth  and  the  sjiread  of  German  kultnr  are 
almost  unlimited.  Only,  however,  when  certain  defects  have  been 
corrected  and  provided  a  certain  course  is  followed,  all  of  which 
Dr.  Rohrbach  discusses  intimately  and  fully,  can  Germany  expect 
to  take  her  place  with  the  world  powers  and  maintain  it. 

"  A  constructive  work  by  a  German  '  moderate  '  who  has  had 
great  influence  among  his  own  people."  —  Kn-iru'  of  Rcvtvws. 

"  Professor  Kdmund  von  Mach  has  rendered  a  distinct  service  to 
Germany  and  Germans  by  translating  '  German  World  Policies ' 
into  English.  This  is  a  statement  by  an  intelligent  and  capable 
German  of  what  he  believed  his  country  and  jKTople  stood  for  and 
what  they  were  likely  to  achieve."  —  Xfw  York  Sun. 

"A  valuai)lc,  a  most  informing  book,  v.hich  at  the  present  nout 
acquires  a  doubled  significance."  —  AVu'  York  Tribunt. 

THK    .M.\C"M1L1..\N     c  D.MIWNV 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Aveoue  New  York 


NEW  BOOKS  ON  GOVERNMENT  AND  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS 


Russia  and  the  World 


By  STEPHEN    GRAHAM 

Author  of  "  With  Poor  Immigrants  to  America,"  etc. 

Illustrated,  Cloth,  8vo,  $2.00 

Stephen  Graham  is  always  entertaining,  a  fact  to  the  truth  of 
which  the  many  readers  of  his  previous  volumes  will  testify.  In 
addition  to  his  pleasing  style  he  has,  in  the  present  book,  a  subject 
of  commanding  interest  and  one  on  which  he  is  well  qualified  to 
write.  He  has  been  for  years  a  peculiarly  sympathetic  student  of 
Russia.  He  has  tramped  through  the  country  and  knows  its  prob- 
lems more  intimately  probably  than  any  other  English  or  American 
author.  This  record  of  his  observations  and  conclusions  makes 
fascinating  reading.  Among  the  topics  which  Mr.  Graham  takes 
up  under  the  general  heading  War  are :  Why  Russia  Is  Fighting, 
Is  It  a  Last  War  ?  Russian  Literature  and  the  War,  and  Russian 
Children  and  the  War.  In  his  chapter  on  Nations  in  Russia  he 
discusses  the  Russians,  Germans,  Poles,  Jews  and  British.  Under 
Individuals  he  describes  the  Tsar,  the  Russian  Minister  of  Affairs, 
the  Grand  Duke,  and  the  Censor.  He  also  considers  in  some  de- 
tail Russian  policies  —  the  vodka  prohibition,  arbitration  and  the 
future  of  Russia. 

•'  On  laying  down  the  book,  the  reader  may  well  feel  that,  for 
all  its  tears  and  laughter,  and  its  genius  for  description,  it  has  an 
importance  other  than  literary."  —  London  Times. 

"  Contains  a  great  deal  of  Real  Importance."  —  New  York 
Times. 

"  Turn  where  the  reader  will  in  this  book,  he  will  find  enlighten- 
ment." —  Boston  Transcript. 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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